My new post: the economic crisis caused by the novel coronavirus demands a bold response, both short-term measures aimed at recovery and long-term measures aimed at sustainability & resilience. I tried to pull all those measures together in one place. vox.com/energy-and-env…
The philosophers ask, could god create a rock so heavy that even he could not lift it? Could drvox write a post so f'ing long that even he could not read and summarize it?
My favorite thing today has been closing all the tabs I had open for my latest post. There were over 300, which is a new personal record and possibly also evidence of some kind of psychological disorder.
1. A quick thread, picking up on something in my piece today (it was near the end, around word 6000000, so it's unlikely anyone got to it).
Let's talk about the bizarre political dynamic that has developed around recovery/stimulus efforts.
Let's talk about the bizarre political dynamic that has developed around recovery/stimulus efforts.
2. As polisci devotees know, voters tend to blame the president & his party for anything that happens under an administration (even, like, hurricanes & shark attacks). Republicans understood this very well in 2010, when Obama came back asking for more stimulus.
3. They knew if they stiff-armed him & the economy consequently suffered, it was he & the Ds that would face backlash from angry voters, not them. And sure enough, that's exactly how it played out. (Even *Ds* tend to blame Obama for too-small stimulus.)
4. Now, the shoe's on the other foot. Trump & the Rs are in charge. If recovery/stimulus is inadequate & the economy suffers, it is Trump & the Rs who will be blamed. They have every political incentive to pass the biggest, most effective stimulus possible. It's a no-brainer!
5. And yet! Once again, it is Ds fighting for bigger, more effective stimulus & Rs fighting for smaller, more corrupt, less equitable, less effective stimulus. Rs are trying to shoot themselves (& the country) in the foot & Ds are trying to stop them.
6. Why is this? Well, one explanation is that Ds are public-spirited & actually want to help people, even when it tacks against their immediate political interests. And Rs have spent so much time marinating in their media bubble that they have become ...
7. ... unable to identify their best interests or adapt to circumstances. The thuggishness, corruption, & depthless passion for owning the libs are automatic now, not decisions anyone makes. They are the only responses available; there's no one at the wheel.
8. Perhaps you think that explanation is "partisan" or naive or something. If so, I'm genuinely curious what the alternate explanation is. What is the political calculus driving Rs to shrink & diminish the stimulus that represents their only chance to save their asses?
9. I mean, even if there were Rs who could look ahead a few steps & make short-term tactical sacrifices in service of long-term goals ... they would be powerless, because the party is now tied to the mercurial lurchings of Donald Trump, who is incapable of long-term thinking.
10. Anyway, I just think it's odd that Ds are fighting to save the country, even though it could cost them the election, and Rs are fighting to shortchange workers & heap favors on corporate friends, even though they are cruising toward electoral armageddon. </fin>
Good info. Much more than this will eventually be needed.
