“Most people, I suspect, still have in their minds an image of America as the great land of college education, unique in the extent to which higher learning is offered to the population at large. That image used to correspond to reality. But these days young Americans are considerably less likely than young people in many other countries to graduate from college. In fact, we have a college graduation rate that's slightly below the average across all advanced economies.” PeopleMindStillsCountryFactsRealityAmericaYoungUsedEconomyLandCollegeHigherUniqueRateAveragePopulationThese DaysSuspectsGraduatesOther CountriesCollege EducationCollege GraduationHigher Learning Author:Paul Krugman
“For decades the G.O.P. has won elections by appealing to social and racial divisions, only to turn after each victory to deregulation and tax cuts for the wealthy a process that reached its epitome when George W. Bush won re-election by posing as America's defender against gay married terrorists, then announced that he had a mandate to privatize Social Security.” AmericaTurnsSocialProcessCuttingSecurityVictoryGayTaxesMarriedElectionDecadesTerroristWealthyDivisionSocial SecurityDefendersMandatesTax CutsPosingEpitomeDeregulation Author:Paul Krugman
“we should reject the attempt to divert the national conversation away from soaring inequality toward the alleged moral failings of those Americans being left behind. Traditional values aren't as crucial as social conservatives would have you believe and, in any case, the social changes taking place in America's working class are overwhelmingly the consequence of sharply rising inequality, not its cause.” ShouldBelieveAmericaValuesLeftSocialCausesBehindsMoralClassCasesFailingConversationConsequenceTraditionalInequalityRisingRejectsCrucialWorking ClassSoarSocial ChangeLeft BehindTraditional Values Author:Paul Krugman
“I know that when I look at today’s Mexicans and Central Americans, they seem to me fundamentally the same as my grandparents seeking a better life in America. On the other side, however, open immigration can’t coexist with a strong social safety net; if you’re going to assure health care and a decent income to everyone, you can’t make that offer global. So Democrats have mixed feelings about immigration; in fact, it’s an agonizing issue.” IfsKnowsLooksFactsFeelingsSeemsCareTodayAmericaStrongSocialSidesIssuesOffersSafetyDemocratSeekingImmigrationIncomeHealth CareDecentGrandparentBetter LifeCoexistSafety NetAgonizingMixed Feelings Author:Paul Krugman
“Under the gold standard America had no major financial panics other than in 1873, 1884, 1890, 1893, 1907, 1930, 1931, 1932, and 1933.” AmericaMoneyMajorsStandardsGoldFinancialPanic1930sGold Standard Author:Paul Krugman
“I'm especially baffled by the idea of taking insurance against a U.S. default. If America defaults, we're talking about a chaotic world - Mad Max, more or less - in which case, who imagines that insurance claims will be honored?” IfsWorldIdeasAmericaTalkingCasesImagineClaimsMadImagine ThatHonoredMaxChaoticDefaultBaffledMad Max Author:Paul Krugman
“I think if you're a liberal, you believe that we all are, at least to some extent, our brothers' keepers, you really believe that we have a sumptuary responsibility to make sure that life is decent for everybody in America, that you believe that society out to be broadly shared, and you believe that you can't have a real democracy unless you have a little bit, at least, of economic democracy.” IfsThinkingBelieveLittlesRealAmericaLife IsBitsResponsibilityDemocracyEconomicBrotherLittle BitDecentKeepers Author:Paul Krugman
“America's political landscape is infested with many zombie ideas - beliefs about policy that have been repeatedly refuted with evidence and analysis but refuse to die. The most prominent zombie is the insistence that low taxes on rich people are the key to prosperity.” PeopleHas BeensIdeasAmericaPoliticalDiesBeliefRichPolicyKeysTaxesLowsEvidenceProsperityRefuseLandscapeAnalysisZombieRich PeopleProminentInsistence Author:Paul Krugman
“[I]n America, at least, we have a pretty good record for behaving in a fiscally responsible fashion, with one exception - namely, the fiscal irresponsibility that prevails when, and only when, hard-line conservatives are in power.” HardAmericaLinesRecordsFashionResponsibleExceptionIrresponsibilityGood Records Author:Paul Krugman
“The fact is that the two years or so after 9/11 were a terrible time in America – a time of political exploitation and intimidation, culminating in the deliberate misleading of the nation into the invasion of Iraq. It’s probably worth pointing out that I’m not saying anything now that I wasn’t saying in real time back then, when Bush had a sky-high approval rating and any criticism was denounced as treason. And there’s nothing I’ve done in my life of which I’m more proud.” YearsTwoRealDoneFactsAmericaPoliticalNationsSkyProudTerribleCriticismIraqTwo YearsApprovalExploitationPointingDeliberateInvasionMisleadRatingTreasonIntimidationTerrible TimesApproval RatingSky High Author:Paul Krugman
“If you had to explain America's economic success with one word, that word would be "education".... Until now, the results of educational neglect have been gradual - a slow-motion erosion of America's relative position. But things are about to get much worse, as the economic crisis ... deals a severe blow to education across the board.... We need to wake up and realize that one of the keys to our nation's historic success is now a wasting asset. Education made America great; neglect of education can reverse the process.” IfsNeedsHas BeensMadeWould BeAmericaNationsProcessRealizingResultsDealsEducationEconomicPositionKeysWake UpCrisisBlowEducationalBoardsNeglectAssetsRelativeReverseSevereHistoricOne WordErosionEconomic CrisisSlow MotionEconomic Success Author:Paul Krugman
