http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/28/opinion/krugman-the-path-not-taken.html?nl =todaysheadlines <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/28/opinion/krugman-the-path-not-taken.html?n l=todaysheadlines&emc=tha212> &emc=tha212 The Path Not Taken "But a funny thing happened on the way to economic Armageddon: Iceland's very desperation made conventional behavior impossible, freeing the nation to break the rules. Where everyone else bailed out the bankers and made the public pay the price, Iceland let the banks go bust and actually expanded its social safety net. Where everyone else was fixated on trying to placate international investors, Iceland imposed temporary controls on the movement of capital to give itself room to maneuver. " Paul Krugman NY Times Op-Ed: October 28, 2011 REYKJAVIK, Iceland
Financial markets are cheering the deal that emerged from Brussels early Thursday morning. Indeed, relative to what could have happened - an acrimonious failure to agree on anything - the fact that European leaders agreed on something, however vague the details and however inadequate it may prove, is a positive development. But it's worth stepping back to look at the larger picture, namely the abject failure of an economic doctrine - a doctrine that has inflicted huge damage both in Europe and in the United States. The doctrine in question amounts to the assertion that, in the aftermath of a financial crisis, banks must be bailed out but the general public must pay the price. So a crisis brought on by deregulation becomes a reason to move even further to the right; a time of mass unemployment, instead of spurring public efforts to create jobs, becomes an era of austerity, in which government spending and social programs are slashed. This doctrine was sold both with claims that there was no alternative - that both bailouts and spending cuts were necessary to satisfy financial markets - and with claims that fiscal austerity would actually create jobs. The idea was that spending cuts would make consumers and businesses more confident. And this confidence would supposedly stimulate private spending, more than offsetting the depressing effects of government cutbacks. Some economists weren't convinced. One caustic critic referred to claims about the expansionary effects of austerity as amounting to belief in the "confidence fairy." O.K., that was me. But the doctrine has, nonetheless, been extremely influential. Expansionary austerity, in particular, has been championed both by Republicans in Congress and by the European Central Bank, which last year urged all European governments - not just those in fiscal distress - to engage in "fiscal consolidation." And when David Cameron became Britain's prime minster last year, he immediately embarked on a program of spending cuts in the belief that this would actually boost the economy - a decision that was greeted with fawning praise by many American pundits. Now, however, the results are in, and the picture isn't pretty. Greece has been pushed by its austerity measures into an ever-deepening slump - and that slump, not lack of effort on the part of the Greek government, was the reason a classified report to European leaders concluded last week that the existing program there was unworkable. Britain's economy has stalled under the impact of austerity, and confidence from both businesses and consumers has slumped, not soared. Maybe the most telling thing is what now passes for a success story. A few months ago various pundits began hailing the achievements of Latvia, which in the aftermath of a terrible recession, nonetheless, managed to reduce its budget deficit and convince markets that it was fiscally sound. That was, indeed, impressive, but it came at the cost of 16 percent unemployment and an economy that, while finally growing, is still 18 percent smaller than it was before the crisis. So bailing out the banks while punishing workers is not, in fact, a recipe for prosperity. But was there any alternative? Well, that's why I'm in Iceland, attending a conference about the country that did something different. If you've been reading accounts of the financial crisis, or watching film treatments like the excellent "Inside Job," you know that Iceland was supposed to be the ultimate economic disaster story: its runaway bankers saddled the country with huge debts and seemed to leave the nation in a hopeless position. But a funny thing happened on the way to economic Armageddon: Iceland's very desperation made conventional behavior impossible, freeing the nation to break the rules. Where everyone else bailed out the bankers and made the public pay the price, Iceland let the banks go bust and actually expanded its social safety net. Where everyone else was fixated on trying to placate international investors, Iceland imposed temporary controls on the movement of capital to give itself room to maneuver. So how's it going? Iceland hasn't avoided major economic damage or a significant drop in living standards. But it has managed to limit both the rise in unemployment and the suffering of the most vulnerable; the social safety net has survived intact, as has the basic decency of its society. "Things could have been a lot worse" may not be the most stirring of slogans, but when everyone expected utter disaster, it amounts to a policy triumph. And there's a lesson here for the rest of us: The suffering that so many of our citizens are facing is unnecessary. If this is a time of incredible pain and a much harsher society, that was a choice. It didn't and doesn't have to be this way. *** http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/28/us/veterans-injury-at-occupy-protest-promp ts-outrage.html?_r=1 <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/28/us/veterans-injury-at-occupy-protest-prom pts-outrage.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha23> &nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha23 Outrage Over Veteran Injured at 'Occupy' Protest <http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2011/10/28/us/OAKLAND/OAKLAND-articleLa rge.jpg> Justin Sullivan/Getty Images A sign Wednesday in Oakland, Calif., refers to Scott Olsen, an Iraq war veteran who suffered a fractured skull Tuesday in an Occupy Oakland clash with the police. <http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2011/10/26/us/20111027_OCCUPY.html> More Photos > By <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/m/jesse_mckinley /index.html?inline=nyt-per> Jesse Mckinly and Malia Wollan NY Times: October 28, 2010 OAKLAND, Calif. - For supporters of the <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/o/occupy_ wall_street/index.html> Occupy Wall Street movement, whose diffuse anger has been a defining and sometimes distracting characteristic, the wounding of an Iraq war veteran here has provided a powerful central rallying point. The veteran, Scott Olsen, 24, was critically injured on Tuesday night when he was hit in the head with a projectile thrown or shot by law enforcement officers combating protesters trying to re-enter a downtown plaza that had been cleared of an encampment earlier in the day. Mr. Olsen, who served two tours of duty in Iraq as a Marine, suffered a fractured skull. And while Mr. Olsen's condition has since improved, his injury - and the oddity of a Marine who faced enemy fire only to be attacked at home - has prompted an outpouring of sympathy, as well as calls for solidarity among the scores of Occupy encampments around the nation. On Thursday night, camps in several major cities - including New York, Chicago and Philadelphia - were expected to participate in a vigil for Mr. Olsen, according to <http://ivaw.org/> Iraq Veterans Against the War, of which he is a member. "I think people would have been outraged even had this been a civilian," said Jose Vasquez, the group's executive director, "but the fact that he survived two tours of duty and then to have this happen to him, people are really upset about that." Friends of Mr. Olsen - who worked in computer systems at a Bay Area technology company - said that he had eagerly joined the Occupy movement, heading to the San Francisco camp after work and sleeping on the streets in solidarity with the campers there. He was in Oakland on Tuesday to take part in the demonstration there. "He was loving it," said Jason Matherne, a fellow Iraq war veteran who met Mr. Olsen several months ago. "I think he believed that corporate greed needs to end, and I think he felt the war economy was part of that." <http://youtu.be/OZLyUK0t0vQ> Video of Mr. Olsen, lying bleeding and stunned, has been shown on the Internet and on television news reports, though what exactly hit him remained unclear. But Joshua Shepherd, 27, another veteran, said there had been a "barrage of police tear gas canisters flying everywhere." "I did not know Scott had been hit," Mr. Shepherd said. "People dragged him away." Since the skirmish, which resulted in more than 100 arrests, several liberal groups - including Amnesty International - have condemned the use of tear gas as well as the actions of Mayor Jean Quan of Oakland, who said the measures were justified because protesters threw rocks. The Oakland police have since promised an investigation, and Ms. Quan repeated on Wednesday that Oakland is a "very progressive city" that supports the goals of Occupy Wall Street. But petitions were already circulating calling for the resignation of Oakland's interim police chief, Howard Jordan. Some 3,000 people gathered peaceably on Wednesday night, debating the merits of calling a general strike in Oakland next week, echoing calls from some Occupy supporters for a national strike. That event was followed by a march through downtown. Unlike Tuesday night, the Oakland police kept their distance. Outside City Hall on Thursday, meanwhile, several tents had once again sprung up on the contested campground, after protesters removed a police barricade the night before. Nearby, a makeshift tribute to Mr. Olsen had been built around a flagpole, with the words "Pray 4 Scott" chalked onto the pavement. A handful of protesters also stood guard, including Joann Herr, 60, of Oakland, who said Mr. Olsen's injury had enraged her. "I was mad," Ms. Herr said. "How could you not be?" [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:[email protected]?subject=laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
