The Bush White House has made it clear that it will destroy the careers of scientists, budget experts, intelligence operatives and even military officers who don't toe the line. But Mr. Greenspan should have been immune to such pressures, and he should have understood that the peculiarity of his position — as an unelected official who wields immense power — carries with it an obligation to stand above the fray. By using his office to promote a partisan agenda, he has betrayed his institution, and the nation.
The Bush administration is making the tax code less progressive and is reducing the subsidies that flow from the wealthy to the poor. This is ideologically consistent. They believe that that people should "stand on their own feet". The unstated corollary is that those who fall deserve their fate.
This is compassionate conservatism. I suppose the compassion part is tastefully looking away rather than tossing cake crumbs.
Krugman is angry about Greenspan's betrayals. Given Greenspan's heritage as a Randian (devotee of Ayn Rand, the apostle of libertarianism) I'd say he's returned to his roots. Rand would approve, she had no patience for the weak.
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