After a Cerebral Discussion About Greece and Debt, Tom Friedman Throws Down with Mark Levin

Tom Friedman, an op-ed columnist for the New York Times, has been traipsing around Greece for the last few weeks, where an unidentified (and possibly made up) man stopped Friedman on the street to say he listens to him on this program all the time.
 
“You should have recorded that on your iPhone,” said a dubious I-Man.
 
Friedman wrote about Greece in yesterday’s column, pointing out that the situation unfolding with their economy, as with our own, is not so much a clash of civilizations, as many had predicted, but a clash of generations.
 
“Do you invest more in nursing homes or nursery schools, when you have a shrinking pie?” he said. “In many ways, the Greeks are going through the exact same thing.”
 
He compared Greece to a “Middle East petrol state,” only instead of having oil, they had the European Union providing them with subsidies, financial aid, and low interest rates, which two generations of Greek politicians failed to use effectively. Instead, Friedman noted, they invested in “a system of crony, patrimonial capitalism, where there was kind of a tacit bargain: we’ll shower this money on you, and you’ll shower us with votes.”
 
The EU is already administering what Friedman called “shock therapy” to Greece, demanding they save and pay taxes “like Germans,” which is “a real cultural shift.” And, as in the U.S., much of the impact of cutting the debt will fall on the shoulders of the next generation, many of whom are jumping ship to other countries.
 
“The really scary thing is you get a ‘brain drain’ of the most talented people, who say, ‘I’m not going to stick around just to pick up this bill,’” Friedman added.
 
Based on one unlucky photograph, in which Friedman is seen “yukking it up” with the President, Imus assumed his guest agrees with Obama’s position on cutting the deficit by making spending cuts and increasing revenue. But Friedman had harsh words for both sides of the aisle, accusing everybody of conducing negotiations in a “crazy vacuum.”
 
“Nobody’s stepping back and saying, ‘What world are we living in? What are the biggest trends going on in the world today? What do we need, as a country, to thrive in this world?’” he said. The answers to those questions, in his opinion, should dictate where, how, and why cuts are made.
 
Ever the optimist, Friedman encouraged lawmakers to reawaken “aspirational greatness” in America. “Yes, we have to cut, but we’ve got to do it in the context of where we want to go as a country, and a plan,” he said. “Because you can kind of grow without a plan, but if you cut without a plan—you can cut an artery, you can cut a bone.”
 
The U.S. cannot default on its debt obligations, in his view, and risk tarnishing “the sanctity of the treasury bill,” which, you know, is only the foundation of the entire global economy.
 
Audibly feisty this morning, Friedman did not hold back when asked about Mark Levin criticizing him for calling the Israeli government “inbred” and “brain dead,” and acted like he had no idea who Levin, an enormously popular conservative radio host, even is.
 
“Let me make it clear,” Friedman said. “It is really sad to see where Israelis are drifting today, and if he needs to puck up that quote for his show, please share it with him.”
 
As if Imus needs permission to foster an ugly situation between two of his guests.
 
-Julie Kanfer