Media Liberals Talk the Economy Down

The news media successfully predicted 10 out of the last 3 recessions, so obviously we can trust them about the current one they keep trying to ram down our gullets, right? Well, I suppose if you define a "recession" as being in a generally pessimistic, defeatist mood and really wanting Barack Obama to win the next election, then yes, the news media is in the midst of one of the worst recessions in the whole of human history.

The rest of us, though... aren't actually doing so bad. Job losses aren't materializing as predicted, the dollar has begun a rebound, major stock indexes are up 11% off their lows and the sub-prime write-downs are largely behind us. Most importantly, the economy is not even shrinking. Some of you upper-level economics PhD students might be aware that a decline in GDP is actually necessary for a recession to occur. That's a joke, of course. It goes without saying that most American third-graders (with Republican parents) are aware that two successive quarters of negative GDP growth are necessary for a textbook recession to be declared.

The Debbie Downers will point out that we probably won't know about a recession, if one occurs, until after it is over. But can anyone doubt that the economic shocks experienced in the first quarter were extraordinarily negative? And the economy still grew! I mean, if our current President was a Democrat, media pundits would be dropping hints about his potential divinity. But the man is named Bush, so this economic miracle is ignored.

As a personal aside, I'd just like to say that the worst offender in the media when it comes to economic idiocy is CNN's Lou Dobbs, who proves that even the most baritone of voices can sound exceptionally shrill. His solution to the faux-crisis? Build an economic wall around the United States through arbitrary tariffs and other protectionist barriers to commerce and open trade. This might actually be a good strategy for him -- if he got what he wanted, the media would have a full blown depression to moan about. In the meantime, please, Lou, ask your doctor if Xanax is right for you.