The German Political Theorist Who Explains What’s Happening in Washington
Carl Schmitt, a Third Reich jurist and philosopher, saw politics as a life-and-death battle against enemies and democracy as dispensable. By Robert J. Shapiro Americans are, of course, deeply divided today over race, gender, immigration, religion, and other differences that define us as a people and political culture. These cleavages have existed throughout American history, but in their current iterations,… Continue reading
The Financial Crisis and Crony Capitalism
The financial crisis and the profound economic reversals reverberating around the globe caught up last week with Citigroup, the world's largest financial institution. Citigroup is still solvent, but it holds several hundred billion dollars of heavily-leveraged, troubled assets — and once the market began to focus on the potential losses, as it did last week, the bailout became a foregone…Continue reading
If Detroit Goes Down, Will It Take the Economy —…
In a remarkable spectacle, an Administration with a sustained record of economic blunders and failures finds itself aghast at the mistakes and mismanagement of U.S. automobile companies. Imagine Confederate General John Pemberton, after leading his forces to an historic defeat at Vicksburg, dismissing his cook for squandering the rum rations. Yes, America’s big three automobile makers (with an assist from…Continue reading
It’s 1980 again, not 1932
While nearly everyone recognizes that the current financial crisis is the worst since the Great Depression, the economic challenges and the changes in the political landscape hearken back more to 1980 than to 1932. The distinction matters, because a misplaced metaphor or inapt historical analogy that takes hold of the political imagination can produce serious missteps. In 1932 and 1980…Continue reading
Stimulus for the Long Run
When Congress returns to Washington following the election, its first priority will be to pass another stimulus package for the sinking economy. It’s already clear that the package will involve about $200 billion in new stimulus or a boost equal to about 1.4 percent of GDP. The question is what form should the package take. The path of least political…Continue reading
Who’s in Charge?
As American tangle with an accelerating economic downturn, scarily-volatile stock markets, and an array of bailout and other emergency programs, yet another pitfall has become apparent: There’s no one at the helm of the economy or efforts to help it. President George W. Bush is nearly entirely absent, the Treasury Secretary cannot commit the nation to new policies, and now…Continue reading
Nothing to Fear More than Fear Itself
Congress tried late last week to stall the financial crisis by pledging to spend $700 billion on devalued securities held by financial institutions, and by Monday morning it was clear that the pledge wasn’t enough to reassure investors or restart lending. Instead, a classic panic has set in here and around much of the world as public confidence in banks,…Continue reading
Congress Acts: A Little Better Than Nothing
The $750 trillion bailout plan that the Senate approved, and which the House is expected to endorse reluctantly, could give us all a little more breathing room in the current economic crisis, but it won’t resolve anything. It’s much the same plan the House voted down a few days ago, with a bushel of tax breaks calculated to draw more…Continue reading
It’s a Bad Bailout
Congress is now embroiled in an important and passionate debate about the Bush Administration’s rescue-bailout plan. Get past the anxiety, and it seems clear that the plan will not resolve the underlying problems driving the crisis, the deterioration of the housing market. And in another instance of the Bush economic doctrine, it would transfer untold billions of dollars from ordinary…Continue reading