Sen. McConnell Thinks Democrats are Naïve, Gov. Palin has ADD, The Economist Supports The Dismal Political Economist

And Other Political and EconomicNews That Needs Commenting On

Sen. Republican leader Mitch McConnell (R, Ky) has said that he will require some type of Medicare change as a condition for raising the debt ceiling.  The Dismal Political Economist thinks that Mr. McConnell’s strategy is to reduce Medicare benefits, get the Democrats to join Republicans in that effort in order to get the debt ceiling bill passed and then have Republicans blame Democrats for reducing Medicare in the 2012 elections.

Democrats need to ask themselves what it is that they have done that would cause Republicans to think that they are that politically naïve? They can start with the 2010 Tax deal.

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin’s Memorial Day bus tour is strong evidence she is suffering from Attention Deficit Disorder.  Not the traditional kind, in her case it is lack of attention to Sarah Palin.  Here’s hoping the bus tour brings her at least some temporary relief.

The Economist, regarded by the  Dismal Political Economist as the premier news/business/finance/economics periodical in the world has endorsed the idea that someone other than a European should lead the IMF. The Dismal Political Economist has made this same argument earlier, see A European Should Not Lead the IMF, but The Economist, as usual, makes the case in a much clearer and more compelling manner.

When it comes to education, look at what Republicans do, not what they say. Here is some excerpts from the Raleigh News and Observer on proposed cuts in teacher assistants in North Carolina.  .Notice the salary data, and remember those accusations of public employees being overpaid. Both House of the Legislature are controlled by Republicans.

State lawmakers are moving to make deep cuts in the corps of teacher assistants, who number more than 26,000 in North Carolina's early grade classrooms. Of that total, about 18,000 are state-funded; the rest are paid with local funds or federal dollars. The average 10-month salary for a teacher assistant is $21,000

Gov. Bev Perdue, a Democrat, has proposed a budget that would protect jobs for teachers and teacher assistants by hanging on to most of a one-penny sales tax increase that is due to expire. Republicans, who control the legislature, have vowed to end the penny tax, and that means bigger cuts. . . .

Under the Senate's proposal, 14,753 teacher assistant jobs would be eliminated, the state Department of Public Instruction estimates.

The Republican controlled NC State Senate would add about 1,100 new teachers to partly offset the cuts in assistants, but it is hard to see how the net overall cuts are going to increase the quality of education in that state.