Krugman says stimulus inadequate in size

Paul Krugman, professor of economics at Princeton University and also a Nobel Prize winner, was speaking this morning on CNBC, where he discussed his views on the stimulus package.

According to Krugman, the $787 billion stimulus is not nearly enough to fill the "well over $2 trillion hole" in the economy, Krugman said. "A fair bit of the bill is not really stimulus," he added, noting that just about $650 billion would actually spur consumer spending and other types of stimulus.

It is "pretty likely" that the Obama administration will try and pass a second stimulus package in the next few months, Krugman said.

Krugman added that the economy is likely to remain depressed for at least two years, but probably much longer than that.

I understand that "lefties" like Krugman must be discounted, at least if you've had your dose of right-wing Kool-aid today. I tend to consider people trained in economics, however, since that's not an area where I've had advance preparation. Then again, many right-wing talkers might be more believable, depending on your ideological persuasion. [speaking of right-wing talkers, JBS acolyte, GBeck begins today's show with a rant about a "socialist" company that makes solar panels that will apparently be receiving stimulus money. He's also ranting about "controlled burns," as in, let the economy experience"a controlled burn." Oh, here it comes, here it comes--the start of the rest of the broadcast (and what he does best), where he scares the bejesus out of his listeners--worldwide economic collapse, a Great Depression worse than our grandparents experienced, but because his loyal followers didn't sell out to socialism, capitalism will be stronger than ever, rooted in those great "principals" of conservatism! I'm sorry I can't share a link to today's broadcast, because Mr. Beck is an enlightened capitalist, so you have to pay to access his archived drivel.--JB]

Nicholas Von Hoffman, another "lefty" shares stories of the jobless in America, in the Feb. 4 issue of The Nation. He includes the following note about my home state: In Maine there are skilled carpenters knocking on doors, asking for any kind of work, shoveling snow or stacking firewood.

I wonder if the disconnect that talk radio talkers exhibit from the lives of real Americans stem from their sitting behind their golden microphones, rather than rubbing elbows with desperate people, thrown out work, through no fault of their own--like the gentleman I spoke to yesterday, Robert, who lost his job at a local manufacturer after working their for 19 years. This local manufacturer makes parts for the auto industry, and predictably, given Detroit's woes, their business is way down.