David Brooks' Vapid Centrism

      That Krugman joke about the VSP who answer every debate with "opinions differ" applies more than anyone to someone at his own NYT-David Brooks.

      Over the last three years in particular as the country has struggled with such a deep crisis, the complete facile pointlessness of Brooks' centrist rhapsodizing has really been underscored. He has no point in any dispute other than we should all meet in the center.

     Up to a point it would not be so objectionable but Brooks is truly a one note wonder and this is his only contribution to any discussion these days. Just split the difference, meet in the middle. Does it really never occur to him that the Center is an effect of political discourse rather than its overriding goal?

     He has a way too of always seeing it as the "Democrats and Republicans need to stop squabbling" when the Democrats have already compromised 85% of the way and the GOP continues with Angela Merkel's 'Non!"

     The most recent example of Brooks' facile centrism is pointed out well by Dean Baker:

      "David Brooks tells us that he is very concerned about the demands that value-less technocrats are imposing on the people of Germany to bail out the heavily indebted countries of southern Europe. He is worried that the bailout will be very costly and also that it will remove the link between effort and reward."

      "Brooks wants to see the people of Spain, Portugal, Italy and elsewhere suffer, because their leaders were no more competent than the people at the ECB or the banks making loans in Germany, France and elsewhere. He thinks that they should endure long periods of high unemployment, see big cuts in the pensions for which they worked decades, and have education spending for their children reduced. "

      "I'm looking really hard, but I don't see any connection  between effort and reward in Brooks' vision. Maybe he can clarify the link in a future column."

       http://www.cepr.net/index.php/beat-the-press/

       If anyone wonders that the attack on the Very Serious People is merely on straw men, just take a look at David Brook, the most serious of the Very Serious People.