Paul Krugman:Winter of Our Discontent

“Americans’ Economic Pessimism Reaches Record High.” That’s the headline on a recent Gallup report, which shows a nation deeply unhappy with the state of the economy. Right now, “27% of Americans rate current economic conditions as either ‘excellent’ or ‘good,’ while 44% say they are ‘only fair’ and 28% say they are poor.” Moreover, “an extraordinary 78% of Americans now say the economy is getting worse, while a scant 13% say it is getting better.”

What’s really remarkable about this dismal outlook is that the economy isn’t (yet?) in recession, and consumers haven’t yet felt the full effects of $98 oil (wait until they see this winter’s heating bills) or the plunging dollar, which will raise the prices of imported goods.

The response of those who support the Bush administration’s economic policies is to complain about the unfairness of it all. They rattle off statistics that supposedly show how wonderful the economy really is. Many of these statistics are misleading or irrelevant, but it’s true that the official unemployment rate is fairly low by historical standards. So why are people so unhappy?

The answer from Bush supporters — who are, on this and other matters, a strikingly whiny bunch — is to blame the “liberal media” for failing to report the good news. But the real explanation for the public’s pessimism is that whatever good economic news there is hasn’t translated into gains for most working Americans.

One way to drive this point home is to compare the situation for workers today with that in the late 1990s, when the country’s economic optimism was almost as remarkable as its pessimism today. For example, in the fall of 1998 almost two-thirds of Americans thought the economy was excellent or good.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/26/opinion/26krugman.html?hp

Republicans accuse the "liberal media" (AS IF!) of being negative, because they believe it is better to deceive oneself -- and stay "positive" -- than to see the world for what it is.

This is a metaphysical defect, one that Bush himself exhibits often. He declares the world to be what he wants it to be, then accuses anyone who gainsays his "vision" as "negative" or "unpatriotic."

The Pubbie mind seems ever to be in search of DADDY -- whether it is an old white guy with a beard (think the Sistine Chapel ceiling), or a man who tells them he's on a white horse (think the Pale Rider in Revelation).

Can anyone think of a better reason why these people so treasure the ability to deceive themselves, and why they freak out at the slightest whiff of reality?

and eliminates the need to change oneself in any way.

The Founding Fathers saw this, and saw how criminals and madmen had prospered while bringing havoc to the world by repeatedly putting this segment of the population in mental harness, so to speak, turning them into snarling dogs to their enemies and often, to their own people.

It is what Orwell was analogizing with his murderous Praetorian dog-guard in "Animal Farm".

And lest anyone think I am saying I am better than anyone lese, let it be know that ALL segments of population let this happen, in every nation and age it happens. We are all responsible for our respective nations' predicaments.

So, the Founding Faters wrote the Constitution, and other Founding Fathers forced them to accede to including a Bill of Rights in it.

But it has finally failed, after 224+ years of a fantastic run, for allit's faults and flaws and for all the things which Old America did wrong, like all nations.

The men and women who burned witches are back, and they are once again preparing their Dark Carnival for the suitably Dark Ages that are likely coming after Peak Oil, soon after the real suffering begins.

Please read the book that I have linked to in my signature line, it compiles two decades of scientific research into a comprehensive understanding of what we are dealing with and why it is something the other 3/4s of humanity has largely been suffering underf since history began, with brief exceptions like Old America 1776-2000, and post WWII (1945-12/12/2000) in particular.