Tim Pawlenty Campaigns in Earnest, Iowa, How Can Jeans Cost $300.00?, Space Shuttle Launch Leaves Big, Unanswered Question,

And Other News That Needs Comments

For Republican Presidential hopeful Tim Pawlenty, a good showing in Iowa is essential for his campaign.  Mr. Pawlenty has devoted a lot of time and money to Iowa, but Politico reports

urged patience in an interview with the Des Moines Register, saying yesterday, "This week is the first time that I’ve campaigned in earnest in Iowa," and prompting the paper to observe wryly: "Pawlenty has made more campaign appearances here than any other candidate except former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum

Mr. Pawlenty explained, saying he meant that when he said this is the first time he had campaigned in earnist, that this was the first time he had visited the town of Earnest, Iowa (Pop. 43) and that he expects at least three and maybe four votes from the populace.

The Wall Street Journal’s Personal Journal section has a lead story that asks

How Can Jeans Cost $300.00?

And then goes on to explain how that can happen.  What is fails to explain is why anyone pays $300.00 for jeans.  It is good to know however that Conservative efforts to keep taxes from rising on the very wealthy will allow them to continue to buy $300.00 jeans.

Of course, if tax rates on high income taxpayers are raised and go back to where they were in the Clinton era, an era of unparalleled economic growth, then that might result in multi-millionaires and billionaires being forced to buy their jeans where The Dismal Political Economist buys his.  He looks forward to seeing those folks there although he would prefer to mix with a better class of people than the Koch Brothers.

In a rare bit of good news for the Administration, House Speaker, Republican John Boehner (R,Oh) said he did not believe Republicans and the Administration were close to a deal on deficit reduction.  Since the agreement on the deficit as outlined by Mr. Obama is a potential disaster both for economic policy and for electoral politics for Mr. Obama, he really owes Mr. Boehner and the Republicans a bit of thanks if they scuttle his non-lethal political and economic suicide.  If a  deal that preserves tax cut  for the wealthy and severly cuts social programs fails then at the very least Mr. Obama would owe Mr. Boehner another round of golf.

The Space Shuttle Atlantis lifted off safely for the final shuttle mission.  The Dismal Political Economist wishes for a happy and safe outcome, and that when all are safely back that someone can answer the question that future generations will be asking, namely “why on earth (pun intended) did you waste all those billions and all those lives doing that?”.  He is not optimistic, though, and knows it may take significant additional funding for NASA to answer that question.

Spectacular pictures like this may be the only tangible benefit of the Shuttle program, but The Dismal Political Economist wonders if Photo Shop could have been used to create pictures just as good for not even $1 billion.