OPINION
6A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2016
The Obama boom
Founded in 1873
By PAUL KRUGMAN
New York Times News Service
STEPHEN A. FORRESTER, Editor & Publisher
LAURA SELLERS, Managing Editor
BETTY SMITH, Advertising Manager
CARL EARL, Systems Manager
JOHN D. BRUIJN, Production Manager
DEBRA BLOOM, Business Manager
HEATHER RAMSDELL, Circulation Manager
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Video can provide an undeniable record
of police interactions with suspects
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mature technology with general acceptance in Clatsop
County, as described in our story last Friday. The Astoria
Police Department has bought more cameras and video soft-
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vehicle-mounted cameras even longer.
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zens who object to the cameras
based on concerns video record-
ings contribute to modern so-
ciety becoming a “surveillance
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is taken of many transactions
that used to be unobserved and
transitory. It is possible to sym-
pathize with the feeling that a
degree of creepiness attaches to
the possibility of being recorded
by police.
On balance, however, con-
sidering the policies and pre-
cautions taken by Astoria Police
and other agencies, these con-
cerns are less valid than they
might otherwise be. Steps like
blurring faces and discarding
videos without investigatory or
judicial relevance allay most
citizen worries.
The advantages of having
recordings of police-citizen in-
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both ways. While they can’t be
relied on for every element of
context and nuance, videos pro-
vide a nearly undeniable record
of who said and did what during
police actions. Not only are vid-
eos powerful evidence, but the
cameras serve as an incentive
for good behavior on the part
of cops and those they contact.
Using cameras is, especially, a
no-brainer from the standpoint
of managing insurance and legal
liability for departments.
Body cameras are available
to citizens, too, and these re-
cordings are certain to become a
bigger issue in terms of privacy.
In tandem with the rapid expan-
sion in drone aircraft owner-
ships, ubiquitous video cameras
are a growing part of modern
life.
Working out the legal obliga-
tions and simple good manners
of this technology will require
deliberate thought and discus-
sion for years to come.
CNN won’t report
the sage grouse deal
Problems avoided are costs avoided
P
roblems avoided are a lot
like wars that don’t happen.
They don’t get the attention of
problems that explode in public
places. When calamity — es-
pecially armed calamity — is
avoided, we save money and
lives.
During his Astoria town hall
meeting last Saturday, U.S. Sen.
Ron Wyden mentioned success-
ful negotiations over the greater
sage grouse. The outcome was
an agreement that the grouse
would not be listed as endan-
gered while affected states were
charged with developing and
carrying out plans to protect the
species.
Unlike the armed occupation
of the Malheur National Wildlife
Refuge, the sage grouse deal
will not get national coverage.
CNN will not show up.
The sage grouse process
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It involved federal agencies
such as the Bureau of Land
Management, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service and the U.S.
Forest Service as well as en-
vironmental groups and users
such as ranchers.
“This produced a commend-
able plan to improve habitat on
60 million acres of public lands
in 11 western states,” said Mark
Salvo of Defenders of Wildlife.
“Nobody would dispute that.
This is a step forward, especial-
ly for the BLM , which had not
managed lands well.”
Evaluating the various states’
strategies, Salvo said: “Oregon’s
is considered one of the better
strategies for sage grouse. It
is an all-lands approach. It in-
cludes state and private lands,
steps no other state has taken.”
The Oregon Natural Desert
Association is especially fo-
cused on the outcome. Said Dan
Morse, its conservation direc-
tor, “From our perspective, both
plans (federal and state) have
many positive elements that if
implemented will help us turn
the corner.”
During his Astoria appear-
ance, Wyden compared the oc-
cupation in Harney County to
confrontation over the poten-
tial endangered species listing
of the greater sage grouse. It
was an apt comparison and it
makes a point that some presi-
dential candidates fail to grasp.
Our land use economics are
complex. Progress on species
preservation is possible. But to
move forward sometimes de-
mands years of work.
Editorials that appear on this page are written by
Publisher Steve Forrester and Matt Winters, editor of the
Chinook Observer and Coast River Business Journal, or staff
members from the EO Media Group’s sister newspapers.
D
o you remember the “Bush
boom”? Probably not.
Anyway, the administration
of
George
W.
Bush
began
its
tenure with
a recession,
followed by
an extended
“jobless re-
covery.” By
Paul
the summer
Krugman
of
2003,
however, the
economy began adding jobs
again. The pace of job creation
wasn’t anything special by his-
torical standards, but conserva-
tives insisted that the job gains
after that trough represented a
huge triumph, a vindication of
the Bush tax cuts.
From a conservative point of
view, Obama did everything
wrong, afflicting the
comfortable (slightly) and
comforting the afflicted (a lot),
and nothing bad happened.
We can, it turns out, make our
society better after all.
And Obama, in particular, has been
attacked at every stage of his presi-
dency for policies that his critics al-
lege are “job-killing” — the former
House speaker, John Boehner, once
used the phrase seven times in less
than 14 minutes. So the fact that the
Obama job record is as good as it is
tells you something about the validi-
ty of those attacks.
What did Obama do that was
supposed to kill jobs? Quite a lot,
actually. He signed the 2010 Dodd-
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claimed would crush employment
by starving businesses of capital. He
raised taxes on high incomes, espe-
So what should we say about the cially at the very top, where average
Obama job record? Private-sector tax rates rose about 6.5 percentage
points after 2012, a step that critics
employment — the relevant num- claimed would destroy incentives.
ber, as I’ll explain in a minute — And he enacted a health reform that
hit its low point in February 2010. went into full effect in 2014, amid
Since then we’ve gained 14 million claims that it would have catastroph-
MREVD¿JXUHWKDWVWDUWOHGHYHQPH ic effects on employment.
Yet none of the dire predicted
roughly double the number of jobs consequences of these policies have
added during the supposed Bush materialized. It’s not just that over-
boom before it turned into the Great all job creation in the private sector
Recession. If that was a boom, this — which was what Obama was sup-
expansion, capped by last month’s posedly killing — has been strong.
really good report, outbooms it by a More detailed examinations of labor
markets also show no evidence of
wide margin.
predicted ill effects. For example,
Does President Barack Obama there’s no evidence that Obamacare
deserve credit for these gains? No. In led to a shift from full-time to part-
general, presidents and their policies time work, and no evidence that the
matter much less for the economy’s expansion of Medicaid led to large
performance than most people imag- reductions in labor supply.
So what do we learn from this
ine. Times of crisis are an exception,
and the Obama stimulus plan enact- impressive failure to fail? That the
ed in 2009 made a big positive dif- conservative economic orthodoxy
ference. But that stimulus faded out dominating the Republican Party is
fast after 2010, and has very little to very, very wrong.
In a way, that should have been
do with the economy’s current situ-
obvious. For conservative orthodoxy
ation.
The point, however, is that pol- has a curiously inconsistent view of
iticians and pundits, especially the abilities and motivations of cor-
on the right, constantly insist that porations and wealthy individuals —
presidential policies matter a lot. I mean, job creators.
On one side, this elite is pre-
sumed to be a bunch of economic
superheroes, able to deliver univer-
sal prosperity by summoning the
magic of the marketplace. On the
other side, they’re depicted as in-
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in the face of adversity — raise their
taxes a bit, subject them to a few
regulations, or for that matter hurt
their feelings in a speech or two,
and they’ll stop creating jobs and
go sulk in their tents, or more likely
their mansions.
It’s a doctrine that doesn’t make
much sense, but it conveys a clear
message that, whaddya know, turns
out to be very convenient for the
elite: namely, that injustice is a law
of nature, that we’d better not do
anything to make our society less
unequal or protect ordinary families
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do, the usual suspects insist, we’ll
be severely punished by the invisible
hand, which will collapse the econ-
omy.
Economists could and did argue
that history proves this doctrine
wrong. After all, America achieved
rapid, indeed unprecedented, in-
come growth in the 1950s and
1960s, despite top tax rates beyond
the wildest dreams of modern pro-
gressives. For that matter, there are
countries like Denmark that com-
bine high taxes and generous social
programs with very good employ-
ment performance.
But for those who don’t know
much about either history or the
world outside America, the Obama
economy offers a powerful lesson
in the here and now. From a conser-
vative point of view, Obama did ev-
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fortable (slightly) and comforting
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happened. We can, it turns out, make
our society better after all.
Focus on illegal guns
from whom he acquired
about where criminals get
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the weapon. In addition, 47
were somewhat shocking.
percent of the respondents
Corrupt dealers supply
quizzed as to whether they
ate Thursday a madman ap-
some
of
the
guns.
Accord-
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proached a police cruiser in
ing to Bieler:
during a crime admitted
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“Some researchers have
to so doing and 86 percent
WLPHVDWWKHRI¿FHULQWKHYHKLFOH suggested that gun retailers
of the felons who admitted
divert
a
relatively
low
vol-
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striking him three times in the left
ume
of
weapons,
while
oth-
reported
multiple thefts.”
arm.
ers have found them to be a
Rather
than focusing on
Charles
Even with those wounds, the of- major source.”
all guns, the vast, vast ma-
Blow
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Some come from gangs
jority of which are owned
VKRRWHUDQGUHWXUQ¿UHVWULNLQJKLPLQ DQG IDPLO\ DQG IULHQGV 6SHFL¿FDOO\ by responsible people and are never
“Research has put their role as a sup- used in the commission of a crime, we
the buttocks.
ply source at 30 to 40 percent of crime have to focus on keeping guns out of
The shooter would later tell the po- guns, but little is known about the the hands of this relatively small num-
lice, according to Capt. James Clark, composition of this nebulous ‘friends ber of criminals.
People, including the president in
commander of the Police Depart- and family’ category.”
And research by the Bureau of his speech and town hall meeting last
ment’s homicide division: “I follow
Allah and I pledge allegiance to the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Ex- week, like to compare increasing gun
Islamic State. That is the reason why I plosives suggests that “just one per- regulations to the way cars are regu-
FHQWRIOLFHQVHG¿UHDUPVGHDOHUVVROG lated. But they didn’t simply get safer
did what I did.”
This is a disturbing reminder of the more than half of the guns recovered due to regulations. They also got safer
LQÀXHQFHRIWKH,VODPLF6WDWHRQLQGL- in crimes, and that most gun dealers because the market desired more safe-
viduals disposed to acts of terror, and rarely have one of their guns show up ty, as well as anti-theft features. Many
how hard it is to identify all of them in crime.”
of the innovations, carmakers came
But what I found most shocking up with on their own. The gun market
before they commit a violent act.
was the number of doesn’t behave that way.
But the episode
guns that are stolen
also highlighted some-
Furthermore, cars are required to
each year: as many as be licensed, registered, insured and
thing else that does not Our current
a million. Each periodically inspected. Also, you
get enough discussion:
discussion half
year! And many of can’t hide a car the way you can hide
the use of stolen guns
those stolen guns are a gun. Cars are operated on public
in crimes.
about
used in other crimes.
You see, the gun
roads.
In a 2003 book,
used in the Philadel-
If we want to truly put a dent in gun
increasing
“The Challenge of violence, we must take some incredi-
phia attack had been
gun
Crime,” published by bly unpopular steps in some pockets.
stolen, from a police
University Safety features — including smart
RI¿FHU QR OHVV LQ
regulations Harvard
Press, authors quot- JXQVWKDWFDQRQO\EH¿UHGE\WKHRZQ-
2013.
ed researchers who er — are going to have to be added to
Our current discus-
often
found the following:
sion about increasing
the market. That will be hard to sell
“They learned that because no one wants a gun to fail to
gun regulations often
centers
32 percent of the fel- because it lacks a charge or due to a
centers on efforts that
on efforts
ons had acquired their WHFKQRORJ\ JOLWFK 2QH RI EHQH¿WV RI
would mostly affect
most recent weapon traditional guns is that, technological-
people who legally
through their own ly, they are simple and ancient. There
EX\¿UHDUPV0DQ\RI that would
theft; an additional are no batteries or chips.
them make sense, in
mostly
14 percent knew that
theory, but the truth is
We are also likely to have to reg-
their friend, family, or ister guns and require insurance. This
that they would not be
affect
street source had sto- would be almost impossible, given the
likely to have a huge
len the weapon before gun lobby’s and many gun owners’
impact on criminal people who
conveying it; and an current stance and the paranoid fears
gun violence, because
additional 24 percent RI FRQ¿VFDWLRQ D IHDU VRPH OLEHUDOV
many of those crimi- legally buy
thought that the weap- feed.
nals obtain their weap-
firearms.
on probably had been
ons illegally.
Making guns safer and keeping
So, when the gun lobby and gun stolen by his source. At least 46 per- more of them out of the hands of crim-
owners make this case, we must admit cent, then, and possibly as many as 70 inals and in the hands of responsible
percent of felons’ most recently owned owners can be done, but not as long as
that they have a point.
In 2013, Samuel Bieler of the Ur- ¿UHDUPV KDG EHHQ VWROHQ HLWKHU E\ many responsible owners are also un-
ban Institute wrote a fascinating article the offender himself or by the source reasonable ones.
By CHARLES BLOW
New York Times News Service
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