Having carried water for more than 20 years for the Conservative movement that gave us supply side economics, union busting, the Cheney Administration, The Bastard President and so much more, America's Most Ubiquitous Conservative Public Intellectual thinks that things are fucked up and shit and that someone, somewhere should really get busy fixing them.
Ideally, somebody with actual influence. Perhaps someone who has deep, long-standing ties to the Conservative movement and can call those fuckers out by name as the con men and demagogues that they are. Someone who has a standing gig at America's newspaper of record. And a standing gig on PBS. And NPR. And The Aspen Institute. And Meet the Press. And on the college lecture circuit. Someone who can get anything he writes published and promoted globally.
Not David Brooks, of course.
But somebody.
From Mr. David Brooks in The New York Times:
...In different ways Eberstadt and Cowen are describing a country that is decelerating, detaching, losing hope, getting sadder. Economic slowdown, social disaffection and risk aversion reinforce one another.Of course nothing is foreordained. But where is the social movement that is thinking about the fundamentals of this century’s bad start and envisions an alternate path? Who has a compelling plan to boost economic growth? If Trump is not the answer, what is?
I can think of lots of ways to start getting the country back on track, but since all of them involve stripping people like Mr. David Brooks of The New York Times of any power to frame our national discourse in any way, I cannot imagine that they will be enacted any time soon.
This was your moment Mr. Brooks.
And you blew it.
The Center for Economic and Policy Research reminds us that, in order to keep his economic fairy tales propped up, Mr. Brooks frequently resorts to, y'know, lying:
The Center for Economic and Policy Research reminds us that, in order to keep his economic fairy tales propped up, Mr. Brooks frequently resorts to, y'know, lying:
Yes Folks, David Brooks is Making Up His Own Facts Again
...
While it apparently makes folks like Brooks feel good to tell these sorts of morality tales about the failings of men today, it actually has nothing to do with reality. While fewer prime age men (ages 25-54) men are working today than in 2000, the share of prime age women has fallen by almost the same amount. Furthermore, the percent of prime age women working had been rising prior to 2000 and was projected to continue to rise by most economists.
The fact that women's employment rates have fallen as well is important because it indicates that, contrary to what Brooks tells us, the problem is not a gender specific moral failing. The problem is most likely a good old-fashioned shortfall in demand in the economy.
This matters a great deal because we actually do know how to create more demand. It's called "spending money."...Yeah, but this crazy idea of "spending money" is in direct conflict with Mr. Brooks' top priority of "cut my taxes", so again, don't expect it to become part of our national dialogue anytime soon.
10 comments:
Gotterdammerung is unfolding. Maybe in the post-apocalyptic world the slit trenches that replace our indoor plumbing will be called Bobo's. Then it will all be worth it.
Well, so much for pathos.
The people who take DFB's dribble as insightful truth and/or social critique are the ones who have won socially, economically, governmentally, pretty much every year since at least Ronald Reagan.
I really like to know how someone, who governmental policy has focused on benefitting for 30+ years, can have the massive delusional balls to think that while driving their Lexus from their upper east side/suburban Virginia/spawling Midwestern exburb/etc. home to their Vermont/OBX/Aspen/etc. vacation home that their social-economic situation is bad and getting worse.
The souless in search of a soul.
The DFB saga edition.
Even Trump is having a rough time of it.
He called Bannon at 4:11 AM. Woke him up to ask if he thinks Brooks is a NYT's stinky poo poo pants loyalist like Vietnam war hero Ted Nugent or if he is one of the dirty stinking long haired wascally Liberals who are the enemy like CNN or the MSNBc.
It is ashamed Americans will soon abandon the righteous truthiness news of Breitbart and Infowars and worship the RT.
Rushbo and hannity's days are numbered.
I understand completely the Trump poser delima on this one.
But the competition for news is going to be rough between the long dragged out truth that no one talks about on RT, and the short illusion of grandjure in a #am Trump tweet.
Foc may just have to succumb to RT as well.
But Brooks, the soul searching in the NYT continues.
"where is the social movement that is thinking about the fundamentals of this century’s bad start and envisions an alternate path? Who has a compelling plan to boost economic growth? If Trump is not the answer, what is?"
LIBERALS. They're called LIBERALS.
I can still get blown away by this doofus. He's basically saying "every opinion that's been allowed in national media hasn't worked". Putting strong liberals on TV now represents Brooks getting what he wants and he still won't allow it.
My metaphor of DFB's latest column is that he's re-writing yet another eulogy for a man he helped murder, wailing over how horrible it is that the man is gone.
Who will replace this man, Mr. Brooks? The answer is a man or woman, whom you will endeavor to kill, then show up at the funeral, consoling the bereaved and eating the free food.
What Brooks does not say is that, if there is stagnation, its roots are in Republican austerity economics.
At this point, to get the economy going again, we need more public spending to put money in the hands of lower income consumers. But the Republicans are having nothing to do with that.
Pickety pretty much proved that wealth under capitalism inevitably winds up in the hands of the few. It should be government's job to spread it around. What's that line about money? It's like manure. Pile it up in one place and it stinks. Spread it around and it's fertilizer.
Remember the great sequester of 2013? It's butchering the sciences. I work at a university. I have seen the bloodshed. Look no farther than that, David Brooks, for your decreased innovation.
Fuck the Republicans. Their greed and their crackpot austerity economics are killing the goose that laid the golden egg!
The entire show better be why a fool Like Milo is in the news at all. Left wing billionaires fund things like the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation right wing billionaires fund asshats like Milo to be dicks online and they get paid for it.
Jeff Gannon, SE Cupp, Milo Tucker Carlson are all the same. Milo would never be in print or TV if he was a lefty gay.
Did you see how many Microphones he had in front of him at his press conference today that in it self was disgusting!
Odonnell has on the Defrocked FOX conservative George will.
Schuck Todd bring on the one guy that can tell us how it is, "Mr man on Dog".
And what does Greata do with her new found freedom from Ailes?
Glad you asked,
She had a deep down journalistic craving to bring on Jim DeMutt (from heritage family farm).
The damn walking dead are everywhere and in herds of hordes.
So just in case you didn't know that already, there's a link to this post in the Rude Pundit's post today. I was reading it and thinking "Maybe I should drop a link to this over at Driftglass' place" when Hey! there's a link TO Driftglass' place.
-Doug in Oakland
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