This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.
The Fluff and Puff of Arianna Huffington
The article originally appeared on the Daily Capitalist.
COMMENTARY
Arianna Huffington just wrote an "important" op-ed, "Delevering in a Delevering World".
I know flummery when I see it:
On Monday, I was in Newport Beach to speak at the annual client conference of PIMCO, the world's largest bond investment company -- whose CEO Mohamed El-Erian is a frequent and very popular HuffPost blogger. More than 300 of PIMCO's clients gathered for a three-day retreat around the timely theme of "Delivering in a Delevering World."
After tossing out the names of her good friends El-Erian and Bill Gross (both of whom I have previously awarded our Crony Capitalist of the Month accolades), she launches into the dogma being tossed around in Krugmanite neo-Keynesian circles that capitalism needs to be "compassionate" and fiscal "austerity" is "keeping us from growing."
If this were a serious piece by her she wouldn't have to rely on the pejorative style of composition to make her point. But she does and as such it becomes Party-speak. Here are some of the value-laden words she uses to describe the "problem" of "excessive" government cost cutting:
- "relentless emphasis on cutting"
- "misguided approach to delevering"
- "imprudent delevering"
- "premature austerity"
- "excessive delevering"
- "we also need delivering from the obsolete dogmas of the past"
- "dysfunctional political and economic systems of the present"
- "capitalism without conscience"
I'll cut to the chase and tell you that her argument is that those governments (including the U.S.) which have gone broke by borrowing massive sums supported on a sea of fiat money to fund welfare programs for their favorite constituents, and which have run into a wall trying to roll over their crappy paper, need to borrow and spend even more because "imprudent", "excessive", and "misguided" attempts to cut spending will set back any recovery because only government spending can get us out of this mess.
This approach to fundamentalist Keynesian economics believes that somehow it is government that creates wealth in an economy and that without the benevolent hand of the government we would just sink back into the muck. Instead of understanding that the bond markets are trying to tell us something about these economies, their cure is more of the same thing that got these economies in trouble in the beginning.
But no, these attempts at fiscal sanity aren't "compassionate" and capitalism without government's oversight has no conscience and causes prolonged unemployment and misery. Actually what will cause prolonged unemployment and misery are the policies she favors. If long-term stagnation, inflation, high permanent unemployment, and high taxes are your goal, then she and her friends have the right formulary.
And then she has the gall to quote Adam Smith's Theory of Moral Sentiments as supporting her concept that capitalism lacks conscience.
I haven't read that work by Smith but I doubt Mrs. Huffington has either. I think she uses it as an intellectual embellishment to suit her argument and to give her an air of profundity. I did look up a paper on Theory of Moral Sentiments by Professor Jeffrey Hebener, ("An Integration of The Wealth of Nations and The Theory of Moral Sentiments") who describes the work this way:
... Smith discussed four ways in which capitalism "ennobles human nature." First, capitalism develops the impartial spectator (both internal and external). Second, it simultaneously develops self-command and humanity (the awful and amiable virtues). Third, Smith gives examples of how it develops virtue in man. Finally, capitalism develops a set of general rules of conduct that lead to moral activity.
Hebener concludes his study by saying:
When joined in this way, capitalism is the environment that prompts the prosperity of man's material and moral statures. Furthermore, this completes Smith's system. the Wealth of Nations contains his political ethics and Moral Sentiments constructs his views on personal ethics; integrating the two books reveals a real world environment for achieving his ethical goals.
In other words, Smith determined that capitalism, as he does properly define it, engenders moral virtue and material well-being. Mrs. Huffington suggests the opposite.
What can one expect from the publisher of the Huffington Post. She and some wealthy liberals founded it with big bucks to counter what they (amusingly) felt was the dominance of the "right wing media." They wished to make money too, so she turned a corner and sank into LCD (lowest common denominator) with articles on entertainment, celebrities and their divorces, nude photos, "business" (i.e., how the little guy is getting screwed), fashion, gay life, and things you would generally enjoy in a tabloid. She still does politics but the site is morbidly liberal.
She succeeded beyond anyone's wildest dreams (good luck, AOL). She took a successful formula from the British tabloids and applied it to the Web. I admire her success. Yes, she has a right to speak her mind on her site and to overtly promote herself and Huffpo.
But she's just parroting the liberal economic catechism that her claque are whispering in her ear; let not anyone think that her views on economics are anything but fluff and puff.
»
- Econophile's blog
- 10978 reads
- Printer-friendly version
- Send to friend
- advertisements -
Somehow i don't see Huffington as dumb enough to do what the grand conservative, Murdoch, did to hack teens' cell phones. Murdoch's had his butt yanked to England several times in the past year. Not so Huffington. She comes and goes as she pleases. Seems to me that conservatives win hands down any award for greed and stupidity. Hacking teens' cell phones. As the 80 year old head of an empire, Murdoch looks real dumb.
I'm sure an 80 year old man is sitting at a computer hacking phones. You don't just look dumb, you really are a fucking moron. The real award for greed and stupidity goes to liberals like 0bozo, who's dick you would suck if given the chance.
Then maybe he and Aidwiannah oughta hook up.
He looks dumb....
Arianna achieved her "status" by marrying Michael Huffington, son of oil billionaire Roy Huffington, who she knew to be - let's just say - not what he appeared. After having two children to ensure that she wouldn't be disinherited and after Michael finally 'came out' Arianna divorced him for a massive settlement. She parleyed that money and the pilfered Huffington name and connections into becoming a DC Darling, where she continues to rule her particular little roost. Arianna is smart - like a "Greek Geenius" that Mr. Panos described here on ZH yesterday - but she is a pretender who was an arch conservative while pandering to rich daddy-in-law Roy and then as soon as she got her paws on the money she switched sides - just like Hubby Michael only in a different way - and took the liberal world by storm. Liberals do love redheads who wear lip gloss and seem to promise endless oral sex with their 'dahling' innuendos. In the tradition of the Gabor sisters of the same profession Arianna is an any-way-the-wind-blows kind of girl. Totally amoral, she is not to be believed, and certainly not to be respected. She is a parasite.
You nailed Arianna. Figuratively, of course. Half the producers in Hollywood have nailed Arianna literally, I'll bet.
Ariana's game goes on as long as the Ponzi continues. She's an Ayn Rand villain, and her world ends when the money runs out.
I wonder how much she's in gold, and how much she's in stocks and fiat. Would be interested to see her breakdown. The woman may be a liberal, but she's not stupid.
Sounds like the US banking system....parasites.
+1
How does a Greek woman sound like a Hungarian?? Odd. She is scum. Huff Po seemed to be getting lots of Saudi and CAIR style banner ads in 2008 when she was shilling for Oba. I wonder hope much money Huff Po was getting from the Saudis. They ripped Hillary to shreads in 2008.
Best bio on the web, but you could have mentioned her first Greek lover, and her an her Mom coming to New York and hitting the big time! Saach a Kuntry.
Mom created a guided missile and it landed right on target. Get some culture, marry the idiot son of a rich man, play their game until you can win, then grab the gold and laugh all the way home. And you're right optimator - mom is the puppetmaster in the shadows. I know what I know because I am distantly related to that pack of parasites, been to their homes, weddings, funerals etc. and believe me these are people you would not want to share a life with. Cheap. tawdry, and shallow. But surrounded by syncophants begging to plant a little kiss on their ass, hoping to get a few bucks tossed their way. Funny thing - it never happens. Roy was a unique character, whatever his many many faults - the rest of them are ciphers. In the end he fell for the young daughter of an old friend who ( a la Greek mom) wiped his drool for a few years and walked away laughing with all his money. The Huffingtons are a dead-end lineage. Barefoot to barefoot in three generations.
Ah the old predator disguised as a housepet syndrome, eh?
:D
She got rich by paying her writers nothing. If this is not a hypocrite then what is?
She really got rich by marrying a rich person and waiting for them to die. That's the democrat way. Ask John Kerry.
Arianna couldn't be too stupid. She seemed to know when to sell her Huffington Post to AOL for $315 million.
This sale actually should show whose side she is on. Hint: it ain't the downtrodden.
copy (puff) and paste (huff)
Needs to retire to a home for aging libs.
When she talks she reminds me of some 2 dollar hooker from the Ukraine! With the same IQ to boot!
Hooker? maybe? When I think of idiots Beck, Rush hanninty, Savage and many of the rest of the fox dog fuckers need to be brought up in the argument.
God, you know Obama is in trouble when the Media Matters drones land en masse here.
The article and comments are full of so much misinformation-hard to take all of this seriously, and neither am I a fan of PIMCO, which is right behind Goldman in their capture of the FED to boost their profits.
I take Onion seriously than I owuld take Puffy Biatch.
you might want to use this image to compliment your article
http://oi39.tinypic.com/1zlgjfa.jpg
Hey, I've fucked uglier girls than that...
new sgt_doom
I'm no fan of rightwinger, Ariana, but this clown doing the blog post sure doesn't know squat about either economics nor international finance.
The PE leveraged buyout thieves, the hedge fundsters, the jobs offshorers (see previous two categories), and the bankster who peddled hundreds of trillions of worthless credit derivatives with their underlying securitizations, destroyed the tax base while dismantling the economy.
Or maybe you're too stooopid to grasp that, sonny???
(And, oh yeah, FYI, dood, we've been living in a Milton Friedmanesque economics environment since at least the 1980s.)
Thank you sergeant. I was thinking the same thing after his first paragraph.
sgt boob- "And, oh yeah FYI, dood, we've been living in a Milton Freidmanesque economics environment since at least the 1980's."
More like Paul Krugmanesque economics since the Federal Reserves was brought to life. I'm not sure who's the bigger twat, Arianna or YOU!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfdRpyfEmBE
Does this sound like a guy who wants more compassionate capitalism/socialism or a free society that takes care of their communties because they want to? Pull your head out.
Last I checked "Tom" The "Huff & Puff", was in a left/port spiral?
almost says it all
http://media.reason.com/mc/mwelch/2011_09/AriannaMaher.jpg?h=248&w=340
and this definitely says it all
http://usa.greekreporter.com/2011/04/22/ariana-huffington-and-jamie-dimo...
Are those " Netscape" patents of any [REAL] value?
Huffingtonpost went from being a left wing quasi-radical website to an all out bells and whistles javaesque parity if itself. Turn off the java script and there is nothing there. The advertizing says it all. This is as close to MSM garbage as a website can be down to the sidebar Enquirer like articles. Articles like----> "The Most Expensive Dishes in the Country" , just so all the 99%'ers know where they stand. They are progressively more afraid to veer from the MSM circuit of rehashed ideas.
In this 'interweb' age it should be a mystery wht folk aren't turning off their tv and dumping newspapers and useless tat magazines..and yet that industry is booming, perhaps as a consequence of the celebrity industrial complex? The fact that propaganda is thrust down our throats more than at any time in recent history could be revealing that a real battle for consciousness is being played out..
You've really got to search for highly credible information in the form of article writing that swims against the huge tide of manufactured zeitgesit, hats of to ZH for giving it to the man..
Once someone becomes aware of the widespread use of MK-ULTRA slaves by Hollywood & the music industry (http://bigscreendeception.blogspot.com/), I think it is practically impossible to appreciate that stuff anymore. It's only a matter of time before that stuff becomes widely known...
The fact that she sold out to the overleveraged corporate media (AOL) explains why the Huffington Post is a cheerleader for the central planners.
First of all, Adam Smith is not the world's best representative of free enterprise. Anyone constantly parrots Adam Smith as the champion of the free market doesn't know economic history.
Writings on capitalism were around before Adam Smith was even born. And Smith contradicts himself on plenty of occassions.
See Rothbard's critique of Smith.
Mrs. Huffington has been saying the same exact thing for the past decade, nothing really new here. Except, she's Greek which is an embarassment and an affront to all Greeks.
"...an embarassment and an affront to all Greeks."
You don't pull any punches, do you FXP?
WTF?
No, you gotta be kidding me. Ariannahdaahlink speaking at a PIMCO client conference?
WTF?
Like uh... really... I mean, like uh
WTF?
WHo in their right mind would take a presentation by AH as serious? Moreover a client of PIMPCO? I mean they're there for supposedly... supposedly... first class financial information. Investments.
Adirnnahdaahlink?
I am flummoxed.
We are living in a world of illusion and nonsense.
Gallagher has been ill lately.
+1
(italicized text at start of post sometimes disables up arrow button)
I'm no fan of rightwinger, Ariana, but this clown doing the blog post sure doesn't know squat about either economics nor international finance.
The PE leveraged buyout thieves, the hedge fundsters, the jobs offshorers (see previous two categories), and the bankster who peddled hundreds of trillions of worthless credit derivatives with their underlying securitizations, destroyed the tax base while dismantling the economy.
Or maybe you're too stooopid to grasp that, sonny???
(And, oh yeah, FYI, dood, we've been living in a Milton Friedmanesque economics environment since at least the 1980s.)
she is not a liberal at all - she is a right wing bush hypocrite - even picking up that nauseating phrase compassionate conservatism....she is as big a crony capitalist as any other limousine liberal....
What's funny is the throngs to Liberals and Progressives that flock to the site, fawning over the general message.
Smith's Theory of Moral Sentiments is part of his social theorizing which is generally regarded as vague, clumsy and full of Enlightenment misconceptions. Somehow I'm not surprised that in a roomful of extremely self important people these meaningless topics become a discussion.
'Compassionate' capitalism is jumbo shrimp.
Exactly.
Capitalism is just "man exploiting man;" while Communism is the other way around...
Actually, the recently-deceased neo-con Breitbart created HuffPo. Then Arianna noticed that in America the State Socialists are even richer than the crony capitalists, and veered accordingly. I looked at it the other day for 1st time in months and, since AOL took over, it's clearly on an accelerating downslope; fewer and fewer writers, dull pix, threads deteriorating, etc. Next owner: Murdoch.
It's already owned by AOL, the startup runners got their elephant carcass.
I think that the crew that ran that place already hopped off and moved on to get the next round of VC in some other venture.
"Rually Dahlink?"
Who the fuck takes Huffinton seriously?
Did people forget it was laying around in bed with Al Franken, about the time her ex came out da closet, on Maher that changed her political affiliation?
It's like when Hillary was squeezing Bills balls and he promised her the presidency. Or when any goddamned dead politicians wife takes over the post.
All fucking jokes out to make a buck off the machine.
People also seem to forgotten about Nannygate back when Mikey ran against Frankenstein for senate....but there it is in print, Arianna.
HP aggregates articles from Kruggybear, FFS. Nuff said.
Arianna is a big government stooge, she should have stayed in Greece where the policies she's advocating here have been followed and it bankrupted Greece.
In 2003, she ran as an independent candidate for Governor in the California recall election.
Just this tells you all you need to know about her. She's a commifornian.
She became known as a reliable supporter of conservative causes such as Newt Gingrich's "Republican Revolution" and Bob Dole's 1996 candidacy for president.
That too tells you all about her.
Huffington heads The Detroit Project, a public interest group lobbying automakers to start producing cars running on alternative fuels. The project's 2003 TV ads, which equated driving sport utility vehicles to funding terrorism
This too.
Why in gods name does anyone listen to this idiot Huffington? This is the same women who is so clueless that she married a guy who was gay.
A lot of the commentary and articles here at ZH are "morbidly" conservative, which means they are just as one-eyed as anything at Huffpo.
---
Rush Limbaugh in his own words: I'M A NAZI, OH YES I AM!