Seal the New Deal, President Obama: Invite Paul Krugman to an Economic Summit, and Listen to Him

Top left: The Tennessee Valley Authority, part of the New Deal, being signed into law in 1933. Top right: FDR (President Franklin Delano Roosevelt) was responsible for the New Deal.Bottom left: A public mural from one of the artists employed by the New Deal’s WPA program. Bottom right: President Barack Obama. Is he ready? (Photo montage: Wikipedia, and ENEWSPF.)

Mr. President, it’s time to Seal the New Deal. It’s time for true health care reform: Health Care for All.

Take up the cause, and believe in it. Do what you do well. Inspire. Inspire the American people, Inspire Congress.

I’ve been reading economics recently, and I’ve learned a lot. Most of all, I’ve learned I need to keep reading, and learn more.

If you’ve never read anything on economics (I suspect you have), the so-called “dismal science,” you should get started. Don’t read to reaffirm your own beliefs or preconceptions on how an economy should work. Instead, read to learn, realizing that the science of economics can be about anything and everything. And we need to understand it better.

Allow me to suggest some reading material for you. Please consider the following economics cuisine.

To begin, I suggest Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything (P.S.), by Steven D. Levitt, as your ecomics appetizer. This little gem is a wonderful way to begin to get a grasp on economis theory. It made a splash when first published because of Levitt’s research on crime and abortion statistics. I don’t buy Levitt’s conclusions, but that’s for another post. The book is wonderful. If you’ve never been exposed to economics before, or it’s been a long time, Levitt’s book is a good start.

Next, please consider Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science, by Charles Wheelan, as your salad. Levitt taught me that economics is about anything, because anything and everything can impact the economy. Wheelan took me further down the rabbit hole. I learned about interest rates, why it matters when the Fed raises or lowers them. And I learned a lot more. More importantly, Naked Economics will whet your appetite for the main course.

For the main course, I suggest Paul Krugman’s The Conscience of a Liberal. Krugman won the 2008 prize in ecomics. And he deserves it.

Krugman is fantastic. The Conscience of a Liberal will give you a solid background on economics in the United States. Consider it a complete history of economics in the United States. After memorizing what you then considered useless statistics in high school, you will finally understand the New Deal, and why we need to seal the New Deal by providing universal health care to everyone in the United States of America.

If you read nothing else on ecomics, read The Conscience of a Liberal.

For dessert, I recommend The Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2008. You’ll get more history, but, more importantly, you’ll get more Krugman.

Mr. President, I know we have readers from Washington, D.C. on Turning Left. If you’re one of them, you can do better.

Besides reading Krugman, invite Paul to Camp David for an Economic Summit. And listen to him. Learn from him. Pick his brain.

And strongly consider his advice.

Seal the New Deal, Mr. President. Find the courage to protect the middle class, to inspire congress — yes, this congress. This is your time, your moment in history.We need you to make it spectacular. Convince us that you haven’t grown too comfortable in the White House. Find the courage to protect the middle class, to inspire Congress — yes, this Congress. This is your time, your moment in history. We need you to make this moment spectacular.

Seal the New Deal. Call Paul Krugman, chat with him, listen to him, and do what he says.

For the rest of us, read up on economics. And then read more. And then call your honorable representative in congress, and call the White House.

Let’s demand that they Seal the New Deal, once and for all. It’s the only way to preserve and protect the middle class, and lift up those now living in poverty.

Our moment is now.