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SullivanSt's avatar

"Structural unemployment" isn't code for "you poors are lazy", it's code for "we're not gonna do shit to fix this mess, so suck it up losers"

Were they not right-wingers, they would be unable to simultaneously believe that unemployment is all Obama's fault <em>and</em> an inherent feature of the system. But they're right-wingers, so they're entirely oblivious to the mutual exclusivity of those two concepts, both of which are in fact false.

Krugman's written several columns over the last four years trying to prevent a belief in "structural" unemployment because of the long-term damage (a "lost decade" or several) likely to be caused by policies formed by believers in such a myth.

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bobbert's avatar

"Our economic opportunities are limited only by the impediments that government (taxes, stifling regulation, etc.) and individuals (lack of skills and work ethic) impose."

Okay, for taxes, how about this: Reduce the maximum income tax rate to, say, 20%. In exchange, increase the inheritance tax rate to 100%.

Because, according to Jennifer Rubin, our "economic opportunities" are apparently not influenced by our ancestors' economic success, at all.

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