Inaction

Also on the economy, Nobel-prize winning economist Paul Krugman writes in the NYT that the inaction on the economy because of this power-vacuum now occurring between the end of the Bush administration and the beginning of the Obama administration does not bode well.

There is, however, another and more disturbing parallel between 2008 and 1932 — namely, the emergence of a power vacuum at the height of the crisis. The interregnum of 1932-1933, the long stretch between the election and the actual transfer of power, was disastrous for the U.S. economy, at least in part because the outgoing administration had no credibility, the incoming administration had no authority and the ideological chasm between the two sides was too great to allow concerted action. And the same thing is happening now.

He concludes:

But nothing is happening on the policy front that is remotely commensurate with the scale of the economic crisis. And it’s scary to think how much more can go wrong before Inauguration Day.

Fasten your seat belts. This could be a very bumpy ride. Let's hope the air bags are working.