Paul Krugman

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

Some people I talk to still seem a bit at sea on the economics of the pandemic, the role of government aid, etc. So a few notes inspired by Guerrieri et al but less technical 1/ https://t.co/gbtEAQAwMu — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

Pretty sure these numbers are distorted by differing efficiency of states in processing claims. PA is processing fast; FL is a mess, so the recorded claims greatly understate how bad things are — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

RT @ASlavitt: Hanging garlic on your neck is now officially not the worst idea to fight Coronavirus. — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

The senator from a massively subsidized state decries “blue state bailouts” https://t.co/Ggz1w7ouoF — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

I wrote a note on regional inequality last fall; pp. 10-11 discuss the US transfer union and how it leads to the massive subsidization of red states by blue states 3/ https://t.co/aF4fYyDCxy — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

This amounted to 18.6% of Kentucky's GDP. That's comparable to the amount of foreign aid that goes to poor countries in Africa 2/ https://t.co/wFazDLXSto — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

Cuomo is using Rockefeller Institute numbers here; they show that from 2015 to 2018 KY received net federal aid of $33,000 for every man, woman, and child in the state 1/ https://t.co/LsgtPgRsr2 — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

RT @NYGovCuomo: Let’s talk about fairness, Mitch. NYS puts $116 billion more into the federal pot than we take out. Kentucky TAKES $148 b… — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

I've been wondering how DeSantis's Florida — surely very hard hit by the loss of tourism and entertainment income — would deal with the budget implications. The answer is, carefully avoid looking at the numbers https://t.co/c8WtlHaAPY — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

Also worth pointing out that red states receive large de facto net aid via the federal budget on a regular basis. Using Rockefeller Institute data, I estimated this aid as% of GDP. Guess who tops the list? https://t.co/Zg8x7hfysD — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

I’ve been suggesting we call it Potemkin populism. Rent-a-mobs simulating grassroots anger — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

Probably not the first person to say this, but the headline writes itself: MCCONNELL TO EVERY STATE: DROP DEAD https://t.co/eURKbpYoJ8 — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

And actors portraying Nixon, Carter, Ford, and Reagan ... 2/ https://t.co/tI5NoiNT0U — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

Sorry, but this scene reminded me of the library groundbreaking scene from Hot Shots: Part Deux, featuring Lloyd Bridges as President Benson ... 1/ https://t.co/8KSupRWI1N — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

Worse, he actually takes responsibility for things. Doesn't he know that real leaders deny any responsibility for bad things, while claiming credit for everything good? 2/ https://t.co/cSLHKnrAL8 — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

Elitist! Real Americans (TM) think it's always time to act stupidly 1/ https://t.co/fLNncBilQS — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

RT @mmurraypolitics: As the political debate has turned to whether or not to reopen the economy, we've lost sight of a much bigger story.… — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

RT @stone_lis: Economist @paulkrugman said the federal government’s fiscal response to the coronavirus pandemic has been “way insufficient”… — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

The real target here, I'd say, is the news media, which right-wing networks hope will be fooled into believing that they're seeing a mass movement — and, to some extent, governors they hope can be similarly fooled. Don't fall for it! 6/ — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

Much less clear that there's anything comparable now. Seniors, the mainstay of the Tea Party, have little stake in reopening businesses and are justifiably afraid of the virus. They are far less supportive of Republicans than in the past 5/ https://t.co/FZaFr3O8Yt — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

But there was also a genuine if nasty form of populism involved in the Tea Party, which consisted largely of older white men who believed that Obama was going to take their money and give it to Those People 4/ https://t.co/dDQTiAQSyY — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

To careless observers, these protests looked like the 2010 Tea Party, which is no accident — they were staged events *designed* to look that way. And to be fair, there was a lot of astroturf involved in the original Tea Party stuff too 3/ — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

Genuine public opinion strongly supports maintaining the quarantine 2/ https://t.co/3MKCMyHb7d — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

So it took a few days, but the media seem to be realizing that the anti-quarantine protests aren't a real grassroots uprising; they're Potemkin populism staged by right-wing billionaires 1/ https://t.co/qdDxuIFsdz — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

https://t.co/BMpYLVYoIo — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

As best I can tell, the Stone Center is located where the store used to sell "Spare parts for young men." Sounds ominous 2/ https://t.co/OSJKZrNld5 — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

Curious although unimportant fact: the CUNY Grad Center, where I teach and have my office, is in the building that used to house B. Altman's. 1/ https://t.co/F2RIFtk07b — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

Yes, Virginia (and other states), the "grassroots" uprising against lockdowns is astroturf funded by the usual right-wing suspects. Shame on any commentators who didn't realize that from the start https://t.co/qdDxuIFsdz — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

Important because if Biden wins, you know that Republicans will suddenly rediscover their former conviction that debt is a horrible existential threat, and that social spending must be cut. I hope centrists don't fall for this scam again (although they probably will) 3/ — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

What we did then was just let the debt/GDP ratio erode over time as the economy grew. This is really easy to do when interest rates are below growth rates, which they normally are 2/ — PolitiTweet.org