A World Insane

The United States Congress has placed an admitted tax cheat in charge of the Internal Revenue Service. Some of the very people responsible for the housing crisis—that led directly to our current economic problems—are in charge of getting us out of the very same crisis. What’s next? Osama bin Laden in charge of Homeland Security? He certainly is “knowledgeable” about potential terrorist attacks and that—according to congress—makes him qualified for the position.

While I make every effort to stay away from diving into the sewer we call “politics”, this series of events makes me think the U.S. has gone nuts.

But let’s shrug that off for the moment. I mean, how much damage could one dishonest man do to the tax system that touches the lives of every man, woman, and child in the country? Instead, I want to focus on another aspect of insanity: the media.

Today, I saw a newsletter from Ari Galper in which he takes the media to task for bombarding us with a steady stream of negative news. As I pointed out in a recent post, this depressing barrage of discouraging stories only serves to further erode our confidence in the system that has brought us the highest standard of living in the history of man.

The first step Ari recommends in fending off this continuous attack of negativity is to shut out as much of the “news” as you can! I wholeheartedly second this motion, but in so doing it made me think about the form of slow suicide the major news media are in the process of inflicting on themselves.

Think about it. The newspapers and TV (and to a lesser extent Radio) focus on the bad economy, job losses, businesses moving offshore, the threat of inflation, and today, the murder-suicide of a family of eight in California. News, yes…but what is the result? Does such reporting motivate you about the inherent strength of our economy, or does it prompt you to hold back, to save money for even rougher times that may be ahead? And when you don’t take the family out to eat, or out to a movie, are more jobs lost or gained? Are advertisers more likely or less likely to advertise in those same newspapers or on those shrill TV networks?

In their eagerness to report on how dismal the times, some media outlets are digging their own graves.

This condition cannot continue indefinitely; the economy will either quickly recover—despite the ham-handed efforts of government—or it will plunge into the abyss. With either outcome major newspapers, many of which are already on their deathbeds, and the hysterical television networks will have lost much more than revenue. They will have lost readers/viewers, yes. But they have also lost credibility, and that is much, much more difficult to restore.

Only in an insane world would an organization assist in its own demise.

Welcome to planet Earth.