Don Rumsfeld Says Defense Cuts Led to 9/11, Minimum Wage Causes African American Teenage Unemployment, Middle East Crisis Resolved. . .

And News and Commentary One Only Gets from the Wall Street Journal

Reading the July 1 Wall Street Journal is a wonderful experience, and The Dismal Political Economist could devote an entire post to one issue.  So here it is.

Former Defense Chief Donald Rumsfeld, one of the architects of the Iraq War (so you know he’s credible) blames that 9/11 attacks on the decreased defense spending that took place prior to that event.

The false comfort provided by the end of the Cold War led the administrations of George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton to draw down the nation's intelligence and military budgets. . . . .Its consequences did not become starkly apparent until 9/11

Yes, if only the U. S. had spent more on aircraft carriers, fighter jets, tanks and missles the September 11 attack could surely have been avoided.

In an editorial the WSJ examines teen age unemployment, and decline in teenage employment that started in 2001, which coincidentally is when the Presidency of George W. Bush started.  The cause of the decline, the increase in the minimum wage that occurred in 2009.  (Yes, that is what they are saying.)

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Note to WSJ:  If you want to make a point that is not supported by the data, it is not a good idea to present a chart that clearly contradicts your point. And don't forget to throw in something about the Great Recession having an impact on employment.  It did, you know.


The Editorial goes on to say

The other day we saw ABC's George Stephanopoulos baiting Michele Bachmann on the minimum wage, as if refusing to raise it would be some epic political gaffe. Ms. Bachmann didn't back down from saying that the minimum wage has contributed to unemployment, though she didn't explain why.

So Ms. Bachmann does not have an explanation?  Here’s one.  The increase in the minimum wage in 2009 caused teenage employment to decline in 2001 and following years because employers knew that years after they hired a teenager the minimum wage would go up.

And the editorial also cites the very high unemployment rate among African American teenagers.  This was startling, who knew that the Minimum Wage Law was racist?

Kimberley Strassel  praises Republicans for agreeing to as much as $34 billion in cuts to agriculture over ten years, omitting the fact that this is only 2 -3% of the total cuts.  She also mentions that

The Biden talks have also been said to include cuts to student loans and rural health programs, areas of cuts that would also cause great pain to many Republicans.

There may well be Republicans who do care about rural health care supported by the Federal government, but like the elusive Carolina Panther (the animal not the football player) viewings are few and far between.

And in the latest  Middle East crisis a Facebook campaign in Israel was able to force cottage cheese makers to lower their prices.

The showdown over the price of cottage cheese—a breakfast staple for most Israelis—has gripped the nation since it began with a Facebook page on June 9, and is being hailed by some Israeli pundits as the country's version of the "Arab Spring."

Consumers rallied behind the boycott in numbers that stunned the country, and supermarkets watched their cottage cheese rot on the shelves. Eventually, dairy companies and supermarkets backed down and trimmed prices.

Israeli’s can now buy cottage cheese for about $1.75 for 8.8 oz, down from $2.35.  So now the country can return to other, smaller problems, like ending a war that has lasted for over 60 years.

Associated Press

The price of cottage cheese climbed to about $2.35 for 8.8 oz. in Israel before the price cut announced Wednesday. In the U.S., 16 oz., or nearly twice as much, costs around $2.89. Pictured here, cottage cheese at a Jerusalem supermarket.