Paralyzed Dems Ignore Slow-Burn Crises: Krugman

By Jason Farago, Newser Staff

Posted Jul 13, 2009 6:56 AM CDT

(Newser) – When the economic crisis turned terrifying last winter, Washington finally got its act together and passed a massive stimulus package. But now, writes New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, the US faces a slower but more dangerous "jobless recovery" over the next few years and an "utterly terrifying" climate crisis decades out. Faced with these long-term dangers, the government is acting like the metaphorical "boiling frog"—unaware that it's slowly dying.

Double-digit unemployment in the medium term and disastrous temperature rises in the long term are no longer the opinions of "economic Cassandras," but the consensus of scholars and scientists. Yet even the most progressive American government in generations can't or won't respond to the slow-burn catastrophes that lie ahead. "Right now," says Krugman, "both the economic and the environmental frogs are sitting still while the water gets hotter."

[Images (3)]

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Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger discusses the first highway project to be funded solely by the new stimulus, near Fairfield, Calif. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi in the Rose Garden of the White House, Tuesday, May 19, 2009. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, right, talks with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid during a news conference about the Obama administration's first 100 days on Wednesday, April 29, 2009, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

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Millions of Americans will lose their savings, their homes and more. But neither Congress nor, alas, the Obama administration is showing any inclination to act. Now that the free fall is over, all sense of urgency seems to have vanished. -

Democrats have a popular president to lead them, a large majority in the House of Representatives and 60 votes in the Senate. So if we can’t get action to head off disaster now, what would it take? - Paul Krugman

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