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The Game Changer: "Spending Freeze"
McCain proposed a spending freeze (except for defense and entitlements).
In a time in which credit markets are frozen, unemployment is up, and the nation (and world) are on the bring of a calamitous meltdown.
This puts McCain squarely with Herbert Hoover, and against FDR and Keynes. Does it not put hin against pretty much every reputable economist, and show his utter cluelessness about economic affairs. Should this not be a lead point of attack tomorrow?
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Comments (16)
It better be.
September 27, 2008 12:26 AM | Reply | Permalink
Better title: Macro Gaffe.
September 27, 2008 3:33 AM | Reply | Permalink
Subliminability - well posted! I turned to my wife and said the same thing last night.
Worst possible policy at the worst time. Consumers can't spend us out of it. Monetary policy is already pretty loose (2%) and doesn't have much room to fall; inflation is up, and the RE market is falling. Sound like Japan in the 1990s?
Perhaps McCain will start calling for tarrifs? Anyone? Anyone?
September 27, 2008 12:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
I had the same thought as you and AlaskaSense when I hear McCain say that last night. It sounded like an echo of Nixon's old Whip Inflation Now wage and price controls. Antique, to say the least.
Worse, it shows something else about McCain:
As with his emphasis on Iraq over Afghanistan, $18 billion in earmarks over $300 million in corporate tax breaks, and style over Palin's substance, the spending freeze proposal demonstrates the tunnel-vision of McCain's thought processes. He cannot see the forest for the trees.
September 27, 2008 1:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think it puts McCain in with North Korea's "Dear Leaders." He'll institute a spending freeze while his friends in the moneyed elite rake in the bailout cash.
September 27, 2008 1:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
I did't tape the debate, but my impression, when Lehrer pushed the candidates for how they'd control spending, is that McCain came up with the freeze idea at that exact moment. Judging from his facial expression, I told the people I viewed the debate with that McCain just popped that out. I've never heard him mention that before.
A good way to make policy, eh? Someone applies a little pressure, he pops out a response, and now he's stuck with the result. He picked his VP in the same manner.
September 27, 2008 2:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
And that wasn't the only moment he had like that. Like when he said "uhh-- sure" to voting for the bailout compromise just to get Jim Lehrer to let him go onto something else. Or the bit with the "two tax plans, let people choose"-- that's an actual established policy position you can find on McCain's website, but the way he described it was so confused, mumbly and incoherent that if you didn't know that going in you'd think he was making it up as he went.
All of his one-liners sounded painfully rehearsed and his policy positions sounded bizarrely improvisational, like he was thinking about the economy for the very first time at this debate.
September 27, 2008 4:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
I agree. It seemed like something the former teacher's pet would pipe up with when seeing that another student was taking his place through solid, diligent work rather than self-aggrandizement.
Here's the scene after John realizes his role has been jeopardized by Barack, because Barack had helped several other students study for a test to help them get better grades. But it was the other students who had told the teacher, not Barack.
"And class, how can we work to get students to keep the playground clean at recess?"
"Me! Me!"
"Yes, John. What do you suggest?"
"Stop letting anyone eat snacks at recess! Then there won't be anything to litter with!"
"Okay. Anyone else? Barack?"
"I think we should encourage the students who don't litter by recognizing their habits publicly. And then the students who don't litter might tell the litterbugs how good it feels to throw trash away, and the ones who litter might see that they'll be appreciated if they throw their trash away."
September 27, 2008 9:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
McCain should have to get a stuntman union card.
September 27, 2008 4:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
McCain shot down his own de-regulating theory when he claimed Iran hadf a lousy economy because they had a lousy government.
September 27, 2008 6:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
I laughed my ass off when he said lousy government = lousy economy. Yeah, Butch, that's why we want to get rid of you and your crowd.
I agree that the spending freeze remark just popped out. I imagined his advisors cringed when he said that.
September 27, 2008 7:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
So you think a lousy gov't will lead to a great economy? It isn't about the need for regulation, as Tom Wrong seems to think. Bad regulations, high taxes, and corruption make a bad gov't, it's what is known as 'the Carter Administration' to non-economists. Freezing the insane rate of growth in gov't spending (from 1 Trillion in 1991 to 3.3 Trillion today) is not a bad idea. If you think more spending will help the economy, then let's attack Iran. That should cost a few more bucks and help things out.
September 27, 2008 7:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hey, now you're getting personal, so I'll have to start addressing you as a pit bull with lipstick.
I of course agree with lousy G = lousy E. The point was McCain's crowd arguing no G = good E. Right now we see lousy G = lousy economy here, so it makes sense it works that way in Iran.
September 27, 2008 9:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
We will probably need to spend more, to get out of this mess.
McCain's 1980s Reaganomics are woefully misplaced.
September 27, 2008 8:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
Why haven't MSM picked up the "spending freeze" remark and asked more about it. I would like to know what he was thinking about. Is it really going to be only defense that remains unfrozen? Can Greg ask for clarification from the staffers? Why isn't there more out there about this? And why do I end up asking for more information like this a lot when it comes to McCain.
By the way picked this up at the Huff. Maybe the VP debate won't be as festive as I thought.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/27/vice-presidential-debate_n_129907.html
September 27, 2008 9:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, I heard him say that and immediately thought, "WTF?" Suspend your campaign. Spending freeze. This guy is totally incompetent. You can't call time-out on everything until you get it figured out. He's not fit to lead.
September 27, 2008 10:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
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