What seems Like Common Sense...

Below is a response I came up with to WSJ Blog regarding concerns about the economy.

The blog post seems like an opportunity to spin real concerns about the mismanagement of this country's and indeed into fearmongering.

I don’t see this as fearmongering or pessimism; the problem is not whether or not we are going to have a recession, but how to address the bankrupt mindset that sustains and drives American society.

All too often the mainstream media discusses concerns and questions about the sustainability of our economy in a very dismissive way. However, I do recall Morton Zuckerman and Buchanan both expressed similar concerns on the McLaughlin Group a few months ago. Yet I am loath to put too much stake in their "insight".

I found this little tidbit about UK's Times interview of Ben Bernanke and his predictable response to questions about the state of the American economy:

BEN Bernanke, the man selected yesterday to be the world’s most powerful central banker says that the US economy is set fair for strong, non-inflationary growth in spite of the sharp rise in energy prices this year, and staunchly defends President George W. Bush’s controversial fiscal policies.

Speaking exclusively to The Times, Bernanke rejects suggestions that the US fiscal deficit and public spending are out of control and says that the rest of the world needs to do much more to redress global economic imbalances that have produced the largest US current account deficit on record.

I don't think anyone in the Beltway can get it right, because they are belly of the beast. Yet I won't leave Wall Street out either, the business mantra (to put it nicely) has been mindless and self-serving, but apparently that is what business is supposed to be all about.

A compelling case can be made that this too will not pass and that the fabled "American goldilocks economy" is about to burn away like a desert mirage, waking us up to the shocking reality of a world facing historically unprecedented challenges in terms of the sustainability of the global society economically, socially and ecologically. The potential ramifications of many of these challenges are the kinds of things that typically pampered and sheltered American is totally unprepared to deal with.

What seems like common sense...stimulating the economy in a way that mitigates global climate change would be the wisest way to prevent a major economic collapse...is not considered a serious option in Washington. Whose reality is for real? Maybe we won't have to wait much longer to find out.

The problem is that America has lost its ability to think clearly about public policy and to take courageous steps to really reform a grossly unsustainable economy. What if America is at pivotal time in it history just like the 1920s and 30s. What if the decisions we make as Americans in the next few years will determine the viability of our nation and democracy in the coming years?

Maybe it is not so much a problem of the "stupid average American" as the leftist elite likes to see the average American as. Who can blame people for going with flow and conforming to Wall Street? Where the money goes the people flow. The stuff that passes for news and information which is controlled by corporations can be overwhelming just like a force of nature.

Yet most economic classically trained economic pundits are left scratching their collective heads...if everything's been so darned good with this economy over these last few years...why are so many feeling so bad about the direction of the country? They just don't get it. What's wrong with people? Don't they know how good they have it?

When you take off those Wall Street, Hollywood, Beltway blinders, the real issue becomes: how can a society be sustained practically when public policy is not reflective of the real issues that everyday people face?

Of course it can't; such a system can't be sustained. How can good come to a country when it engages in so many bad investments such as the Iraq War? What about the long term impact of investing heavily in urban sprawl and car culture, while Europe and Japan have compact cities and strong mass transit and intercity rail systems, when there is rising consensus about Global Climate Change?

So if this is some minor blip as some economic pundits like to see it as...then let it roll...they'll be better times ahead soon why the deadwood of that American Economic Juggernaut is blown away.

There's a deep seated intuitive fear that the majority of Americans now have. It revolves most basically around the perception that our society and economy is broken. So how can you blame them for thinking that you'll need more than a 150 billion dollar stimulus package or 75 basis point rate cut? If you believe there is something fundamentally broken about this country and you feel the politicians can't really articulate a real change agenda, because that might them seem "out there," then apathy, cynicism and disgust become the lowest common denominator that drives the consumer economy - that “American Economic Juggernaut.” Indeed there is a growing perception that the American economy is in long term decline.

So we are left with an amazingly superficial approach to the world and to public policy fully supported by most of the establishment media, academia, the wealthy and the politicians, but very much out of touch with the reality of how the world actually works. No one wonder we keep seeing the "Enron effect" continuing to plaque Wall Street and Corporate Culture.

If there is some doubt about how much a juggernaut the American economy, then you’d better batten down the hatches baby, cause there are some rough seas ahead no matter how many tax credits or rate cuts are given out to pacify the concerns of the consuming masses!