Why People Hate Columnists

Whoa! Nailed it, Joe!

Joe, I agree with you comments. But Krautie was dead on at teh end:
.
On the contrary. With the country clamoring for action and with all psychological barriers to government intervention obliterated (by the conservative party, no less), the stage is set for a young, ambitious, supremely confident president -- who sees himself as a world-historical figure before even having been sworn in -- to begin a restructuring of the American economy and the forging of a new relationship between government and people.
.
Don't be fooled by Bob Gates staying on. Obama didn't get elected to manage Afghanistan. He intends to transform America. And he has the money, the mandate and the moxie to go for it.

You headline is intensely misleading. Hating Charles Krauthammer bears little to no relationship it to hating Columnists. It is more along the lines of eating, breathing and having to take a dump in the morning.

The problem with these neocons like Kraut is they think foreign policy is the only thing that matters. Nevermind that the economy is melting and there are a host of domestic issues to deal with, they think the president is to only deal in foreign policy, especially their warped view of foreign policy.

Dr. Krauthammer wouldn't be the first (or last) columnist who writes and opines with, like zero, information. That's written into to the columnist's job description and their contract. Is there an oath they also have to swear to?

Creepy! At 7:30 this morning I was reading Krauthammer's column and traumatizing my emotionally needy beagle with angry outbursts along these very lines. Then 90 minutes later I discover that Joe Klein may have planted a bug in my living room (or perhaps the beagle is wearing a wire?) and borrowed my caffeine-fueled tirade for his morning post.
.
On second thought, it's been pretty obvious for years that Krauthammer is "factose intolerant" (in the words of the immortal Stephen Colbert). Nice analysis, Joe.

"factose intolerant" I like that.
.
I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to manage to be cheerful during the Obama years. I guess I just have to smile knowing he's at the help and then drop off the news grid. No chance otherwise.

One of the sad things is that anyone with three notes becomes a columnist. Like others the Kraut is a re-cycler. That he gets paid for it is one of the wonders of our capitalist system. Only in America....

Charles should speak with the folks at GM, Ford and Chrysler about health care costs which have been increasing at 20% a year for years.
.
Meanwhile, Republicans are anxious to paint union line workers as greedy slobs, unwilling to take a pay cut to survive. In truth, the pay cut Senate Republicans used as "leverage" against line workers was a massive cut, not some trivial buck or two an hour.
.
Yeah, and all the "rich" union line workers are vacationing at their second and third homes (cough) while the poor executive saps at places like AIG (which lied about its balance sheet, apparently, on its way to a bailout) and the banks that are "too big to fail" are off on "reward" outings to spas and golf resorts on the taxpayer dime.
.
I always get a sick chuckle out of hearing Republican country clubbers ranting and raving about the UAW or teachers' unions, as if these working stiffs are just making too damn much money.
.
Yeah, they're all rich. Aren't they?
.
So Senate Republicans decide to tank the world economy because they hate unions so much. That's it in a nutshell, isn't it?
.
Look, there is no doubt that the auto companies need to change their ways, and that goes for concessions from the UAW, as well. But let's keep in mind who drives product development at GM, Ford and Chrysler: The execs who don't have their eyes on long-term sustainability or consumer demand, but, rather, quarterly results based on selling the most profitable vehicles (SUVs, trucks) in order to maximize their bonuses.
.
These clowns were selling over-sized gas guzzlers into the teeth of $4/gallon gas.
.
Meanwhile, the folks with last decent-paying jobs in America for those without a college education are looking at food stamps and the public dole.
.
And the idiot Republicans in the Senate will deny that we're going to pay for all this, one way or another.

There are many unfathomable things in the world, like guppies eating their young and the WaPo publishing Charles Krauthammer.

Well, palin. What concessions should be union members be making? Take a pay cut? Give up their pensions? Reduce the pensions of those already retired? Give up health coverage? (Because, management negotiates the health coverage.)

They make, like $28 an hour. Under $60,0000 per year. What is a fair wage for an auto worker, then? 5% cut? 10% cut? Why would they do that?

Right-wingers are putting out the word that autoworkers make $72/hour, but that figure includes pensions and health care for all retired workers. Autoworkers' pay is just $26/hour, which is nice but not exciting, and newer employees' pay has been adjusted downward.

I'm getting tired of correcting this right-wing meme popping up everywhere, and I invite others to do so.

Crossposted from below:
.
A source over at TPM says:

I don't think it'll be hard to explain why Senate Republicans had the final say: that's what the Constitution and Senate rules require. How else would we have passed anything?
.
I do think it'll be hard for Senate Republicans to explain themselves.
.
They were invited, repeatedly, to participate in more than a week of negotiations with a Republican White House. They declined.
.
They were asked to provide an alternative bill. They refused.
.
Finally, one of their members - Senator Corker of Tennessee - participated in a day-long negotiation with Senate Democrats, the UAW, and bondholders. Everyone made major concessions. Democrats gave up efficiency and emissions standards. UAW accepted major benefit cuts and agreed to reduce workers' wages. Bondholders signed off on a serious haircut. But when Senator Corker took the deal back to the Republican Conference, they argued for two hours and ultimately rejected it.
.
Why? Because they wanted the federal government to forcibly reduce the wages of American workers within the next 12 months.
.
Heard this morning that President Bush may still use TARP money to rescue the automakers. He reportedly doesn't want to end up as the next Hoover.

Talking Points Memo | Breaking News and Analysis

james, I quite understand guppies eating their young. Tender.
.
On the media, from Balloon Juice:
.
The big question for me is how f***ed up does the country have to get before the Villagers drop the cocktail party act? Who cares if Obama talked to someone who talked to someone who talked to Blago when there's 1 million new lucky duckies next month and the Dow's at 3000? Good Lord. I never thought I'd live through this kind of bull$hit.
.
You know- that is a good question. How bad do things have to get before the bullShit artists just stop? Or can they? There is an almost surreal feel to it all, isn't there? It is like living in a Dali painting, or walking on an Escher staircase, or being the person in the alien movies when you encounter the unknown from another dimension. The country is falling apart- millions losing their jobs, the economy crumbling, people losing their homes, the budget a disaster, etc. So many problems it is depressing to list them all.

Krauthammer hasn't had a logical, coherent thought since 2000, at least. But he's not the one responsible for his column appearing in the increasingly pathetic Washington Post oped pages.
Donnie Graham is a better argument for estate taxes than Paris Hilton.

James, LA,
.
They can take a modest reduction, as they offered to, in the spirit of events. That's all I am suggesting. I am not saying they should do anything but what they had offered in conference with the Senate.
.
Let's face it, the gap between rich and poor greatly expanded for a number of reasons, but one reason certainly was the demise of pension plans in favor of 401Ks and mutual fund investments, as so many have now painfully discovered.
.
There was a reason for the development of the pension system and Social Security. Republicans have fought for years to kill both. They have mostly succeeded with pensions. To the detriment of most American workers.

Great post, Joe.
-
As others point out, tho, it's not fair to columnists to judge them based on Krauthammer. The real mystery is, how come, given his dedication to inaccuracy and ignorance, he has lifetime tenure?
-
I wonder what he thinks of the UAW, and how he manages to avoid applying the same standards to himself, when it comes to high costs at distressed industries. And he, unlike UAW workers, is dead weight.

Also, as to this other discussion, the UAW agreed to just such a reduction last year. Now, maybe they need to agree to more-- I don't know much about the economics of the auto industry-- but the idea that the union is rigid and inflexible just isn't true.

Bob Corker is really trying to make a name for himself on the Bail-Out. Doesn't he look like Mr. Burns on the Simpsons? Very appropriate.

Just think, Corker's face could be forever a symbol of the demise of the American auto industry and the death of the UAW, which is his real goal. What a legacy he seeks!

FWIW, this AP story gives some specifics on auto worker wages.
.
Hourly wages for UAW workers at GM factories are about equal to those paid by Toyota Motor Corp. at its older U.S. factories, according to the companies. GM says the average UAW laborer makes $29.78 per hour, while Toyota says it pays about $30 per hour. worker wages. But the unionized factories have far higher benefit costs.
.
GM says its total hourly labor costs are now $69, including wages, pensions and health care for active workers, plus the pension and health care costs of more than 432,000 retirees and spouses. Toyota says its total costs are around $48. The Japanese automaker has far fewer retirees and its pension and health care benefits are not as rich as those paid to UAW workers.

It appears that the myth of the $72@hr auto worker stems from the the corporate side, or at least GM. If the workers have to make concessions in wages and benefits, that we'd better see some steep cuts on as well on management's pay.
.
Does anyone truly believe GM's CEO Richard Wagoner really deserves $14.4 million for whatever the hell he does?

.
About those pension and health care costs for retirees. It is my understanding that by law, companies have to put that money aside in real time for pensions. Are they tacking that cost on now despite the fact that it was money they put aside for pensions years and years ago? If so, that is even more dishonest than it seems.
.
Unfortunately, journos don't seem to be able to grasp these issues in order to report on them clearly and accurately. Though, that AP piece at least had some facts in it. That's far better than most reporting I've seen on this.
.

davemc321,
.
Thanks for the info.

Yeah, it's those damn retirees in their condos down in Florida! Greedy bastards! Spent their lives attaching car doors and screwing in headlights! Well, screw them!
.
Sincerely,
.
Bob Corker

Are they tacking that cost on now despite the fact that it was money they put aside for pensions years and years ago?
.
I think the real time aspect is relatively new. IIRC, a major company failed some years ago and all the pensions were lost because they had not funded them except on paper. A law was passed to require funding in real time. I think the auto makers have some legacy pensions they must pay on that were not funded.

the "opportunity costs" of locking potential entrepreneurs into uncreative corporate jobs because they don't want to lose their health insurance

Amen Joe. I have seen this situation 1,000 times in the engineering business. The only people I know who independently contract depend on their spouses' corporate jobs for healthcare benefits.

A national health care program would unleash a a flood entrepreneurism by way of Coasean efficiency through reducing the transaction costs of an individual health care plan.