Who'd Have Thunk It?

Herbert Hoover has risen from the grave. How much does this excerpt from a Hoover speech differ from Obama's comments today?

Herbert Hoover, January 8, 1932

Our first duty as a nation is to put our governmental house in order, national, state and local. With the return of prosperity the Government can undertake constructive projects both of social character and in public improvement. We cannot squander ourselves into prosperity. The people will, of course, provide against distress but the purpose of the nation must be to restore employment by economic recovery. The reduction in governmental expenditures and the stability of Government finance is the most fundamental step towards this end. It can contribute greatly to employment and the recovery of prosperity in agriculture. That must be our concentrated purpose.

Dismal Political Economist has the answer: Obama's really a Republican.

Given the President’s rhetoric both earlier in the discussions and at the news conference it has become clear to most observers that the President has given up on the Democratic Party and has secretly switched his affiliation so that he is now a moderate Republican.

The “Confidence Fairy” was invoked by Mr. Obama.  The Confidence Fairy is the fantasy that business investment will increase because business will gain more confidence in the economy from a deficit deal, even though the economic conditions that support investment are deteriorating.  The Confidence Fairy has long been a fixture in the imagination of Republicans.

Mark Thoma dissects Obama's comments.

First, I am disappointed that the president seems committed to doing whatever it takes to reach a deal. There are lines that ought to be drawn in the sand, but even when they are drawn the lines are erased and moved as needed. It looks like a deal will be reached, the only question at this point seems to be how much the president will give away to get it.
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Second, I am disappointed that Obama has adopted austerity as a valid means of stimulating the economy, something he made absolutely clear during his remarks. There is no evidence that this works in a situation like ours, i.e. that deficit cuts create so much confidence that they stimulate the economy. However, there is plenty of evidence that the fall in demand from the deficit cuts is harmful, and that such cuts are likely to impede the recovery.
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One thing the president said -- the third disappointment -- was particularly worrisome. He said we shouldn't be concerned about "job killing tax increases" because there won't be any tax increases until 2013 when the economy should be in better shape. Thus, he has adopted the Republican argument that we cannot raise taxes when the job picture is so bad. But how does that square with the phrase he uttered repeatedly, "if not now, when?" And more importantly, how does that square with the desire to cut spending? Why is he willing to implement spending cuts immediately but not tax increases?