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Turning the "Fiscal Cliff" to our advantage | 9 comments (9 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)
Re: Turning the "Fiscal Cliff" (4.00 / 2)
No, that is only one question. What he wants to do within that frame also matters a great deal in the US system. Since he is a neoliberal, the "responsible" thing to do in his mental model is an irresponsible level of austerity.

I've been accused of being a Marxist, yet while Harpo's my favourite, it's Groucho I'm always quoting. Odd, that.
by BruceMcF (agila61 at netscape dot net) on Sat Nov 17th, 2012 at 01:47:39 AM EST
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Re: Turning the "Fiscal Cliff" (none / 0)
I think the jury is still out as to whether he is truly a neo-liberal. Of course he doesn't challenge their framing - he didn't challenge Romney in the debates when he said "the Government can't create jobs" - but I suspect that may be merely tactical. He had other smaller fish to fry (and win on) without taking on the entire paradigm hat is conventional wisdom in the US and which includes most of the Democratic party at this point. In politics, as in community organising, you go for the battles you can win and pay for a draw on the battles you can't. No point in fighting on their turf.  Changing the conventional wisdom will take decades, and I suspect Obama is playing a good long as well as as a good short game.

Index of Frank's Diaries
by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot male dotty communists) on Sat Nov 17th, 2012 at 06:50:26 AM EST
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Re: Turning the "Fiscal Cliff" (none / 1)
Agreed.  If he were truly a neo-liberal at heart, I don't think there would have been a stimulus package at all - lord knows he has gained little but flack over that.
by Zwackus on Sat Nov 17th, 2012 at 10:21:33 PM EST
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Re: Turning the "Fiscal Cliff" (4.00 / 2)
It's always hard to tell if a politician is pandering to his base, doing what he wants or going along with institutional reality. The stimulus might have been the former.

Naked Capitalism recently linked this from 2007:

Eschaton: There Is No Crisis

I imagine some readers who haven't been hanging around these parts for all that long might have justifiably been puzzled at the reaction to Obama's decision to try to make dealing with Social Security his signature attack on Clinton. It's true that Obama didn't assert that there was some huge crisis. But the fact remains that he put the idea out there that Social Security had a "problem" which needs to be fixed and that any serious presidential candidate needs to address the issue in clear detail.
by generic on Sun Nov 18th, 2012 at 07:00:41 AM EST
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Re: Turning the "Fiscal Cliff" (4.00 / 3)
Many of the serious neo-liberals were calling for Stimulus in 2008/2009, and the stimulus itself was far more in line with the size and structure of what they were calling for than what real world economists were calling for.

Its hard for me to credit that the jury is still out on evidence that was already out there for public consumption from his Illinois Senate and Democratic Presidential primary campaigns. It would, for instance, have been the easiest thing in the world for Obama to oppose the corporate trade agreements when running in Democratic primaries in 2008, and yet he was willing to take the heat for supporting them.


I've been accused of being a Marxist, yet while Harpo's my favourite, it's Groucho I'm always quoting. Odd, that.

by BruceMcF (agila61 at netscape dot net) on Sun Nov 18th, 2012 at 12:21:05 PM EST
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Turning the "Fiscal Cliff" to our advantage | 9 comments (9 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)
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