applauds
If I learned one thing from Settlers of Catan, it’s that with enough wheat you can build anything.
Why does michael goodwin hate America?
This is the best frame for sure.
I’d love to hear Paul Krugman’s opinion of this strip.
probably something along the lines of
wibble
I like that panel too, but it makes things problematical as to who I send a link to the strip to. This makes a “scholarly” strip seem partisan.
I have one friend who could REALLY stand to read the comic, but once he hits that page the “COMMIE!” flag will go up.
Because he hates our freedom, duh.
There a a lot more people on this earth to befriend 
I agree it makes it more partisan but at the same time, that’s really how the teabaggers look to outsiders.
Or Robert Reich’s opinion.
Krugman’s expertise is in international trade, though.
For a comic with a lot of pictures of rich guys with cigars, it was rather more balanced than I would have expected.
I’m not a big fan of what the TPP is likely to bring, but I will say that fast-tracking is pretty much the only way to negotiate a treaty. If you’re not going to fast-track, don’t bother wasting money and time on negotiations that cannot be passed. That’s simply dealing with other countries in bad faith. If it’s a bad treaty (like TPP might very will be), then vote it down, or better still, don’t bother negotiating in the first place.
That was my exact thought. If the message could have been presented without all the “subtle” tea party jokes it would have been a lot easier to share.
I will say that fast-tracking is pretty much the only way to negotiate a treaty
That’s an incredibly black and white opinion. That’s basically supporting top-down corporate communism instead of a democratic process.
A democratic process may be messy, lengthy and do horrible things like offer some semblance of transparency, some safety/environmental concerns and possible fairness towards workers and consumers … but it’s not an impossible process.
The corporatists want you to believe the lie that a democratic process can’t work and spend a lot of effort manufacturing consent among the populace to reinforce that lie. Looks like they got to you.
Hustling through a treaty that benefits the rich while fucking over everyone else for the sake of hustling through a treaty isn’t the way things “have to be”. That’s just a corporatist talking point to keep the megalomania sickness alive and well.
I will just point out one major factual error on page 10 et subs. - Iceland is actually the biggest producer of bananas in Europe and exports relatively huge amounts of them. And incidentally, they do it just as depicted: They grow the bananas in greenhouses under artificial light. Thanks to abundant volcanic and hydro power, electricity and heat are extremely cheap (and renewable) in Iceland and that makes this system quite viable.
I’m not sure banana production in Iceland was meant to be taken literally in the comic, but that’s interesting info you posted.
Obviously, the point about the Ricardian principle is valid irrespective of the particulars, but it points to imperfect research on the part of the author.
it points to imperfect research on the part of the author.
If the subject of the comic was Icelandic banana production, then I’d agree with you. 
I found this rather informative and well laid out. If I were him I would get rid of or revise the Tea Party panels. Those are actually the kind of people you want to influence and bring to your side. And I see their ideologies similar enough that it wouldn’t be a hard thing to do. Note in the comic they are protesting gov. spending and taxes. I don’t believe the are for large corporations gaming the system to their advantage.
