Editorial: Do what he says, he's got a gun!
I'm sure I'm hearing a dog whistle blowing, but after three readings it's still hard to put a finger on what the unnamed editor is trying to say today. The piece is pretty vague, so it's easy to read in what you want.
If there's a thesis here, it seems to turn on the idea that our individual prosperity depends on confidence in our national craps table, Wall Street. Yet he spends two thirds of the editorial explaining why people are sensibly staying away from the numbers game that so recently brought the world economy down, robbing individual investors blind along the way. He makes a lot of sense up till the old switcheroo:
"Keeping in mind that the stock market is not the economy, but a confidence game itself, restoring trust in the markets will be crucial."As usual he offers no basis in reality for this article of faith, and I expect that he takes it so for granted that he can't imagine questioning it. But no, the speculative markets have only recently been significant to real economies, and their proper place is minor.
So after establishing this firm footing in the air outside his third-story window, he moves to his proposition: that the result of the presidential election will be the main factor in the health of the markets and therefore economic prosperity for all. The dog whistle whispers, "Make the right choice or we're doomed," and since Wall Street has to like the President to make money, the right choice is supposed to be the Republican, I'm guessing
Briefly glimpsing a path away from the insanity of the past thirty years, the editor retreats into the comforting groundhog den the corporatists have assigned him. Don't rock the boat, he tells us, just give the gangsters what they want and maybe they won't hurt us again.
1 comment:
Mr. Ayres, I believe these editorials are being written by committee, they are too disjointed to have been written by even a bad writer. I agree with your analysis, I think the editor(s) are trying to say that a democrat in the whitehouse will not instill enough confidence for the monied class to invest n America. This is a highly cynical and self-destructive approach to running a country. I believe that it is fair to tell business that if they want to do business in the biggest economy on earth, you need to do it in a way that benefits all. The folks suggesting we need to get rid of environmental laws, remove safety regulations, lower wages dramatically, and take away any employee rights to be competitive in the world econmy, seem to have a pretty low opinion of this country, and the ability of it's people to solve difficult challenges. The irony is, these are the people who consider themselves to be super patriots, yet, they don't think we can keep up a reasonable standard of living and meet all of our financial obligations. Sorry about the rambling, have a great day.
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