A Tale of Two Quotes (Three, In Fact)
“You’ve heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession. We may have a recession; we haven’t had one yet. We have sort of become a nation of whiners. You just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline.”
–Professional Idiot Phil Gramm, July 2008
“A trillion is not a ‘bleak’ number, per se. It’s just a number. We might need two trillion. Deficits have to grow. They will grow. Please get used to it.”
–Professional Idiot James Galbraith, February 2009
What exactly is the substantive difference between these two quotes? Is there any? And what exactly is the tonal difference? Is there any? Is Galbraith’s arrogance — You’re mad as hell but you’ll keep taking it more and more… — any less condescending than Gramm’s?
Now recall the backlash to Gramm’s dumb statement and keep an eye out for the backlash — if any — from Galbraith’s dumb statement.
I suspect you’ll be waiting awhile — unless you’re watching CNBC.
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And don’t forget:
Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial we have always been and continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards.
–Professional Idiot Eric Holder, February 2009
This may somehow be “change,” but I certainly can’t believe in it.
Filed under: Economics & Finance, Politics, Society, Religion, Culture Wars, Taxation & Fiscal Policy