There is a growing consensus that President Obama is more talk than walk when it comes to repairing the economic damage created by the collapse of consumer spending. And yet, there are still those — such as Paul Krugman — who believe that Obama needs to spend a great deal more - and quickly.
Unfortunately for Obama, members of his own party — I watched Indiana Sen Evan Bayh express this himself live on LA's KTTV "news" show Monday morning — are straying across the aisle to assume fiscal attitudes reminiscent of the minority party against any further economic stimulus packages escaping the Congress headed for the Oval Office. Somehow, as I write this, the news is out that the budget passed anyway, and with some GOP support.
With the economic outlook growing dimmer by the day, people are increasingly afraid to spend money. It's easy to poke fun at the party set cutting back on "excess", but in too many cases, this is a genuine Main Street concern. Layoffs are increasing across our land as corporate interests shed their workforces in what may prove to be futile efforts to remain profitable. The pace of this decline is accelerating, leading to concern that - as Krugman put it in his March 9, 2009 article - "the Obama administration’s economic policies are already falling behind the curve."
One of the sectors drastically affected by the economic collapse of the world's wealthiest corporatocracy has been newspapers. There are many problems connected to the struggle that print media is currently enduring. Rising prices for ink and paper - along with drastically slashed ad revenue as retail customers cut back spending themselves, or close — make providing the news an unprofitable venture. And yet, as Joel Connelly of Seattle's faltering Seattle Post-Intelligencer asks, "Who will speak truth to power?" Who indeed! Who is to keep the rampant esurience of the corporate world and their political lackeys in check lest they take the entire economy over a cliff?
Oh, wait! They already are doing that. That must mean that no one is now speaking truth to power. And thus so it is: The Post-Intelligencer's owner, Hearst Corporation, has invested large sums into an e-reader system — which will include proprietarily "locking" some news content in a pay-per-view mode — which could have gone instead into efforts to save Hearst properties such as the P-I and the San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst obviously sees no profitable future in printing the hard copy news. They may consider printing an obsolete venture, one emulating the buggy whip manufacturers of the previous century: out of date and out of time.
Article comments
1 - Aetius Romulous
It took 30 years to create this mess, and I suspect it will take 30 years to rebuild. Does anybody have a firm grasp on the time it takes to reconfigure and reboot an entire civilization?
Patience is one thing America has learned to live without, unfortunately.
2 - roger nowosielski
I'm not certain I understand exactly your concerns, Realist. Are you suggesting that if we won't see results, and quickly, we might see a rebellion from the right?
3 - Joanne Huspek
The newspaper thing is quite troubling, and I'm not sure this pay per view tactic is going to work. The Detroit News is going for it in a few weeks, printing the "real" paper only on weekends. The paper has been thin for years and the content is teetering on the extreme left only, so I may not renew.
Of course, real journalism is in decline, so maybe this is the next step toward Armageddon?
4 - Ruvy
Bit by bit, folks, the glue holding America together is becoming unglued. The same is true for parts of Europe, and most assuredly for Pakistan, and the middle East. The civilization we knew is disappearing. Not changing, as some would argue, as they clean their rose-coloured glasses, but disappearing.
It's no happening all at once, and Realist is picking at the front end of the scene, the stuff before the real event. But, at some time soon, the rest will follow the trailblazers to oblivion.
Ah! To live in interesting times!
5 - roger nowosielski
"The civilization we knew is disappearing. Not changing, as some would argue, as they clean their rose-coloured glasses, but disappearing."
You may hit the nail on the head, Ruvy. This really is my greatest concern. I don't think you've read one of my pieces here (The Hidden Dimensions of American Politics, Part III) where I address this concern specifically, but I do. I sure hope we will be able to avert this. Unlike Chris Rose, I'm not very optimistic about the immediate future. After the dust settles - perhaps, but not before, I'm afraid.
6 - Silas Kain
Perhaps, Ruvy, the United States hasn't been 'glued' since September 11, 2001. Come to think of it, our union has been fragile since day one, they just forgot to teach that to us in our non-existent civics classes in public schools..
7 - roger nowosielski
More likely, Silas, it's becoming unglued. Which perhaps is an indication of the kinds of fissures which existed all along. Perhaps all unions and confederacies are like that.
8 - Silas Kain
Roger, I was 3 days shy of my 8th birthday when JFK was shot. Even today I remember that weekend as if it were last week. And the one thing that I remember most was an old aunt who kept saying that she thought one of 'those Southerners' did it. She detested LBJ and went to her grave believing that somebody in the South did it to Kennedy because he was a Catholic. Perhaps, you're right. Perhaps all unions are like that.
9 - roger nowosielski
I've also experienced JFK's assassination; and though I was 16 at the time, it was a hulluva impact. I didn't detest LBJ, though. I'd like to believe he had nothing to do with it. Still, we were at the zenith then. Ever since, America's been on the way down.
I suggest one heck a book - it's fiction but it reads better than the truth - by James Elroy, the author of Black Dahlia, namely, American Tabloid, dealing specifically with JFK sad end.
It reads like a movie. Damn, they ought to make a movie.
10 - Silas Kain
I loved Black Dahlia, so I will check that one out. And, you're right. It's like we've been on a downward spiral since November 22, 1963.
11 - roger nowosielski
You'll love Elroy's style - it reads like a police blotter. Ongoing action. In the Tabloid, he'd perfected it even more - beyond Black Dahlia.
I wish I could write like that, but he's not to be surpassed.
12 - Glenn Contrarian
Roger -
The Republicans do this every time. I clearly remember how just after Clinton took office, a congressman from one of the Carolinas (Jesse Helms, IIRC) claimed that Clinton should stay away because if he comes to one of the military bases there he might get shot. I think it was then that I started seeing through the right-wing bullcrap faux patriotism (that was in the eleventh year of my military career) and began my journey from being a Republican to a bleeding-heart liberal (and doggone proud of it!).
Another great example is Chuck Norris - it looks like he wants to become President of Texas since he's of the opinion that the "state of the union is turning into the enemy of the state"...and that states will begin to secede from America.
Yeah, the right wing doesn't change a whole lot.
13 - roger nowosielski
Yes, I realize the last part Glenn, just being skeptical about what they can really do. I think their power is waning - as evident, for instance, by the desperation you see on this here site.
Correct me if I'm wrong.
Glad to see you back, BTW. It was kind of hard to carry on this fight all by myself (Cindy, Jet, Handy, Silas Kain, few others perhaps). I definitely feel like I need reinforcement.
14 - Clavos
Aaaawww...
15 - roger nowosielski
Words of wisdom from Clav. Good to see you back, too.
16 - handyguy
Of course Obama won't "fix" the economy quickly. Nor would McCain have done so. I mean 12-18 months would be pretty fast. It's certainly not going to be any faster than that.
All a president can do is try to limit the damage until the economy heals itself. [Yes, I realize our GOP friends claim he is doing more damage; I say they don't know what they're talking about. And only time will tell.]
It was good at least to see the stock market go up 4 days in a row. But that probably doesn't mean much.