KRUGMAN: Obama's Wimp-Out On Ozone Will Actually Hurt The Economy

I don't like the tenor of the article that follows. Having said that Krugman is a dinosaur.

Mike Ruppert's comments are very apt. -

"Collapse in the Infinite Growth paradigm means that aggressive destruction of the environment and the planetary ecosystem will accelerate as the profit priority overrides all sense and removes all restraints on raping the planet and killing its life. This has nothing to do with partisanship. It has everything to do with both parties' unyielding obedience and loyalty to Infinite Growth... the real master of the Old Paradigm". -- MCR

Business Insider

Sepember 3, 2011

Late this week, President Obama stunned the EPA and environmentalists by dropping plans to tighten Bush-era ozone standards.

His logic?

Tighter rules would increase the "regulatory burden" that Republicans blame for the crappy economy.

Paul Krugman says this is yet another example of Obama wimping out in the hopes that Republicans will stop attacking him. He also argues that the move will actually hurt the economy.

Why will not tightening ozone rules hurt the economy?

Because tighter rules, Krugman argues, would have forced companies to spend money to improve their pollution control equipment. This spending would have boosted the revenue of companies that make the pollution control equipment, encouraging them to pay their people more and hire more people. The people hired would spend some of the money they made. And that, in turn, would help pump some life back into the economy.

And it's not as if companies can't afford to upgrade their pollution-control equipment, Krugman points out. They're sitting on mountains of cash.

Krugman's view on this is based on his belief--which is becoming more self-evident by the day--that the problem with the economy has nothing to do with businesses being throttled by excessive regulation.


The problem in the economy is that the biggest spenders in the economy, consumers, are broke, so there's no customer demand. And that means that the spending necessary to revive the economy needs to come from somewhere else--the government and the rich companies themselves.

In other words, companies are not spending this cash because consumers aren't spending. And consumers can't spend, because they're trying to reduce their debts. So the only source of private-sector spending that can help the economy, Krugman argues, is companies spending on capital equipment and other business investment.

And tighter ozone rules would have forced such spending.

So, Krugman argues, Obama's latest cave in the name of helping the economy will actually hurt it.

For Paul Krugman’s article GO HERE

Also, from the Guardian

Obama backs down on tighter smog regulations

Environmental groups dismayed as president – under pressure from GOP – delays enacting stricter standards until 2013

Barack Obama has bowed to pressure from Republicans in Congress to postpone plans to introduce tighter controls over smog-producing companies.

The decision provoked expressions of dismay among environmental groups campaigning for cleaner air.

The retreat will add to the growing perception among voters that Obama is a weak president, reluctant to stand up to the Republicans. Obama had insisted he was intent on pushing ahead with tougher rules to force businesses to reduce concentrations of ground-level ozone.

For article GO HERE