Stein: Fear-Mongers Keep Us In Recession

[gumboot]

I think the OP is right and wrong. I am pretty confident that the reason this mess is only deepening is primarily because of negative coverage. But the article is way off in trying to blame this on the Obama administration. The issue is the media. To think that Obama has even a fraction of the influence of the media is laughable.

 

[jmcvann]

Of only we had all just read "The Secret" none of this would be happening.

 

[rwguinn]

I think the OP is right and wrong. I am pretty confident that the reason this mess is only deepening is primarily because of negative coverage. But the article is way off in trying to blame this on the Obama administration. The issue is the media. To think that Obama has even a fraction of the influence of the media is laughable.

we're on the same page, actually

 

[jj]

Ben Stein, who belongs to the creationist lunatic squad, is espousing what, now? That it's Obama's fault that the lunatic-right is doing their best to destroy the USA via continued espousal of everything from financial fear through fear of black people to outright calls for physical rebellion?

For some reason, it's ok for a "conservative" to call for the murder of liberals, but it's not ok for a liberal to call for civil behavior from a conservative. Maybe it's because dog is on their side.

 

[jmcvann]

I think the OP is right and wrong. I am pretty confident that the reason this mess is only deepening is primarily because of negative coverage. But the article is way off in trying to blame this on the Obama administration. The issue is the media. To think that Obama has even a fraction of the influence of the media is laughable.

While I agree the coverage has been negative, I'm not sure where the positive spin could come from.

 

[JihadJane]

I think the OP is right and wrong. I am pretty confident that the reason this mess is only deepening is primarily because of negative coverage. But the article is way off in trying to blame this on the Obama administration. The issue is the media. To think that Obama has even a fraction of the influence of the media is laughable.

Press coverage is still mostly over-optimistic, forever discussing when recovery will happen as if there's any chance of returning to the old normal.

The downward financial spiral is independent of media coverage. It's systemic.

 

[gumboot]

Press coverage is still mostly over-optimistic, forever discussing when recovery will happen as if there's any chance of returning to the old normal.

I fail to see how "Omg when will this god awful recession end!" and "Omg will things ever go back to how they were or are we stuck in this forever?" can be construed as "optimistic".

 

[gumboot]

While I agree the coverage has been negative, I'm not sure where the positive spin could come from.

A bit of perspective and honesty would be nice. Why do the media here run a front page article every time the price of petrol increases 3 cents, then completely ignore a much greater drop in prices?

 

[jmcvann]

A bit of perspective and honesty would be nice. Why do the media here run a front page article every time the price of petrol increases 3 cents, then completely ignore a much greater drop in prices?

I don't know where "here" is for you, but here (Chicago) there have been plenty of stories on the drop in gas prices. Just tonight on the news I saw a story on low gas prices, one on low air fares and one on the increasing number of people buying foreclosed homes. (Of course, the negative side of that last one was also covered.)

 

[godofpie]

I don't know where "here" is for you, _snip

Another point that should be made is that the economic downturn/recession is not just a US issue.

 

[gumboot]

I don't know where "here" is for you, but here (Chicago) there have been plenty of stories on the drop in gas prices. Just tonight on the news I saw a story on low gas prices, one on low air fares and one on the increasing number of people buying foreclosed homes. (Of course, the negative side of that last one was also covered.)

Perhaps you have the rare fortune of having a balanced media. "Here" would be New Zealand, as per my signature.

 

[KingMerv00]

Of only we had all just read "The Secret" none of this would be happening.

Worked for Tinkerbell.

 

[ponderingturtle]

That's a novel idea, believe the US economy will work and it will. The problem is getting investors to believe it, even if the administration told people it will end in twelve months the recovery is based on if investors buy that. Which, IMO, depends more on how corporations and the economy seem to be working rather than the assurances of the POTUS. I'm not spectacularly interested in investing in G.E. considering how low it is trading, for example.

It worked great a couple of years ago in housing. Look at all the growth based on the belief that it would do well.

 

[ponderingturtle]

You need to turn Fox News off. Those Republican talking points are sticking in your head.

If just saying, "the fundamentals of the economy are sound", as GW did was all that we needed, then the recession should not have started on his watch.

The housing collapse was not caused by lack of consumer confidence. Consumer confidence may have contributed to its length and depth, but it did not cause it. Buying houses on loans that people were not qualified to pay, especially with low early payments structured to balloon after a short time, initiated the housing collapse. The loan originators didn't care about the borrowers ability to pay the loan because they sold the loans to the next guy who sold them to the next.

But high confidence in the value of houses did help cause the problem. If it was not there would not have been people flipping houses.

 

[ponderingturtle]

Of only we had all just read "The Secret" none of this would be happening.

It was a lack of sufficient belief that housing prices can not go down that caused this mess.

 

[JihadJane]

I fail to see how "Omg when will this god awful recession end!" and "Omg will things ever go back to how they were or are we stuck in this forever?" can be construed as "optimistic".

I haven't seen many statements like these in the media. I have seen lots of discussions of when the recession is going to end, not whether it's going to end. These discussions assume that the recession is going to end whereas the declining energy supply says it won't. It says the economic model of perpetual growth is a deluded fantasy that's hit the rocks.

 

[timhau]

The banks did not fail because of their stock prices either.

Not their own stock prices, no. But if they own stocks, they're forced to do huge write-downs on even ones that still generate cash flow in the form of dividends. That way the general sharp downward trend in the stock market does indeed hurt banks.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

McCain said that, not Bush. I guess it really is hard to give up being a Bush hater. ....

Yeah, it is.

Bush on the economy:
Bush says economy facing risks but foundation sound; 02/08

President George W Bush said on Monday the US economy was currently facing heightened risks, but its foundation was solid and its long-term outlook was strong.

"This report indicates that our economy is structurally sound for the long-term and that we're dealing with uncertainties in the short-term," Bush told reporters after signing his annual economic report to Congress.

The report did not alter the White House forecast that the US economy would grow 2.7% in 2008, a far rosier picture than private-sector economists who have predicted growth of just 1.6% this year.

Economists surveyed by the Blue Chip Economic Indicators newsletter released earlier on Monday also pegged the chances of a recession at almost 50%.

Bush: Troubled financial system is basically sound; 07/08

President Bush said Tuesday the nation's troubled financial system is "basically sound" and urged lawmakers to quickly enact legislation to prop up mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. He also called on the Democratic-run Congress to follow his example and lift a ban on offshore drilling to help increase domestic oil production.

Bush Says He's Optimistic Economy is Sound

September 20, 2007 · President Bush on Thursday acknowledged "unsettling times" in the U.S. housing and credit markets but said he was optimistic the economy would remain strong as long as Congress does not raise taxes.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

Not their own stock prices, no. But if they own stocks, they're forced to do huge write-downs on even ones that still generate cash flow in the form of dividends. That way the general sharp downward trend in the stock market does indeed hurt banks.

Still, the housing collapse was the trigger for all of it and that was partly due to bad loans being passed like an old maid card.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

But high confidence in the value of houses did help cause the problem. If it was not there would not have been people flipping houses.

We've had 2 housing bubbles in the 20 years before this one and neither caused banks to fail when they burst. The foreclosure rate is as high as it is because so many people got loans with zero down. I put 20% down on my first house. The bank wouldn't have lost a dime if I defaulted.