It was sort of this week, sort of not, but I'll make a mention here of all of the implementation fights on the Affordable Care Act: they certainly matter.
I'll go with North Korea again in the "doesn't matter" category.
I'm not sure what to do with the SCOTUS hearings on marriage, so I'll leave it to you.
And beyond that, I've probably missed stuff...what do you think? What do you think mattered this week?
Saturday, March 30, 2013
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In North Korea, you have a country led by an emotionally immature, gravitas-lacking leader who is the offspring and inheritor of a powerful dynastic family. Perhaps the psychologists would analyze his bellicosity as a defense mechanism against his transparent inadequacy for the role.
ReplyDeleteWhat bad outcome could possibly arise from that?
Quickly, what would the argument be that the SSM hearings wouldn't matter? Just that oral arguments may or may not have any bearings to the ruling?
ReplyDeleteI guess the argument is that the Court's ultimate decisison is not--and never was likely to be--a sweeping decision nationalizing SSM once and for all.
DeleteI hope Korea doesn't matter.
ReplyDeleteHow about Cyprus? They're now talking about confiscating 60%-80% of the larger deposits. The (not very well thought out) basis of the Cypriot economy has been destroyed. Some anticipate a 20% loss of GDP over the next two years. And the Germans et al. are patting themselves on the back, saying this is the way to go forward with future bailouts. So, how do you say "run on the bank" in Italian?
Cyprus: surprisingly it hasn't mattered relatively much. Or at least the jury is out until there's another European news event that shocks the public or the financial markets, and then actually moves them to major actions. Then we'll see which of several ambiguous lessons have been drawn from the Cyprus situation. (Martin Wolf's column this past week was nice and succinct about how there are multiple interpretations to be made with differing implications.) Another round of Italian elections may be the spark. I was unsure about Cyprus mattering last week, and this week only confirms that so far in the super short-term it hasn't mattered.
DeleteI'd actually say that what more clearly matters this week in Europe is the situation in Italy, in which Bersani has been unable to gain even partial support from Grillo or his representatives to form a government.
DeleteWith luck, the rest of Europe may view it as Cyprus's problem--or a problem of countries with oversized banking sectors--and therefore unlikely to happen to them. The question will come up if a larger country like Italy needs another bail-out and depositors fear its potential terms.
DeleteI haven't seen too much attention paid to the notion that the Cypriot crisis is, in a sense, a consequence of the way in which the Greek bail-out was handled. The Cypriot banks were undermined by the collapse of Greek bonds in which they had invested heavily. So the Cypriots apparently blame the Germans both for starting the crisis and for finishing off the Cypriot economy with their solution to the crisis.
What will be really interesting is if Cyprus ends up exiting the euro, which seems to have a non-trivial chance of happening. I don't think anyone knows what the outcome of that would be.
DeleteYeah, I'm on the side of saying that Cyprus matters, mainly because of the potential downside. Whatever it is.
DeleteTim Johnson announced his decision to not run again for Senate, that matters. I'm with Monje that Cyprus stuff matters, I just have no idea what the effects will be. Going to say that the made up claims against Ed Markey don't matter. Also I think some economic numbers got revised upwards.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure how much Tim Johnson's retirement matters. Polls have shown that the Democrats would have a difficult (though not impossible) time defending his seat whether or not he ran again. (PPP actually found that Stephanie Herseth Sandlin would do a bit better than Johnson, but it is not sure she will run.)
DeleteI meant it more along the lines that any one Senator can be incredibly influential and so any time one decides to leave it matters as you are going to get someone new. I also think JB had a post at WaPo about how the 2014 Senate map is favoring the GOP, this is just another contribution to that.
DeleteAgree, of course, on the "one Senator" thing -- but I'm with David in that I think SHS may have a better chance of winning than Johnson would. Of course, that depends on her running and winning the primary.
DeleteThe general approach taken by US media to the Supreme Court hearings was notable. Sure, many people in media have always had more sympathy than not for the gay rights movement, which has subtly and not so subtly colored the way in which they cover the issue, but it really felt like some form of coming-out party this week. It was perhaps various outlets that like to think of themselves as "objective" simply following the balance of public opinion, but it seems that moves like this help to solidify or ratify new cultural norms within the political-news world. Since I agree with the solidifying norm, I'm pleased.
ReplyDeleteYou mean like when Justice Kagan read out loud the justification given for DOMA at the time it was enacted, that the law was made to express moral disapproval at the idea of homosexual love, and the man defending the law said that if that mattered, then strike the law down?
DeleteMy favorite cartoon on this topic is Ben Sargent's. He has a lawyer telling the Court, "Trust me, it's there...Try page 16." And the amazed justices say, "Well, look at that! Equal protection of the laws! Who knew?!?"
I would respectfully argue that the Supreme Court hearings matter a great deal. Not so much the hearings but the mix of the hearings and the public reaction, as PF pointed out. It reminds me a lot of the Anita Hill moment in 1991, when a political process was moving forward but the public's take on the subject hardened into a consensus that hadn't existed previously. This week was the week in which the gains of the gay rights movement became irreversible -- and also the week in which public expressions of anti-gay bigotry became "unmentionable" the way public expressions of racism became unmentionable in the 1970s sometime. O'Reilly and Limbaugh both capitulated this week. It was a big, big week for this stuff, regardless of what the rulings come down as being (and I suspect they've been at least nudged to the left from where they would have been absent the public reaction.
ReplyDeleteObama's new cleaner gasoline standards matter
ReplyDeleteYes, indeed.
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