It Took Nearly Seven Years...

Paul Krugman finally answers a rhetorical question he posed in September of 2003. Way back then he was bashing Bush for Iraq (natch) and for going hat in hand to China to talk to them about their undervalued currency.  His Nobel Prize for international trade was still in the future, so on the gloomy prospects of a currency confrontation between China and the US the extent of his "analysis" was this:

But [President Bush, by way of Treasury Secretary Snow] got no satisfaction. A quick look at the situation reveals one reason why: the U.S. currently has very little leverage over China. Mr. Bush needs China's help to deal with North Korea — another crisis that was allowed to fester while the administration focused on Iraq. Furthermore, purchases of Treasury bills by China's central bank are one of the main ways the U.S. finances its trade deficit.

Nobody is quite sure what would happen if the Chinese suddenly switched to, say, euros — a two-point jump in mortgage rates? — but it's not an experiment anyone wants to try.

That was during the 2003 recession and recovery when the Fed was keeping the Fed Funds rate below 2%.

But the years have passed, as has the Bush Administration, and now Paul Krugman has joined the world in decrying the undervalued Chinese currency.  And he has answers on the economic front!

Tensions are rising over Chinese economic policy, and rightly so: China’s policy of keeping its currency, the renminbi, undervalued has become a significant drag on global economic recovery. Something must be done.

...

If Treasury does find Chinese currency manipulation, then what? Here, we have to get past a common misunderstanding: the view that the Chinese have us over a barrel, because we don’t dare provoke China into dumping its dollar assets.

What you have to ask is, What would happen if China tried to sell a large share of its U.S. assets? Would interest rates soar? Short-term U.S. interest rates wouldn’t change: they’re being kept near zero by the Fed, which won’t raise rates until the unemployment rate comes down. Long-term rates might rise slightly, but they’re mainly determined by market expectations of future short-term rates. Also, the Fed could offset any interest-rate impact of a Chinese pullback by expanding its own purchases of long-term bonds.

It’s true that if China dumped its U.S. assets the value of the dollar would fall against other major currencies, such as the euro. But that would be a good thing for the United States, since it would make our goods more competitive and reduce our trade deficit. On the other hand, it would be a bad thing for China, which would suffer large losses on its dollar holdings. In short, right now America has China over a barrel, not the other way around.

Hmm, some of those points were obvious even to me back in 2003.  As to debunking the "common misunderstanding" that China has us over a barrel, one wonders why that was less obvious back when Bush was raising the issue. One might also wonder whether Krugman was contributing to that misunderstanding with his "Nobody is quite sure what would happen if the Chinese suddenly switched to, say, euros" fog-burst.  And while we are wondering, we might ask when it was that Team Obama solved the North Korean problem that featured so prominently in Krugman's 2003 rhetorical sally.

So many questions.  No doubt some will be cleared up by a Krugman column in 2017.

MORE:  Dan Drezner decries Krugman's bellicose unilateralism and manages to limit his "I told you so-ism" to much less than seven years.

Comments

[Porchlight says Obama sucks]

Great photo, Ann!

The CBC slander is so transparent. Anything to distract the MSM from this horrendous boondoggle.

I'm sure we'll all find each other tomorrow AM. Now it remains to be seen how much sleep one can get tonight. I think I'll be dreaming of whip counts...

[Clarice]

Niters.. See you after my vacation.
I hope TM's okay and we hear from him or get a new thread tomorrow.

[Porchlight says Obama sucks]

Have a great time, Clarice. You'll be missed!

[Clarice]

NRO
Can I Title My Book 'The Audacity of Hope' Too? [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
From the Washington Post:

House leaders were working to secure their votes late Saturday with the promise of an executive order affirming President Obama's commitment to a longstanding ban on public abortion funding except in cases of rape or incest, or to save the life of the mother. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), a key antiabortion vote, said she thought the document would be insufficient to bring the entire group of about 10 antiabortion Democrats onboard.

*****

The WaPo also reports that it was Pelosi who pushed Obama to keep going for the whole enchilada instead of listening to rahm who wanted a slower, more incremental approach.

A person as devious as i tends to believe rahm had someone leak that story.

[narciso]

I guess it shouldn't surprise me they would lie so unapologetically, with no basis for their slander, one is reminded of that idiot
columnist in McClatchy that said socialist
was an N word, and of course, Ogletree, one
of Obama's mentors, making some strained reference to professor

[Barbara]

Clarice,

Have a wonderful time! We'll miss you!!!

[Clarice]

FDL reports Loretta Sanchez a definite NO

[Elliott]

So far we have:

Erasmus [note: unavailable]
Rocky Thruster
Mr. Elliott
Elliott Ness
Mercer
ThunderBear [which reminds me...]
Mr. ThunderBear
Stu

[Sue says Obama Sucks]

kathrynlopez based on what i'm hearing right now, my capacity for political hope is running out tonight.

FWIW.

[narciso]

That comment will probably make it to Day by Day, Porchlight

[Clarice]

Thanks, barbara.

[Melinda Romanoff]

travel safely, clarice.

And G'night all.

[glenda]

I sure hope some home video shows up of the real "racists" in this country, walking in/out- unharassed--when they know they're losing, they play the race card. It's shameful--it's like hollering "fire" in a theater. But the CBC thrives on it. They spit on themselves with their lies. Does any media outlet dare call them on it? It reminds me of the D--K, Holder, calling us racial cowards...look in the mirror, man who ignores real criminals, favors pardoning rich felons and terrorists, but prosecuting patriots who work to keep us safe!!! I am sick of weak, loathsome people using the injustice of slavery 250 yrs ago to enhance their lives demeaning anyone who dares to disagree. It's a sad practice and needs to be stopped.

[Clarice]

I don't see that on the Corner, Sue. Where did you get that? It not on their tweet tracker either.

[verner]

Have fun Clarice!!!!

[Melinda Romanoff]

Oh, and not so racist after all.

Don't cry wolf when tape is rolling.

Dopes.

[glasater sez Obama sucks forever]

From a tweet:

CNN: Bill Clinton making calls... a sign Dems don't have the votes. "Obama pulling out all the stops"

[Sue says Obama Sucks]

Clarice,

I follow her on twitter.

http://twitter.com/kathrynlopez>here

However, since I posted the above, she has posted this:

if bill clinton is making phone calls, this ain't over.

So go ahead, pull your hair out and mine too while you're at it. Who the hell knows until tomorrow sometime?

[Elliott]

Also under consideration: JM Hanes' "Elliott Nessun Dorma"; my very own strained pun "Anti-Socialist Elliott"; and "Abd al Ilyas," a sort of translation.

[Sue says Obama Sucks]

She explains on a brief post at The Corner.

re: Hope [Kathryn Jean Lopez]

EO sounds like it's being agreed to.

Thank goodness all hope does not rest in politics. Good night. See you tomorrow.

Stupak is caving, I guess.

[DebinNC]

It wouldn't surprise me if the epithet claims only appeared after Dennis Cardoza railed against "tea-baggers" at least 3x at his presser today. That was so inappropriate, especially coming from a sitting member of Congress, Pelosi/Clyburn may have thrown the incendiary faux claims out to distract the press/public from Cardoza's idiocy.

[Sue says Obama Sucks]

You could be T. Toille.

[It's Greek to me.]

What'll ya' be?
=========

[Stephanie]

Hi all! Just back from a golf tournament. Fifth tournament in five Saturdays. First one with decent weather. Today's high was 72!
Kim came in 14th out of 44 golfers and the team finished tied for 3rd. Woo-hoo!

Practice Monday is expected to have a high of 46. Love that glowbull warming! Isn't spring supposed to be golf weather?

[Ann says Obama Sucks!]

Have a great trip Clarice.

Please take a laptop with you because my optimism fads w/o yours.

cc:
Do not sip your coffee while viewing the new Pelosi hand pic:

She looks as disparate as Obama yesterday. This is going down, nobody believes it.

[daddy]

Thank goodness Elliott nobody suggested Elliot Light. (But you'ld get published in every newspaper in America:)

Hey, just came upon this blurb on the BBC:

"INCA EMPIRE AND GLOBAL WARMING
In South America, along the Andes, rising temperatures are melting glaciers - which is in turn speeding soil erosion. This is disastrous for the highland communities there making a living from farming. But according to scientists working in Peru, the evidence from the bottom of an ancient lake suggests there are ways to adapt. Between nine hundred and five hundred years ago, this region underwent a period of climatic warming. Also during this time, the Inca people appeared in this area of Peru and developed an empire stretching from Ecuador to Chile. The international research team believes there's a link. Science in Action caught up with the BBC's Valeria Perasso who recently visited the scientists in Peru."

But I thought the Medieval Warming Period was insignificant because there wasn't any man made CO2 destroying glaciers and Polar Caps etc, so how the heck could the Incas---oh never mind.

[cathyf]

Thursday morning I had to take the cookies out of the car because of the heat, and then this morning we woke up to snow and it's been snowing all day!

[narciso]

Don't confuse us with the facts, daddy, those Incan SUV's will be the death of us all, I swear alchemy is more legitimate than climate
science

[daddy]

Interesting isn't it Narciso,

IF I read it correctly, this BBC story has told us:

1) Melting Glaciers in the Andes are disastrous for highland farming.

2) That the greatest Pre-Columbian Andes Civilization that ever existed was created, expanded and thrived via highland farming exactly during a disastrous period of melting Andes Glaciers.

Did I miss something?

[bgates says fire is hot, and Obama sucks]

Around noon, Bobby Gibbs boasted that his boss' NCAA tournament bracket, which he filled out Wednesday, has 25 of 32 games right - in the 96.9th percentile of 4.7 million completed brackets.

This evening, #1 seed Kansas (Obama's pick to win it all) was beaten by #9 seed Northern Iowa.

Obama follows college basketball closely (at least as compared to his inattention to economics, science, history, Constitutional law, etc). The Kansas game took place three days after he made his prediction. It could have had only two possible outcomes. He got it wrong.

Do you think that will diminish his confidence in his ability to predict how his party's 2000 page medical takeover bill will affect how 300 million Americans will each make health care decisions over the next 10, 20, 50 years?

Yeah, I know. Might as well ask if he knows how to spell Syracuse.

[Elliott]

bgates, he almost certainly doesn't know how to spell Pyrrhus then.

[daddy]

Elliot,

Hope you took no offense over "Elli Light."

Pyrrhus's "Another such victory and I am undone" certainly works. But Pheidippides ">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pheidippides"> "Rejoice we Conquor", and then falling dead, is a similar classical ref that works as well for me. Plus this frickin' HCR battle has dragged on so long it already seems like a Marathon.

[Elliott]

Not at all, daddy.

[Janet]

Elliott - "Anti-Socialist Elliott" ...that's great! My last thought was El ______ (insert witty/foreign word). I went to look up the Spanish word for golf, and it is El golf! Coincidence?? I think not!
A definite NO on the Thunderchicken idea.

[Janet]

From Hillbuzz LUN Is Louise Slaughter Secretly Just George Soros in Drag?

[daddy]

Hey,

If President Obama can use ">http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=MGZhM2QzMzJiY2E4ZmY2M2NmMzQ3ODUzNTFkZDM0MGI="> fake Abraham Lincoln quotes, I suppose we can use some as well.

How about "The job of the President is to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States from all enemies foreign and domestic---not to become one of them." Abe Lincoln (on the same day he said whatever Obama said he said.)

[Janet]

...and about the inappropriate language charge. In a group of thousands it is impossible to monitor everyone's language. There is a disconnect between the promoted "culture" and then the real life reflection of that "culture". If inappropriate language and cursing are bad, why is it used in the music, movies, games, books, TV... we and our children listen and view? I can not escape the coarseness in our society. Then we are shocked if anyone uses ugly language? It doesn't make sense.
The Tiger Wood brouha was kinda the same. A disconnect between what is peddled and what is expected.
BTW - I heard no racial slurs in the crowds while I was there.
LUN Gateway Pundit article on the accusations.

[Janet]

Ha daddy...how about - "Never elect a man named Obama" Abe Lincoln

[narciso]

And the world 'Syracuse' was on the other end of the bracket, so it's not a tomatoe incident, Old Abe was very prescient on that point, Janet, also how about electing someone
who grew up in a log cabin, who field dresses
the opposition, as well as she does a moose,

[rse]

Insanity on all fronts-

Watching the history channel last night and on comes a new program "Earth 2100" with cartoon drawings of the remnants of NYC because we failed to control grenhouse gas emissions.

Starts in 2015 as a class 5 wipes out Miami and shows starvation, people stealing gas, pollution.

Malthus comes to mind.

In between the drawings are interviews with real people like John Podesta, Van Jones, John Holdren on what needs to be done NOW to avert this apocalypse.

Copyright is 2010. Clearly designed to be shown in schools to generate outrage.

It seems to be the bypass for Climategate.

Makes "An Inconvenient Truth" seem straightforward.

ChaCo & Kim especially you need to see and any school showing owes parents an apology.

[RB says BOzo Sux]

I don't recall any of the liars and thieves who make up the majority of the membership of the CBC issuing statements condemning the use "tea bagger". They might think about getting rid of Conyers, Rangel and Kirkpatrick (to name but a few) before picking up any stones.

[daddy]

Just thinking about the BBC story above about Andes Glacier Melt being horrible for agriculture got me googling.

In 1500 the estimated population of the Inca's was between 8 and 13 million people, stretching over an area 3,000 miles North-South, and their agriculture was based primarily on 3 crops: potato's, corn, and quinoa (a sort of rice-like bushy herb that health food guys and my Ag History Prof Bro-in-Law know well., tho' I'm unfamiliar with) Planting of quinoa was ordered exterminated by the Conquistadores, due to it being heavily involved in the Incan religion which the Spaniards were intent on stamping out. All this at the time the BBC tells us Andes GlacialMelting was going on which was disastrous for highland agriculture.

Population of the home of the BBC (Britain) in 1500 AD was @ 4 million.

Anybody who takes a single sentence from the BBC without massive fact-checking or anything less than a big grain of salt is crazy---or, as Abraham Lincoln used to say, "Don't trust the BBC, they are freakin' One World Bullshit artists."

[narciso]

Don't forget Earth 2025, which had raging sandstorms, locusts, massive fires, I didn't
check till the end, but armies of frogs and
boils were surely on tap

[Janet]

or, as Abraham Lincoln used to say, "Don't trust the BBC, they are freakin' One World Bullshit artists."

Oh my..Hahahaha

I guess we Evangelicals are making some inroads now. Infidelity is now bad, and cursing/bad language is forbidden. I'm pleased to see the MSM on board.

[daddy]

I don't know if anybody can photoshop it, but if you took ">http://www.drudgereport.com/"> Pelosi's current picture posted on Drudge, and turned her hair into a dark blue hood, she would be the spitting of this guy, ">http://www.karazor.com/Myspace_stuff/skeletor.jpg"> Skeletor.

[Abe Lincoln]

Apologies Janet for my bad language.

rse,

Thanks for that comment on the History Channel broadcasting.

Yeah, Van Jones, the 'go to guy' to help educate our citizens on unbiased Climate Science.

[narciso]

As soon as I log on Firefox or Internet Explorer, you find the latest Yahoo or AP headlines, Pravda was regular samizdat compared to these people, and they complain about Fox's supposed bias???

[Janet]

Abe - No problem for me, but the MSM are getting to be prudes, so be warned! I guess they won't be giving any favorable reviews to upcoming rap music. Poor JayZ, Snoopy Dog, & Puff Diddley.

[Porchlight says Obama sucks]

Morning all!

Well, I have to apologize somewhat for my HotAir rant yesterday. I gave in and read a few threads overnight after insomnia set in. I still don't care much for Allah or Ed these days, but was buoyed by the commenters as always. Especially on the Quote of the Day thread, there are still lots of happy warriors.

Praying they're vindicated today.

[Extraneus]

If they lose today, I hope to see detailed videos from the lefty protests over the coming week. I of course expect nothing less than the utmost decorum.

[pagar]

Good Morning to all! What a perfect day to watch the Obama crowd prepare for defeat.

"Insanity on all fronts-"

Look at this One.

They plan to steal 60 billion--the product they are selling ---NOTHING. The ripoffs are getting bigger and bigger with their phony AGW fraud.

[Pops]

It really pisses me off that so-CALLED JOURNALISTS are touting that the Cornhusker kickback is OUT of the House bill. This is a blantant lie.
If the house votes for the bill - it includes the cornhusker kickback and all the other dirty deals.

The fact our news organizations can't even get that right says alot about how F-effing stupid this whole process has become.

[JanesaysObamasucks]

Okay, here is my idea. I think republicans should refuse to vote "yes" on any legislation from now until this bill is repealed. No exceptions. The government isn't listening to the will of the people, so just shut it down.

[pagar]

There are no news organizations left - just leftist propaganda publishers. I don't understand why they can't be sued if they claim to be selling news and it is obvious they are lying.

[mefolkes]

Simply amazing. Certain Dems are in the position right now of choosing to be in either a sequel to "Profiles in Courage" or a new book entitled "Profiles in Craven Cowardice or Avarice", and their greater temptation is toward the latter.

Daddy, two points. Don't accept too enthusiastically the population estimates for pre-Columbian native groups in the Americas. Most of them are vastly inflated to make a better case for the magnitude of the alleged genocide European treasure hunters and colonists have been blamed for. Some of them are ridiculous, such as taking the maximum crop yield possible for newly-cleared (by fire) agriculture around Mayan cities and estimate possible population, multiplied by the number of Mayan cities, and even hypothetical Mayan cities. This ignores the rapid decline in the productivity of slash-and-burn agriculture, the effects of droughts AND the fact that the Mayan cities were not all occupied simultaneously. It was a much smaller population, moving when weather and productivity forced them to. My second point is that there is no possible alternative candidate for a real Skeletor. Alan Colmes won that one hands down, long ago.

[centralcal says Obama Sucks bigtime]

Good morning! Lucky Clarice is off to Baja - you will love it, C!

So, the plan is to stick with this thread until it boots us out, correct?

I do have to get some housework done, some time today, and fear being left behind when I check in (probably frequently as we near voting time).

pagar: for the past 2 years there hasn't been words vile enough for me to describe the majority of the media and the scumbags who contribute to it.

[JanesaysObamasucks]

When does the parliamentarian stuff start. NRO has a timeline and I don't see where amendments or parliamentarian issues are included.

[Sue says Obama Sucks]

The fool from Florida with the name I can never, ever remember, Debbie something or other, admits their 216 votes are not hard yesses. Simply amazing.

[narciso]

Wasserman-Schultz, Sue, she's my
congressperson, she made the town hall only
a phone thing,

[RB says BOzo Sux]

It would be very amusing if 30 Democrats were inspired by BOzo's example and voted "Present" in his honor.

[Jack is Back!]

It is best to go to the Steyn note just below the timeline and click on the link. There is humor in misery and the Sun article brings home the reality of where we are headed.

When I lived in the UK for those wonderfully nourishing 6 years I was inundated with press and media reports of NHS malfeasance. Mostly of the organizational, management and administrative ineptitude always found in anything with government all over it. In fact, the number one front page story every year when counted above the fold daily was the NHS. War, immigration, drugs, gangs, education, etc. were mere filler - the NHS was more of a water cooler topic than even the weather.

Now it is coming to America and with our own idiosyncratic change and hopelessness blended with naivete and painful justice.

As Chuck Knox, ex-coach of the Rams, once said: "those who live in hope, die in shit".

[centralcal says Obama Sucks bigtime]

Wasserman Schultz or some such, Sue. She is such a tool.

Insty is linking to a Hill article of a Dem who is voting no, advising all other Dems voting no, to vote and run. He is afraid if Nancy comes up short, they will be pressured unmercifully till they change their vote to yes.

[Pops]

American spectator reports:
Obama Restores Cash-Strapped ACORN's Funding As Reward For HealthCare Support
Posted by Matthew Vadum on 3.20.10 @ 9:17PM
President Obama has quietly moved behind the scenes to restore full funding to the radical group ACORN, which was his former employer and legal client.

In a move ignored by the media, OMB director Peter Orszag circulated a directive to federal agencies ordering them to begin funding ACORN again. ACORN is the hyperpartisan lead group in the Health Care for America Now (HCAN) coalition and has long supported a government takeover of the U.S. health care system.

The fiscal floodgates will soon re-open for ACORN despite a congressional ban on funding the activist group that has long been a practitioner of election fraud.

In a March 16 memo Office of Management and Budget (OMB) director Peter Orszag ordered federal agencies to resume funding the group whose employees were caught on hidden camera videos last year condoning and encouraging a variety of crimes including child prostitution and tax evasion.

The memo came a week after renegade federal judge Nina Gershon of the Eastern District of New York made permanent her temporary injunction prohibiting Congress from cutting off funding for ACORN

[Pops]

Let's fool the stupid public again:

Speaker Nancy Pelosi's final manager's amendment:

Page 88, line 1, strike ‘‘MEDICARE TAX’’ and insert ‘‘UNEARNED INCOME MEDICARE CONTRIBUTION’’.

[Sue says Obama Sucks]

That's her. I feel for ya' narciso. I detest her.

So the Stupak 6 are going to vote yes on a piece of paper signed by the Liar in Chief? I hope they do this knowing it is just a fig leaf. I don't think they are really that stupid. They want a way to walk back their strong stance since they didn't get their way with Pelosi.

[Sue says Obama Sucks]

Pops,

That is what Pete Sessions was hammering yesterday in the Rules Committee. He got democrats to admit it was semantics.

[pagar]

"to vote and run"

IMO, it should be the other way around, anyone voting yes should be running to a country that has no treaty where they can be bought back to face justice for this fraud.

[Pops]

Stupak would be signing a deal with the devil to trust a guy who thinks babies are punishmentand abortion should include the right to committ infanticide after the baby is delivered alive.

http://article.nationalreview.com/367248/why-obama-really-voted-for-infanticide/andrew-c-mccarthy

[Sue says Obama Sucks]

Do y'all want to stay on this thread or move to the Klein thread. It is open and only has 276 comments. If I'm not mistaken, this thread is going to close soon because Tom has them set to shut off comments after a certain number of days. This one started on the 15th.

http://justoneminute.typepad.com/main/2010/03/a-klein-bit-of-brain-freeze/comments/page/3/>Here

[centralcal says Obama Sucks bigtime]

I'm game, Sue.

[pagar]

I just want to be where all the JOMers are.

[Sue says Obama Sucks]

http://justoneminute.typepad.com/main/2010/03/a-klein-bit-of-brain-freeze/comments/page/3/>Here We have nine pages of post here and only 3 over there. It is also a newer thread so we won't risk it shutting down comments.

[Frau Schelm]

Helen Thomas is George Soros in drag, Janet.

[daddy]

My second point is that there is no possible alternative candidate for a real Skeletor. Alan Colmes won that one hands down, long ago.

Mefolkes,

Both points taken. Especially the second one! LMAO.

[Holly]

I thought Stupak was smarter than this. Stupid Stupak. True Catholics will target him with passion.