The Fire Last Time

Dean Baker has exactly the right metaphor for journalists asking the really dumb “are you better off” question:

Suppose your house is on fire and the firefighters race to the scene. They set up their hoses and start spraying water on the blaze as quickly as possible. After the fire is put out, the courageous news reporter on the scene asks the chief firefighter, “is the house in better shape than when you got here?”

Yes, that would be a really ridiculous question.

…

A serious reporter asks the fire chief if he had brought a large enough crew, if they enough hoses, if the water pressure was sufficient. That might require some minimal knowledge of how to put out fires.

Obama came to office in the midst of the worst economic crisis since the 1930s. The question should be how well he dealt with that crisis — and in particular whether the man seeking to replace him would have done better.

And the facts of how we’ve done aren’t complicated: the economy was in free fall in January 2009; it stabilized and began growing by mid-2009; but growth has been disappointing, and employment has barely kept up with population. Here’s real GDP per capita:



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http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/04/the-fire-last-time/

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I strongly approve of the metaphor, and think it can be applied even more broadly. After all, reporters asking "really ridiculous questions" isn't helpful, but let's also not forget the role of the folks who started the fire.

In this case, the firefighters raced to the scene, setting up their hoses and spraying water on the blaze as quickly as possible, eventually putting out the fire. At the same time, however, those responsible for the fire complained incessantly about the speed at which the firefighters were working, blocking efforts to send more trucks, and trying to convince the public the crisis could be alleviated if only the firefighters would agree to use more kerosene.

Indeed, now that the fire is out, those who set the fire are still demanding to know why the ashes haven't been cleaned up to their satisfaction.

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http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/09/04/13659878-suppose-your-house-is-on-fire