“Pondering the Pundits” is an Open Thread. It is a selection of editorials and opinions from around the news medium and the internet blogs. The intent is to provide a forum for your reactions and opinions, not just to the opinions presented, but to what ever you find important.
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Joseph Stiglitz: What the US economy needs from Donald Trump
Donald Trump’s astonishing victory in the US presidential election has made one thing abundantly clear: too many Americans – particularly white male Americans – feel left behind. It is not just a feeling, it can be seen in the data no less clearly than in their anger. And, as I have argued repeatedly, an economic system that doesn’t deliver for large parts of the population is a failed economic system. So what should President-elect Trump do about it?
Over the past third of a century, the rules of America’s economic system have been rewritten in ways that serve a few at the top, while harming the economy as a whole, and especially the bottom 80%. The irony of Trump’s victory is that it was the Republican party he now leads that pushed for extreme globalisation and against the policy frameworks that would have mitigated the trauma associated with it. But history matters: China and India are now integrated into the global economy. Besides, technology has been advancing so fast that the number of jobs globally in manufacturing is declining.
The implication is that there is no way Trump can bring a significant number of well-paying manufacturing jobs back to the US. He can bring manufacturing back, through advanced manufacturing, but there will be few jobs. And he can bring jobs back, but they will be low-wage jobs, not the high-paying ones of the 1950s.
If Trump is serious about tackling inequality, he must rewrite the rules yet again, in a way that serves all of society, not just people like him.
Richard (RJ) Eskow: Welcome To Trump Swamp. Please Don’t Feed The Gators.
It’s already a Washington truism that Donald Trump, who promised to “drain the swamp” of lobbyists and others who exploit government for personal gain, has turned to it instead for his key appointments.
It’s true. The reptiles are taking over. Let’s take a tour of the place while we still can.
Welcome to Trump Swamp. Join us on the glass-bottom boat as we gaze on the denizens below. Keep your hands inside the railings — and please don’t feed the gators [..]
What we’re seeing here is nothing new. Trump’s only doing what his fellow developers did in the Florida Land Rush of the 1920s: He’s selling people paradise, but giving them swampland instead.
Trump’s “contract with the American voter“ promised that he would “clean up corruption and special interest collusion” in Washington in his first hundred days as president.
Oh, well. It won’t be the first contract Trump’s ever broken.
Scott lemieux: A split supreme court means contraception is more likely to remain a right
On Wednesday, the US supreme court heard oral arguments in Zubik v Burwell. The case challenges the Affordable Care Act requirement that employers include contraceptive coverage in taxpayer-subsidized health plans, with potentially negative ramifications for women nationwide should the court rule against the government.
The arguments suggest, however, that the issue will remain unresolved by a shorthanded court likely to split 4-4, which may well be the best-case scenario under the circumstances. [..]
Given that Senate Republicans are almost certain not to confirm Merrick Garland – or any other nominee – many areas of federal law are likely to end up equally unsettled, which is a serious potential problem. In this case, however, a full supreme court almost certainly would have ruled against the government. A deadlock isn’t ideal, but since the regulation will remain in effect in most of the country, it’s not a terrible outcome for the time being.
Garrison Keillor: How many liberals does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
It was gratifying that after Wisconsin voted him into the presidency, the gentleman did not talk about putting Hillary Clinton in prison. That was a nice surprise. And when he met with Obama of Kenya, the white sahib was well-behaved, listened to what the African had to say, did not interrupt or call him stupid, and in fact thanked the alien for meeting with him. He did a good impersonation of modesty. [..]
ut politics is not everything. Life goes on. A person has to keep that in mind. The day after the election, my wife and I set out to replace some burned-out light bulbs in some interesting fixtures chosen by an elderly interior decorator years ago. We are from Minnesota and we hesitate to impose our taste on others, even when we’re paying the bill. So we have several truly ugly and impractical light fixtures that use odd rare bulbs not sold at Walmart, Walgreens, Ace Hardware or even at boutiques with names like Let There Be Light Bulbs. Long, cylindrical bulbs. Perhaps handmade by Cistercian monks on a mountaintop in Montana.
Lindy West: Bannon’s unveiling as Trump’s chief strategist is a layer cake of horrors
The announcement that Donald Trump has appointed Stephen Bannon, the former head of far-right propaganda outlet Breitbart News, as his chief strategist is a layer cake of horrors.
On a personal level, Breitbart has long been an engine of anti-feminist harassment, and Bannon directly profits from the fragile male hunger for punishing disobedient women. I have been the subject of multiple Breitbart smears (which come, inevitably and by design, with a deluge of threats from sputtering Twitter eggs), as have most of the high-profile feminists I know, along with Black Lives Matter leaders, trans activists, rape victims, and even fellow conservatives who toe a more establishment line.
Bannon’s site was a home base for GamerGate, an interminable juggernaut of racist, misogynist, and transphobic abuse aimed at stanching diversity in video games, which eventually morphed into the youth wing of the Trump campaign. It is beyond unsettling to imagine a man who has not only attempted to ruin the lives of women I consider friends, but monetised that abuse, hissing in the ear of the President of the United States.
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