Krugman Gets Informed, Changes His Tune On TPP
from the it's-not-about-free-trade dept
Late last year, we were dismayed by a Paul Krugman opinion piece in the NY Times in which he judged the TPP based on how it might impact free trade, saying he didn't understand why people were so upset about it. After lots of people called him out on that, including other economists who highlighted that the problems of TPP have little to do with "free trade" but with exporting questionable regulations and giving up corporate sovereignty, Krugman admitted to knowing little of the details and promising to spend more time reviewing them.He's now done so and put forth a revised opinion on the TPP, in which he more or less admits that it's not a very good agreement. He doesn't think it's horrible, just like he didn't think it was wonderful before. He basically shifted from lukewarm support to lukewarm disapproval of it. However, at least he now recognizes that it's not about trade, but about helping out a few big companies:
What the T.P.P. would do, however, is increase the ability of certain corporations to assert control over intellectual property. Again, think drug patents and movie rights.He then wonders why the Obama administration is so gung ho on the deal, and thinks they've been sold a bill of goods, believing the bill must be good because it has been labeled as a free trade agreement, with no one bothering to really think through the details.
Is this a good thing from a global point of view? Doubtful. The kind of property rights we’re talking about here can alternatively be described as legal monopolies. True, temporary monopolies are, in fact, how we reward new ideas; but arguing that we need even more monopolization is very dubious — and has nothing at all to do with classical arguments for free trade.
Now, the corporations benefiting from enhanced control over intellectual property would often be American. But this doesn’t mean that the T.P.P. is in our national interest. What’s good for Big Pharma is by no means always good for America.
So what I wonder is why the president is pushing the T.P.P. at all. The economic case is weak, at best, and his own party doesn’t like it. Why waste time and political capital on this project?While I think Krugman underplays the potential downsides of a TPP agreement, at the very least his assessment this time actually involved taking the time to look at what's actually happening. His initial assessment was much more like what he now accuses TPP supporters of doing: just taking conventional Beltway wisdom, combined with a 1990s time warp.
My guess is that we’re looking at a combination of Beltway conventional wisdom — Very Serious People always support entitlement cuts and trade deals — and officials caught in a 1990s time warp, still living in the days when New Democrats tried to prove that they weren’t old-style liberals by going all in for globalization. Whatever the motivations, however, the push for T.P.P. seems almost weirdly out of touch with both economic and political reality.
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Filed Under: economics, free trade, paul krugman, tpp, trade agreement
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I hope Techdirt isn't following on the same path.
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Krugman isn't always wrong but in this case he is, I'm not sure why. Please don't tell me he believes in this "free market" nonsense. If he does, it explains everything.
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Not to mention that what the Huffington Post has to say has no bearing on this article, since it's not mentioned or linked to anywhere. If all he has to criticise is hyperbole relating to a completely different site, then I suspect he has no point at all.
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Oh, wait...
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Yeah, that's all the peons need to be told.
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Whereas in the 19th century
US inventors and authors were able to engage in business activities within Britain and eligible to secure the benefits of British law. British businesses attempting to engage in business in the United States in many instances were ineligible to secure the same benefits as US nationals.
The US is indulging in "do as I say - not as I did".
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It is not a crusade against the heathens. It is, to a high degree, a question of controlling legislation abroad and making standards have exactly the levels where foreign competitors are disadvantaged in terms of needed investment to comply.
That includes, but is not limited to, IPs, environmental standards and worker safety.
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The White House been SOLD a bill of goods?
It's just like that, only in reverse.
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Krugman is openly a strong supporter of the democrats, and so it should be no surprise that he can't wrap his head around the idea that Obama isn't honest, and actually makes some dirty deals just like everyone else in washington.
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Krugman Changes Mind! Imagine That!
Krugman historically changes positions depending on partisan party politics. For Krugman, deficits were a bad problem under Bush, but historic $4 trillion deficits under Obama were just what we needed. A recent study showed his position on debt changes over the years in lock step with whoever is in the White House: http://econjwatch.org/articles/when-the-white-house-changes-party-do-economists-change-their-tune-on -budget-deficits
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Re: Krugman Changes Mind! Imagine That!
You do realize that this entire article is about him challenging the current administration's support for TPP.
So, uh, yeah.
Look, I get that some people have a visceral hatred for Krugman. I disagree with the guy on a lot, but you look pretty stupid for automatically disagreeing with everything he says.
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But he talks about them anyway, because he's "famous" so he needs to have an opinion on them either way.
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"just taking conventional Beltway wisdom"
For instance, Krugman was a staunch supporter of the Iraq invasion, believing (at least publicly) all the phony hype of Iraq's "weapons of mass destruction" and the "we will be greeted as liberators" promises (despite substantial evidence to the contrary). People who disagreed with the Iraq invasion had their careers destroyed (despite being proven right) while those who chose to run with the herd (despite being proven disastrously wrong) were rewarded -and remain rewarded- for their idiocy.
Krugman at least does backtrack somewhat when the tide of public opinion rises against him. This is why, having been called to task on his sheer ignorance of TPP, he has reversed positions, if only slightly. The sad reality, of course, is that there is a lot more money to be made (and careers to be enhanced) by supporting copyright maximalist positions than opposing them, and savvy "opinion leaders" like Krugman will always be seduced by the lure of playing dumb by supporting the the corporate interests to the greatest extent possible.
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Re: "just taking conventional Beltway wisdom"
I suppose that entirely depends on how you define "success".
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The contention that Krugman "just follows the herd" is just hilarious-- unless the "herd" doesn't include any of the Very Serious People who define the conventional wisdom in economics both here and in Europe.
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I'm able to form my own opinions, myself. My opinion about TPP is it's harmful for innovation, jobs, and the global economy. It's an attempt to criminalize starting your own business, without paying the large incumbent industries royalty fees to compete against them.
Not to mention the rules and regulations in TPP, will become international corporate law. A corporate law drafted by corporations, not by citizens and their governments.
I wish more people would look into the facts and form their own independent opinions. Instead of just going along with the herd.
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