Cherry Picking the Economy

The worst economy since the great depression…

Remember the constant bleating from the press and the anti-Bush crowd about how the Bush administration “cherry picked” intelligence? They allege that the president chose only those bits of information that fit his plans and ignored everything else.

Well, the press has been cherry picking economic news for years. How many news items have you seen featuring some town, family, or business that’s doing ok, despite everything? How often do you hear or read something that puts the housing “crisis” in perspective (it’s not a crisis). Falling prices mean those who previously could not afford a home now may be able to. How many articles have you seen comparing unemployment, wage growth or gas prices to those of Europe? (Hint: We’re the envy of the rest of the world) Hav

To answer my own question, we don’t hear any positive stories. The press trots out every hard case they can find: Children with rare, expensive diseases, people who lost their house because they couldn’t pay the mortgage that was 80% of their income, old people (who used to be reliable Republicans) who’ve have had some misfortune befall them.

This constant drumbeat affects the national psyche. People are in a sour mood. Gas and grocery prices are up and wages are not keeping pace. And the press throws gasoline on the fire with a constant torrent of negativity. And we eat it up. We have become a nation of whiners.

This despite the fact that, compared to our forbears, we are better educated, drive nicer cars, live in bigger homes, have more money, and generally enjoy more luxuries. The only thing we have less of is sacrifice.

There will always be a hard-luck story somewhere that the press can point to. It still won’t be as bad as the great depression.