I often think that the reason liberals get so angry about "Fox News", the "GW Deniers", "Conservatives Re-writing History", "Framing", "Corporations / Money in Politics" is because they have been doing all of them so successfully, and live in fear of a facts based discussion eventually showing through. Biased reporting is old hat, it was just supposed to be one sided; using pseudo science to drive policy, making sure their folks had both the first (MSM) and last (university) drafts if history, the Madison Ave view of issues as the liberal and ONLY frame, and most of all Unions, "Non-Partison" organizations like the Sierra Club, and people like Soros pouring unlimited funds into politics for their side.
The linked article is a good rebuttal of a Krugman article that attempts to get an almost laughable rewrite of very recent history into the mix, so there is AT LEAST "questions about what happened". Here is a rebuttal of the Sweden comments -- the fact that Sweden has made a relatively hard right turn is virtually a "state secret" to the US media.
Krugman cites Sweden as an example of a social welfare success in Europe, but fails to mention two important points. Firstly, in recent years, Sweden has begun rolling back the welfare system and government expenditure while adopting important free market reforms. Secondly, Sweden decided to stay out of the eurozone, another key reason why it has so far kept out of the financial mess engulfing southern Europe. As Johnny Munkhammar, a Swedish member of parliament noted in a piece for The Wall Street Journal in January, Sweden owes its success not to welfare statism but to reforms that have increased economic freedom, including greater competitiveness in the provision of health care and other public services:
The following paragraph is why Krugman and the left really have no other choice but to try to confuse people. The system that they have espoused for DECADES is clearly imploding, and that fact just becomes more starkly obvious each and every day.
The reality that Krugman refuses to accept is that Europe offers a glimpse of America’s future if it continues down the path of European-style big government. The root of Europe’s financial crisis lies in decades of over-spending and over-borrowing, largely to pay for overgrown and bloated welfare systems, vast public sectors, and incredibly generous pension plans. Europe has a huge entitlements disaster heading its way, with graying electorates unable to sustain the status quo. Added to this has been the disastrous euro experiment, which has created a one-size fits all approach for 17 EU countries, with varying levels of economic advancement. It has been a huge leap into the dark, without a shred of democratic accountability.
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