Krugman: "Europe’s economic success should be obvious even without statistics."

I'm in the process of developing a new, recurring character for my Thursday Tribune column. His name is Oakengruber. He's a doctor, reads a publication called the Wall Beck Journal, opposes the ungodly curse of Obamunism, patronizes certain downtown antique stores, and ... well, just stay tuned to see what happens when the Publican has his gout toe examined.

In the interim, as American fights for the right to be dim, here's a welcomed corrective to the teabagging blather. As for me, I'm going for a bicycle ride.

Learning From Europe, by Paul Krugman (New York Times).

As health care reform nears the finish line, there is much wailing and rending of garments among conservatives. And I’m not just talking about the tea partiers. Even calmer conservatives have been issuing dire warnings that Obamacare will turn America into a European-style social democracy. And everyone knows that Europe has lost all its economic dynamism.

Strange to say, however, what everyone knows isn’t true.