Krugman and Buffett present: Your afternoon gun-in-mouthing

Behind the Curve

To see how bad the numbers are, consider this: The administration’s budget proposals, released less than two weeks ago, assumed an average unemployment rate of 8.1 percent for the whole of this year. In reality, unemployment hit that level in February — and it’s rising fast.
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As I read it, this dismissal — together with the continuing failure to announce any broad plans for bank restructuring — means that the White House has decided to muddle through on the financial front, relying on economic recovery to rescue the banks rather than the other way around. And with the stimulus plan too small to deliver an economic recovery ... well, you get the picture.

Sooner or later the administration will realize that more must be done. But when it comes back for more money, will Congress go along?

Buffett On CNBC: Economy Has "Fallen Off A Cliff"

Billionaire Warren Buffett said unemployment will likely climb a lot higher depending upon how effective the nation's policies are, but he remains optimistic over the long term.
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"It's fallen off a cliff," Buffett said Monday during a live appearance on CNBC. "Not only has the economy slowed down a lot, but people have really changed their habits like I haven't seen."

Isn't it great when two of the most respected economic minds in the world decide to come out on the same day to tell everyone that not only are things horrible, they're going to get worse, that the measures taken to stem the slide into the abyss have so far been too small, and that we're two months out from grinding half the population into a meat paste to feed the other half? Of course by great I mean mind shatteringly awful.

At least we have a competent Congress fully staffed Treasury Department elected leaders who listen to experts each other a few short brutal weeks left before it all ends.