Boiling the Frog

In the article “Boiling the Frog”, Paul Krugman uses the metaphor of a boiled frog to represent a serious problem America is facing. That problem is the difficulty of responding to disasters that creep up on you a bit at a time. The boiled frog refers to the proverbial frog that when placed in a pot of cold water that is gradually heated never realizes the danger it’s in until it is boiled alive. Krugman asks “Is America on its way to becoming a boiled frog?” Our nation is constantly facing disasters these days and the recent policy actions take a substantial amount of time to have their full effect. Using the example of the economy, Krugman explains how the Obama stimulus plan wasn’t as strong as it should have been, therefore, all the signs are pointing to a “jobless recovery”. According to economic forecasters, we need another round of stimulus to help pull the economy out of its deep hole. Now that the free fall is over, all sense of urgency has vanished.

Along with the economy, another major problem is climate change. The rise in temperatures could completely disrupt life as we know it, if we continue on our present path. Climate change is a creeping threat that won’t be apparent for decades, but, if we wait to act until the crisis is obvious, catastrophe will already be inevitable. The alarming thing is that so little is happening when the political situation seems to be favorable to action. It is clear that the government understands the environmental and economic issues perfectly well but they are unwilling to put plans into action to fight off disaster. If we don’t fix the problems now, America could be like the boiled frog, not realizing its danger until it is too late.