Conscience of a Liberal

[ChinoCoug]

any fellow progressives read Paul Krugman's new piece? In case you don't know, he's a once nobel-shortlisted economist who's since become ultra-partism.

The book is not a memoir. It gives a review of American history since 1900 through the eyes of a liberal. Some interesting facts include:

*The reason the US is the only country without universal health insurance is because of the high percentage of minorities in the country. He cited an economic study that showed that ethnic homogeneity is highly correlated with size of welfare state. Southern whites blocked Truman's plan because they feared that universal coverage meant that hospitals would be integrated.

*The rising inequality in the US is due to runaway CEO pay, and CEO pay has nothing to do with performance.

*Reagan was able to exploit racial animosities without saying anything overtly racist. For example, on the anniversary of the 1964 civil rights act, he gave a speech ON STATES' RIGHTS in the same Missisippi county 3 civil rights were killed in 1964.

He concluded that Republicans' Southern strategy will fall apart when the US becomes less white and whites become less racist.