Items of Interest:
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Tea Parties Forever -- This is a column about Republicans — and I’m not sure I should even be writing it.
Today’s G.O.P. is, after all, very much a minority party. It retains some limited ability to obstruct the Democrats, but has no ability to make or even significantly shape policy.
Beyond that, Republicans have become embarrassing to watch. And it doesn’t feel right to make fun of crazy people. Better, perhaps, to focus on the real policy debates, which are all among Democrats...
discussion:
Chris Good / The Atlantic Politics Channel: The Tea Party Movement: Who's In Charge?Pat / And So it Goes in Shreveport: Tea Party CountdownDigby / Hullabaloo: Corporate Grassroots — Following up on Krugman's column today …Meg White / BuzzFlash.org: Conservatives Hope Tea Will Spur the Second Coming of the GOPJehuda / The Rhetorican: Democrat, Republican, TeaDonald Douglas / American Power: The Grassroots Tea Party RevoltJosh / Houston Tea Party: Tea Party “Truthers”Michael J.W. Stickings / The Reaction: Corporate greed and ideological extremism: What's really behind …Thers / Whiskey Fire: There Is No Place to Go — So yesterday I didn't pay attention to the Internet funhouse.Jon Henke / The Next Right: The Tea Party protestsBuck Naked Politics: The Mad Tea PartyChandler Epp / Whatever Is Right: Tea Parties, Schmea Parties?David Weigel / The Washington Independent: Turf of a Nation — Matthew Yglesias and Jon Henke argue …GayPatriot: “Tea Parties” & Their CriticsDavid Henderson / EconLog: Tea Parties Never?
Brad DeLong / Grasping Reality with Both Hands : Why Is Paul Krugman the Only Person Writing for the New York Times Who Is Telling It Like It Is?
Glenn Reynolds, New York Post:
Tea Parties Bring Real Grassroots Energy
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NY Times:‘Surgical’ Bankruptcy Possible for G.M. -- The Treasury Department is directing General Motors to lay the groundwork for a bankruptcy filing by a June 1 deadline, despite G.M.’s public contention that it could still reorganize outside court, people with knowledge of the plans said during the weekend...
The goal is to prepare for a fast “surgical” bankruptcy, the people who had been briefed on the plans said. G.M., which has been granted $13.4 billion in federal aid, insists that a quick restructuring is necessary so its image and sales are not damaged permanently.
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USAToday.com:Average college credit card debt rises with fees, tuition -- As college costs soar, students are charging more educational expenses to plastic, helping boost credit card debt to record levels...
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OptionARMageddon:Housing Crisis Slideshow: “Why There is More Pain to Come” -- [the] argument, that there is more pain to come, is based on mortgage reset/recast schedules. We’ve come through the worst of the subprime default wave, but Alt-A, Option ARM and Jumbo Prime still loom. Not to mention Commercial Real Estate...
The authors of the slideshow have a book coming out in May, More Mortgage Meltdown.
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- Some Nontraditional Clouds on the Horizon - Doug Kass, TheStreet.com
- Green Shoots over Thin Ice - John Hussman, Hussman Funds
- It's Time To Put Finance Back In Its Box - Philip Augar, Financial Times
- Distracted Congress Loses Focus on Credit Freeze - John Berry, Bloomberg
- Will Commercial Loan Losses Hurt Regional Banks? - David Bogoslaw, BW
- Do Americans Really Like Taxes? - Karlyn Bowman, Forbes
- A Taxing Philosophy: We're All Collectivists Now - J. Hoenig, SmartMoney
- The Lessons of the Savings-and-Loan Crisis - Jack Willoughby, Barron's
- Making Old Media New Again - L. Gordon Crovitz, Wall Street Journal
- Meltdown Rule #1: Do the Math - Hernando de Soto, Los Angeles Times
- The Pitfalls of Short Selling - Bill Fleckenstein, MSN Money
- Making Sure the Poor Are Always With Us - Bill Frezza, RealClearMarkets
- We're In the Middle Innings of the Housing Bust - Alan Abelson, Barron's
- Hoping for Economic Recovery Won't Do - George Magnus, Times of London
- How Should Firms Behave In Recessions? - James Surowiecki, New Yorker
- Financial Geniuses Fit to Be Fed to Lecter - Albert Hunt, Bloomberg
- Spend More, Get Less: Obama's Mirage - Robert Samuelson, Washington Post
- Oh No! There's An MBA Brain Drain to Washington - John Tamny, Forbes
- Is the Stock Rally On Sound Footing? - Ben Steverman, Business Week
- Everyone Should Pay Income Taxes - Ari Fleischer, Wall Street Journal
