September 26, 2010 08:58 PM UTC

Stop Making Sense

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• by: harrydoby

( – promoted by DavidThi808)

Paul Krugman is at it again.  He’s a bit worried that the GOP’s “Pledge to America” might be utter nonsense.

Apparently, the key ingredient for success is: “And then a miracle occurs”.

In essence, what [the GOP] say is, “Deficits are a terrible thing. Let’s make them much bigger.”

The only way the “Pledge” will work is if Republicans can work this miracle:

…up is down, that you can sharply reduce revenue, protect all the programs voters like, and still balance the budget.

So what does make sense?

How about investing in areas that increase our global competitive edge?

Thomas L. Friedman offers an obvious solution that plays to our historic strengths that we have let slip in recent years:

The electric car industry is pivotal for three reasons, argues Shai Agassi, the C.E.O. of Better Place, a global electric car company that next year will begin operating national electric car networks in Israel and Denmark.

First, the auto industry was the foundation for America’s manufacturing middle class.

Second, the country that replaces gasoline-powered vehicles with electric-powered vehicles – in an age of steadily rising oil prices and steadily falling battery prices – will have a huge cost advantage and independence from imported oil.

Third, electric cars are full of power electronics and software. “Think of the applications industry that will be spun out from electric cars,” says Agassi. It will be the iPhone on steroids.

To grow the economy, you need to provide products and services that people, both domestically and especially globally, need and/or desire.

Some of the highest paying middle-class jobs are in the invention, design, production and servicing of our high technology products.  

Doesn’t it make sense that we’d want to create more of them?

That it also serves to wean us from our dependence on foreign oil, and all the associated security, environmental and trade deficit problems, makes it all the more important to refocus our national priorities on things that really can help.  

Then we’ll be making our own economic miracles once more.