David McElroy

More communication is supposed to lead to people getting along better. That’s what I’ve always heard. But when it comes to political communication in this increasingly polarized country, there’s no understanding. There’s less and less attempt by people to understand each other. Instead, there’s more hatred.

I browse strongly partisan websites every now and then just to get an idea about what people on both sides of the mainstream are saying. Every time I do, it seems to leave me feeling physically ill and emotionally numb, because the partisans of the mainstream don’t just disagree with one another. They hate each other.

Have you read what the partisans on both sides have to say about the other? They’re angry and vicious and mean. Much of what they write is unfair and intellectually dishonest. I first added links to four of them — two on each side — but I realized that I don’t want to do that. I’m not trying to make you angrier. I’m trying to get you to look for a solution beyond the anger.

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Retraction: I was fooled by a hoax. A Republican political writer admitted this morning that he created the fake Google+ profile and post that are quoted here. When I posted the item at midnight, other sources were reporting the item as legitimate, too, but I was still inaccurate. If you want to know why I was so sure that it was really Krugman’s view, take a look at what he wrote in the New York Times just three days after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. I’m leaving this posted for more discussion of the topic — either Krugman’s view or the hoax itself — if anyone is interested.

Update: Krugman has made a statement on the hoax.

When an earthquake hit the east coast Tuesday, most people were just happy that there wasn’t much damage done. My favorite idiot economist was instead sorta lamenting the fact that there wasn’t more damage so that rebuilding could “stimulate” the economy more:

“People on twitter might be joking, but in all seriousness, we would see a bigger boost in spending and hence economic growth if the earthquake had done more damage.”

Yes, Paul Krugman is at it again. I’ve talked recently about how these Keynesian acolytes honestly believe that digging ditches and filling them back up helps the economy and I’ve also talked about their idiotic attachment to the notion that breaking things and then fixing them stimulates an economy.

If Krugman were right that random damage is good for the economy, then we ought to knock down cities just for the heck of it. All we’d need to produce full employment is turn loose the guys with wrecking balls.

It’s honestly hard to believe that anybody could still stick to the Keynesian religion. It hasn’t ever worked. It’s not going to ever work. It makes no sense.

When I was walking Lucy this morning, I came across something I’m seeing more often these days. On a street just around the corner from me, a man from the city water utility was at a house to turn the water off. He shut off the meter and left a bright red disconnect tag fluttering on the front doorknob for all the world to see.

People have had money problems ever since there were people and money. Even in good economic times, some people struggle and have trouble paying their bills. With some, it’s a moral failing. With others, there are psychological issues at work. But I’m seeing more people today whose lives are being slammed by the economy who don’t fit the traditional categories. These are people who’ve worked hard and planned their lives, following the advice that responsible people gave about how to make it in the world.

It turns out that much of that advice means nothing today, because nothing seems to work today in the ways “the experts” had expected.

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