Today: We learn that the Fed is broke, Bundesbank wants some of it's gold back only to learn that the Fed has placed it up for collateral so many times that no own really knows who owns what, seven years to straighten out the mess, yet they continue to print, print, print.......... We are trying to find out details regarding the tragedy in Mali which looks very likely that we will soon be drawn into that conflict adding to the growing list of ME/N. African regional concerns in addition to Afghanistan ....... Our country is spiraling out of control with debt..... Locally, some one was shot with the story tied to gun violence.... someone lost their home in a fire.... All these were reported briefly, the lead story.... Lance Armstrong used steroids and has to give back his bronze medal. Really? Wake up everyone, we have been purposely divided, with attentions diverted, oblivious.......
All good points. But I doubt if diversion of attention by the media from the important to the trivial has anything sinister behind it. The medias job is to sell advertising and they put emphasis on what stories will attract the largest audience for the advertising they have sold. The evidence that this is the reason for their choice in programming emphasis comes from U.S. and British public broadcasting which are non-profit. These latter two news sources have a different balance and emphasis distinct from commercial broadcasting, and their coverage quite often includes more detail and somewhat less emphasis on the trivial..
Worse yet .. the lead story on Yahoo for a time yesterday was Michelle's new "dramatic" hair style for her birthday. I mean who gives a f@cK about this irrelevant nonsense? Journalism has deteriorated so much, in large part due to all the media outlets and the pathetic existence of so many here in the US who get off on this crap (as well as them watching all the reality TV shows).
Yahoo home page is a sad commentary on the mentality of America today. Lives riddled with drama and the adsurd to keep minds off of what is really important.
So true ... if you did the old Jay Leno interviews on the street of the average US citizen today and asked about serious matters going on here you'd likely get blank stares and unintelligent answers. Many clueless idiots amongst us anymore.
I am far more optimistic than most. I do do not want to second guess those in Treasury and the Fed nor the council of economic advisors. They have far more expertise and information than I, and I refuse to believe that they will consciously move in a direction they know is wrong given the set of circumstances they are given. They may be proven wrong, of course, but it makes far more sense to get behind them and pull in the same direction. I don't believe in wild conspiracy theories nor "The Creature from Jekyll Island". On the other hand, I have no problem second guessing the morons in Congress. There are mostly smart, capable folks in Congress, but a few morons are able to throw a monkey wrench into the works. I'll criticize those I believe are morons. Mainly those whose elevator does not go all the way to the top and haven't a clue regarding the monetary and economic policy being followed by the Fed, Treasury, and Whitehouse. Many of these slow witted morons are still clinging to failed economic theory. If supply side, trickle down economics had been successful don't you think that Stiglitz, Krugman, and Romer would be advocating that! Furthermore, those calling for drastic and rapid cuts on the fiscal side are too dim witted to realize that they are advocating for depression, or at best a worse recession. And show me someone who thinks that deflation would serve us well, and I'll show you a certified moron. I want to make it clear that I am not calling any poster on ET a moron. They can think whatever they like and there is no requirement that they understand modern economics in a climate of fiat currencies. But the folks in Congress absolutely must be counted on to have a clue, and some of them obviously don't.
It don't expect a real turnaround until the 2020-30 decade. And that, only if we can get our fiscal house in order, and re-order our priorities. One is as important as the other.