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Krugman begins: "If you're an American down on your luck, Mitt Romney has a message for you: He doesn't feel your pain. Earlier this week, Mr. Romney told a startled CNN interviewer, 'I'm not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there.'"

Portrait, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, 06/15/09. (photo: Fred R. Conrad/NYT)

Romney Isn't Concerned

By Paul Krugman, The New York Times

03 February 12

If you’re an American down on your luck, Mitt Romney has a message for you: He doesn’t feel your pain. Earlier this week, Mr. Romney told a startled CNN interviewer, "I’m not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there."

Faced with criticism, the candidate has claimed that he didn’t mean what he seemed to mean, and that his words were taken out of context. But he quite clearly did mean what he said. And the more context you give to his statement, the worse it gets.

First of all, just a few days ago, Mr. Romney was denying that the very programs he now says take care of the poor actually provide any significant help. On Jan. 22, he asserted that safety-net programs - yes, he specifically used that term - have “massive overhead,” and that because of the cost of a huge bureaucracy “very little of the money that’s actually needed by those that really need help, those that can’t care for themselves, actually reaches them.”

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+5 # BenECoyote 2012-02-03 14:07

It is clear that Mittens is out of touch with the reality of having to work for a living, and struggling to, well, struggling period. But is Obama any better? In the state of the union speech, he promised to work with republicans to 'reform' (ie. cut) social security. He's already cut funding to SS with the payroll tax cut, and nobody in DC is putting the money back in which they 'borrowed' (stole) to pay for tax cuts for the rich and military pork. Obama has sold out the progressive base.
Rocky Anderson understands the day to day needs of hard working Americans, and how important the safety net is. As Mayor of Salt Lake City (which as we know is surrounded by Utah...) Rocky had to deal with the day to day struggles that REAL people face, and he has worked with folks that depend on the safety net for their survival. Rocky will help repair the damage that the Democrapublican s have done, and will help streamline the programs so they operate smoothly and efficiently to provide needed aid to so many struggling Americans.
In an election where the two parties are both running rotten candidates, the only role that Rocky can play in this election is that of an UNspoiler. Please, do yourself and America a favor, check out the website and join the effort to take back America!
http://www.voterocky.org/?recruiter_id=57374

-155 # Robt Eagle 2012-02-03 15:53

Krugman once again published tripe. He makes some useless comments and expects his pontification to hold great value. Paul, go get a real job, you are no longer being an economist with these rediculously short personal observations and your own theoretical BS.

+123 # IndigoE 2012-02-03 18:45

Exactly what is your problem, Eagle? It cannot be as painful for you to see Mitt's stunningly callous comments and obvious contradictions as it is for the seriously poor to just get through a day.

Actually, Krugman is "spot on" as usual.

-4 # Robt Eagle 2012-02-06 14:47

Indigo, Krugman has no spots left. He says nothing of value, yet you all bow to his importance, which doesn't exist. I have no problem with real economists, which Krugman no longer is.

+18 # hwatt 2012-02-03 21:40

trolling is easy with eyes closed,
misunderstanding all you see...

+43 # Ralph Averill 2012-02-04 00:25

Krugman predicted the mess we're in. He called the housing bubble long before it burst. He predicted Wall Street's collapse and the reasons for it, and was spot on. For my money, Paul Krugman is the best economic/politi cal observer of our time.
As evidence, I submit the fact that he was despised by the Bush Administration.

+35 # geohunt1 2012-02-04 06:25

Robt Eagle: Paul Krugman knows the subject of "Economy" as well as anyone, but he is one of the few who has not been bought by rich people and corporations.Th ere is a 99% vs 1% problem in the country.More and more ordinary people are starting to understand that; as proven by the Occupy movement. Krugman is smart enough to understand that; Romney isn't.

+16 # ruttaro 2012-02-04 10:23

There is interesting research that suggests our politics has become so dysfunctional because identity predicts beliefs. This is quite profound when one thinks that in the past beliefs tended to shape identity. For example, in the past most of us would receive information through experience among other things and this would inform what we believed to be true. For example, if one experienced abuse of rights at a workplace then one would probably believe that unions were good things and one's identity would be with workers and politically a Democrat. But by choosing identity first, then beliefs about right and wrong, policies, politics, etc are strictly influenced by ideology. Any suggestions or facts that counter those ideologically determined beliefs are henceforth seen as an assault on one's identity and henceforth rejected out of hand without any thought to their merit. I believe this explains why Fox News, Limbaugh, Beck, Palin, Hannity, etc can get away with what they say and explains why they are so popular. It also helps clarify why one might respond to Krugman's essay as "theoretical BS". And probably why what I just wrote will be just as quickly tossed into the receptacle that holds all those observations that threaten one's conservative identity.

+8 # jon 2012-02-04 19:55

ruttaro!

A very insightful analysis of how a "Robt Eagle" style mind got that way.

It is not enough to just be able to recognize "deranged" when it is encountered, it is also necessary to understand how it works.

+9 # ruttaro 2012-02-04 21:13

Thanks,Jon. It also helps us understand other puzzles. For example, several years ago a book titled "What's the Matter with Kansas" stirred up much discussion. The question it asked was why people would vote against their own interests. I would say it is because they chose an identity which then became more important than any policy that might materially help them. Identities become so important that the only arguments that are acceptable are the ones that preserve the basis of their identities. And we hear this all the time now. People will state first something like "I'm a conservative" a "Christian" or any identity and almost always predicts their voting because they are voting for someone like them. Doesn't matter what the policy or ideas are. Moreover, what develops out of this phenomenon is the "shoot the messenger if you don't like the message" tactic. The messenger becomes "them" who is not "us".
Finally, here is a good example that supports this thesis: a few months ago I heard Limbaugh, speaking of liberals say "We need to get rid of those bastards." A few days later he said "liberals hate conservatives! They are simply filled with hatred towards us." Not one ditto head called him on this or even asked if there was some inconsistency in his remarks. I don't know how we get out of this. I just believe it helps us understand why our politics is so polarized that Republicans would not try to work with Obama. Identity even trumps country, I guess.

+13 # artful 2012-02-04 11:00

None are so blind as they who will not see . . .

+65 # Dave45 2012-02-03 20:07

It might helpfully be noted that lack of concern for the poor is a bi-partisan affair involving both major parties. It was the welfare "reform" of Bill Clinton that pulled the rug out from under the Democratic Party's distinctive tradition of concern for the poor (e.g., Johnson's "War on Poverty"). If Occupy and other movements are successful, that success will not be the result of either party's humanitarian concern for the poor. Sad to say, but in contemporary US politics, money always trumps ethics and humanitarian concern.

+32 # giraffee2012 2012-02-03 22:58

I believe that anyone who votes for Romney is BRAIN DEAD!

BTW - never vote GOP/TP or we will go back 60+ years and live under a regime like Nazi Germany - maybe even back further to the Salem Witch Hunts (where women really had no rights - and were burned for who knows what) - maybe back to the days where the masses worked on those pyramids until they died (making a place for the top 1% to be buried) -

At any rate - anyone so out of touch with the 99% that he can't even fake understanding how 1 in 4 Americans today can't afford to do what 80% of Americans could afford 50 years ago should NOT be President of a bathroom - and certainly not President of the USA.

NEVER EVER EVER vote TP/GOP - or we'll know how the Jews felt under the Nazis.

Look at the Republican governors / legislators are trying to strip women of their rights to choose what to do with their bodies -- even though the constitution protects elected officials from passing such laws: GET IT? And even with these facts staring you in the face - would you really want to put one do demented in the W.H.?

But - do vote in 2012 - the most important election of our lifetime.
Corporations are NOT people - or they would wear clothes!

+28 # kitster 2012-02-04 06:09

how could romney really care about the middle class? he really doesn't even know who they are. because most of the middle class is really one lost paycheck away from being poor.

how many feet can this man get in his mouth? he damns himself with every declaration for everyone but "to hell with my best interests" reactionaries and/or republican'ts.

if and when he becomes the pachyderm pretender/nomin ee...i hope he listens to chants of "you lie" at every stump location as the final race for the oval office unfolds.

i wonder...when will his wife make her "let them eat cake" speech?

and...does he always have one of the "help" handy at the podium to answer questions from the press as to the current price of a gallon of milk?

mitt may know how to make money. but his dismissal of the poor and mistakes about the middle class...will help take the oblige right out of his noblesse this november.

+8 # cordleycoit 2012-02-04 07:18

Since the anointed one is one of the causes we are poor we ought to be grateful to he and the other Rethugs for taking our retirement money and running for higher office with it, His predecessor W. robbed us and Romney will look after his follow money launders while we the victims get to support the crooks. Soon we will be getting the Coke-Pepsi presidential choiceless choice.

+5 # ABen 2012-02-04 07:23

Romney may be a nice guy in person, but his mind is that of a "vulture capitalist." Even Perry could see this.

+4 # John Locke 2012-02-04 07:59

giraffee2012: The Republican party will rally around Romney and being a Mormon he will win Nevada, Utah, Wyoming and Idaho for certain. Mormons vote for another Mormon and not a platform, or who or what the candidate stands for. Lets be honest now, does it really matter who wins. Have we not seen Obama through the same programs under the bus, (SS, Medicare and Medicade) during the debt ceiling increase...Thes e programs are offering much less for seniors right now then they did even two years ago. They increase the deductibles annually which cost seniors more every year. Seniors are being forced into a Plan "C" Advantage plan, (which now covers about 1/3 of people over 65), where the government allows the insurer to pick up premiums But also gives the insurance company a bonus, it costs the Government currently $1,000.00 a year more for a senior to be in plan C...the Advantage (Part C) plan limits your choice of doctors, and your treatment, like in any insurance plan can be denied, and yes you have appeal rights, but what does that mean when treatment denial may be life threatening (terminal)... Plan C is the beginning of the governments concept to privatize Medicare, which is a grave mistake, first it will cost the government more while providing less to the seniors.

+4 # AndreM5 2012-02-04 16:33

Let's be honest... IT DOES MATTER! Among a myriiad of examples I will offer just one: appointments to the Supremes.
'nut said.

-4 # John Locke 2012-02-05 08:12

AndreM5: Your assuming there is some difference in the candidates from each of the "one" party

+15 # LeeMG 2012-02-04 08:28

This not just Romney's attitude. It is the perspective of the Republican Party. They believe there is a strong safety net, and they work to cut it. The Republican mantra: "Keep 'em desperate."

+13 # tswhiskers 2012-02-04 10:03

Thank God for Paul Krugman. He helped me to keep my sanity during the Bush II Admin. Thank God also that Romney doesn't seem able to mouth the Republican catechism and nothing else unlike hardened campaigners like McCain and even Newt. I can only hope that repeated Rep. debacles such as the fight to raise the budget limit and policies put in place by Rep. governors and now Mitt's repeated slips of the tongue can waken some Rep. voters out of their authoritarian malaise to the economic realities faced by the vast majority of Americans. I am mystified that the Tea Party still holds to the extreme right-wing line. In The March of Folly, Barbara Tuchman defines stupidity as "the pursuit of policy contrary to the self-interest of the constituency or state involved." I would strongly recommend this book to those who think the actions of the Republican Party are a first in world history. Here it would seem the Republicans have for some time been working on behalf of a constitutency (the wealthy) at the expense of the good of the country.

+15 # Mainiac 2012-02-04 10:18

Remember that capitalists need the poor/the unemployed because they keep wages down. If you are working and see that there are people out there who could take your place if you make a misstep or don’t work hard enough or long enough, you tend to be very careful. If there is little chance of your employer finding someone to replace you, you and fellow workers feel strong enough to unionize and demand better pay and benefits. So, of course, Mittens isn’t concerned about the poor.

+3 # pjlalonde1 2012-02-04 13:24

I believe that in Mormon doctrine transgressions in one's supposed spiritual pre-existence affect the kind of body one receives and the circumstances of one's birth. Consequently not only poor adults but poor children as well deserve their lot.

+3 # KittatinyHawk 2012-02-04 14:02

First of all we are still giving FOP/TP credit for having Conscience and this is not so. That left with Eisenhower.

I wonder how much they will care when no one is working, when the corporations hire foreign to work for less as Trump is noted for. Then who pays the taxes, their wages? Corporations will take every last cent with the Banks and Utilities not to mention oil So why not just jail us all now, and feed us 3 square, get the buses rolling so we can go to work then back to our cells. Basically that is what you are all signing on for who believe GOP/TP is way to go. And jobs for service people, well those who are being taught to kill, are going to come back and need jobs in that profession. Not so easy to be normal again, many continue the blood thirst and have to sell their services out. The regular people well, I want to see all these permanent jobs being offered to they who serve. Maybe they will give them student loans at large interest rates at jobs that are not so numerous after all I do not see GOP opening new shops, the Plants under Koch are Health Problems for worker and the towns. Guess now that no Immigrants are coming in, we will have to work in sweat shops like Amazon or out in the Fields.

So nice to see how far we have come in the past 50 years.

+4 # RMDC 2012-02-05 05:45

Before Mitt and Newt got so much coverage, I was so disallusioned with Obama that I was going to stay home and not vote. But the more Mitt and Newt talk, the better Obama looks. I still think Obama has betrayed his supporters -- the left, the poor, the anti-war activists. But he is so much better than Newt or Mitt. The republicans have really gone crazy. Mitt and Newt are Obama's best campaigns.

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