Tech & Biz

Hold The Recession Hysteria

by Jarrett Martineau | March 26, 2008 at 08:54 am

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"There's a disconnect between what people see around them and what they're told is happening."

Isn't it funny how true this is for so many issues? The economy, the war on terror, skyrocketing crime rates, health disasters in the making...I could go on.

Admittedly, this is an excellent tactic for keeping the public in a state of everpresent and enduring fear which, when applied to a slightly faltering economy, means that that it is an effective means of encouraging people to shop their way to safety, spend their way to security, and buy their way back to freedom.

So, go on, fly in the face of conventional media's wisdom and whip out that credit card. There's an economy that needs saving.

We are the consumers we've been waiting for.

Regarding the economy, it's hard not to notice this stark contrast: The "real economy" of spending, production and jobs -- though weakening -- is hardly in a state of collapse, but much of today's semi-hysterical commentary suggests that it is. Financial markets for stocks and bonds are described as being "in turmoil." People talk about a recession as if it were the second coming of Genghis Khan. Some whisper the dreaded word "depression." Meanwhile, Americans are expected to buy about 15 million vehicles in 2008; though down from 16.5 million in 2006, that's still a lot.

There's a disconnect between what people see around them and what they're told is happening. The first is upsetting (rising gas prices, falling home prices, fewer jobs) but reflects the normal reverses of a $14 trillion economy. The second ("panic," "financial meltdown") suggests the onset of something catastrophic and totally outside the experience of ordinary people. The economy, the New York Times said last week, may be on "the brink of the worst recession in a generation" -- an ominous warning.

Perhaps, but so far the concrete evidence is scant.