Happy Halloween! …the only full-moon Hallowe’en between 1955 and 2020.

Paul Krugman:
The One-Eyed Man: “Somewhere I read that to really

understand legislation you have to

look for the clause giving special

consideration to one-eyed bearded men

with a limp — that is, you have to look for

the provision that turns a bill ostensibly

serving a public purpose into a giveaway

for some special interest.” I’ve seen alot of progressive reaction to the “economic stimulus” bill passed last week by the House decrying the giveaway to the GMs and Exxons of the country at the expense of the little folk. Krugman incisively suggests this is a kneejerk response that’s kind of tautological. You don’t have to find it equitable, but the way the economy of the country is structured it wouldn’t be a stimulus package if it didn’t benefit the largest corporate entities, would it? More interestingly, the “one-eyed man” in bill turns out to be a concentration of mid-sized energy and mining businesses based in or near Texas. “In other words, the one-eyed bearded man with a limp looks a lot like Dick Cheney.” NY Times