Dry economics report

From Media Matters for America:

Broadcast and cable evening news coverage touched upon a variety of economic topics, including deficit reduction, economic growth, and entitlement reform throughout the second quarter of 2013. A Media Matters analysis shows that many segments lacked proper context or input from economists, while some topics went largely underreported.

Perhaps the economic reporting on news is not as sexy as what celebrities are up to, or the latest republican shenanigans in their war on women and minorities, and democracy, and the constitution, public safety, etc. But state of the economy news is vitally important in our society. For one thing, a job is about the only way for the vast majority of us to survive, period. There is little chance of many Americans even starting their own business today, let alone prosper by it. So when jobs are scarce, prices are rising, and we regular folks cannot get what we need through our labor, what exactly are we to do?

The options are remarkably few. First, when the information we get from the widely available sources looks like the above graph it is understandable that so many Americans are in the dark about what is actually going on outside of their small circles of understanding. The economy is an incredibly complex machine and in our jobs we only see a small part of it. No matter how clever you are, no matter how observant, for economics you need facts. And facts come from effective and accurate reporting. Only after facts are known, the statistics and other hard numbers of what is supplied, what is demanded, the level of equality in the exchange, debt, wealth, and so on can analysis be made. And that analysis should be made by competent economists, 14 of 423 just won't cut it. Economics is often called "the dismal science" because it is often even more chaotic than weather forecasting. There are many economists who would do well to try out the life of a simple worker to see the human side of their models and graphs, at the same time regular people should take an interest in learning economics for the inverse reason.

I have two pet peeves, the first is people walking on line in crowded stores or narrow sidewalks, it is just rude. The other is people with not the first clue how economics works yammering on with forceful assertion that they have got it all figured out. Taxes! Overregulation! Unions! Lazy people on welfare! Government! Social media is full of wannabe Adam Smiths, whose sheer force of assertion combines (or stems from) the sorry state of economic reporting and news in America to the point where people have forgotten fundamental truths, if they ever knew them in the first place. The knowledge is not hidden, simply shrouded in mystification and buried by propaganda.

I for one am really tired of being kicked around by the economy over and over, then being lied to about what the hell is causing it by corporate media. Aren't you?