The Promiser in Chief By PAUL KRUGMAN Sometimes reconstruction delayed is reconstruction denied. A few months after the invasion of Iraq, President Bush promised to rebuild Iraq's infrastructure and economy. He - or, at any rate, his speechwriters - understood that reconstruction was important not just for its own sake, but as a way to deprive the growing insurgency of support. In October 2003 he declared that "the more electricity is available, the more jobs are available, the more kids that are going to school, the more desperate these killers become." But for a long time, Iraqi reconstruction was more of a public relations exercise than a real effort. Remember when visiting congressmen were taken on tours of newly painted schools? Both supporters and opponents of the war now argue that by moving so slowly on reconstruction, the Bush administration missed a crucial window of opportunity. By the time reconstruction spending began in earnest, it was in a losing race with a deteriorating security situation. As a result, the electricity and jobs that were supposed to make the killers desperate never arrived. Iraq produced less electricity last month than in October 2003. The Iraqi government estimates the unemployment rate at 27 percent, but the real number is probably much higher. Now we're losing another window of opportunity for reconstruction. But this time it's at home. Two weeks after Hurricane Katrina, Mr. Bush made an elaborately staged appearance in New Orleans, where he promised big things. "The work that has begun in the Gulf Coast region," he said, "will be one of the largest reconstruction efforts the world has ever seen." Such an effort would be the right thing to do. We can argue about details - about which levees should be restored and how strong to make them - but it's clearly in the nation's interests as well as local residents' to rebuild much of the regional economy. But Mr. Bush seems to have forgotten about his promise. More than three months after Katrina, a major reconstruction effort isn't even in the planning stage, let alone under way. "To an extent almost inconceivable a few months ago," a Los Angeles Times report about New Orleans says, "the only real actors in the rebuilding drama at the moment are the city's homeowners and business owners." It's worth noting in passing that Mr. Bush hasn't even appointed a new team to fix the dysfunctional Federal Emergency Management Agency. Most of the agency's key positions, including the director's job - left vacant by the departure of Michael "heck of a job" Brown - are filled on an acting basis, by temporary place holders. The chief of staff is still a political loyalist with no prior disaster management experience. One FEMA program has, however, been revamped. The Recovery Channel is a satellite and Internet network that used to provide practical information to disaster victims. Now it features public relations segments telling viewers what a great job FEMA and the Bush administration are doing. But back to reconstruction. By letting the gulf region languish, Mr. Bush is allowing a window of opportunity to close, just as he did in Iraq. To see why, you need to understand a point emphasized by that report in The Los Angeles Times: the private sector can't rebuild the region on its own. The reason goes beyond the need for flood protection and basic infrastructure, which only the government can provide. Rebuilding is also blocked by a vicious circle of uncertainty. Business owners are reluctant to return to the gulf region because they aren't sure whether their customers and workers will return, too. And families are reluctant to return because they aren't sure whether businesses will be there to provide jobs and basic amenities. A credible reconstruction plan could turn that vicious circle into a virtuous circle, in which everyone expects a regional recovery and, by acting on that expectation, helps that recovery come to pass. But as the months go by with no plan and no money, businesses and families will make permanent decisions to relocate elsewhere, and the loss of faith in a gulf region recovery will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Funny, isn't it? Back during the 2000 campaign Mr. Bush promised to avoid "nation building." And so he has. He failed to rebuild Iraq because he waited too long to get started. And now he's doing the same thing here at home.
Is there a reason that you consistently post Krugman articles without links? Is this protected NY Times content that you're posting? Subscriber only? Krugman is the most partisan economist out there. A joke
Yes, it was discussed a couple of weeks ago that Krugman's column is now subscriber only content. I won't disagree that Krugman is partisan, however he makes a lot of fantastic points that you seem totally unable to refute. Make comment on the substance if you have that ability.
So is it now cool to post subscriber only content on this message board? Hell, I'd love to post some ESPN Insider passwords, links to $$ football recruiting websites, and lots of great MahaRushdie proprietary content.
By your response I can only surmise that you have absolutely no answer to the points in the article. As usual.
I didn't even bother to read the article. Can you answer my question whether it's now cool to post proprietary content on this bbs? In your mind, is it only acceptable if it's far left wing propaganda?
With the heartbreak open So much you can't hide Put on a little makeup makeup Make sure they get your good side good side If the words unspoken Get stuck in your throat Send a treasure token token Write it on a pound note pound note CHORUS: Don't drink don't smoke - what do you do? Don't drink don't smoke - what do you do? Subtle innuendos follow There must be something inside We don't follow fashion That would be a joke You know we're going to set them set them So everyone can take note take note When they saw you kneeling Crying words that you mean Opening their eyeballs eyeballs Pretending that you're Al Green Al Green No one's gonna tell me What's wrong or what's right Or tell me who to eat with sleep with Or that I've won the big fight big fight Look out or they'll tell you You're a "Superstar" Two weeks and you're an all time legend I think the games have gone much too far If the words unspoken Get stuck in your throat Send a treasure token token Write it on a pound note pound note Don't drink don't smoke - what do you do? Don't drink don't smoke - what do you do? (repeat) Subtle innuendos follow, must be something inside
Guys, let's try to abide by the guidelines here at Clutchfans. It's the least we can do in exchange for the privilege of posting here. We don't want to open Clutch up to any possible liability. Here are the guidelines for posting an article at Clutchfans. http://bbs.clutchfans.net/faq.php?faq=faq_etq#faq_faq_etq_postarticle The single most important element in posting an article from an online source is the link to that source. The second critical piece is crediting the source of the article in the thread title, generally contained within brackets []. Anything after that, such as citing text from the article, is up to you. However, if the thread does not include a link to the article, it will get locked.
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/tsc.h...E-Q3CQ3EwQ2AQ3EnBGSGnSQ3EwQ2AcIbNQ60KSFl)Q60Y If you really want to see the article, the Times does offer a two week free trial of the subscriber content.
You ignored the 2nd most important posting rule youself while accusing others, brah. Example: http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=105242 No biggie, huh?
One FEMA program has, however, been revamped. The Recovery Channel is a satellite and Internet network that used to provide practical information to disaster victims. Now it features public relations segments telling viewers what a great job FEMA and the Bush administration are doing. Had a chuckle out of this one. If this isn't the Bush Administration to a T. It is sort of like their plan for Iraq. Run some PR spots on American and Iraqi TV and have Dubya, Rummy etc. give speeches saying all is going well.
BACK TO THE ISSUE AT HAND I met with a student yesterday in my office that was 15 hours away from graduating at Univ of New Orleans with a degree and then going to medical school at Tulane. The school is saying that they are making best effort to get classes resumed in Jan but the vast majority of professors are not there so she cannot take the upper division credits that she needs to finish. That and the small fact that she has no place to live. The people that are in charge of where she was living (not sure if it was on campus or off) said the structure itself is sound but there is a good possibility that it is contaminated with mold due to the stagnant water. They said that she is welcome to stay there but should probably enter only with a mask to protect her nose and throat. The city itself will never be able to recover on its own. They desperately need the national government to come in and start the rebuilding effort.
Because you know you can't answer any of the points contained therein, I am sure. When confronted with a liberal who is a TRUE expert in matters of the economy, you will simply ignore the content and bash the author. Typical, sad, and cowardly. We had a discussion about it a couple of weeks ago. You really should brush up on your reading comprehension. None of the mods objected to that article (another one whose content you again ran away from) nor to the discussion of posting Krugman articles. I believe that if the mods were to object to any of these articles, they would not be posted any more. Since you are not a moderator, your attempts to police Krugman's articles show you to be a coward who cannot answer his points and would rather that they weren't posted in the first place so that your ignorance could be complete.
