The Biz Flog: Episode 107: There's a Depression a-Comin'!

Photo of Paul Detrick.
By Paul Detrick (Bio | Archive)
February 28, 2008 - 16:20 ET
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If you haven't gotten to check out the Business & Media Institute's new weekly video blog, The Biz Flog, this week's topic is the media's shift from reporting on "recession" to all-out "depression."

Complete with old-timey piano music and grainy film, this week BMI gives you our take on the many instances when reporters have compared the current economy to a time when soup lines and the Dust Bowl carried headlines.

The Business & Media Institute pointed out in The Balance Sheet that so far in 2008, the media have made the comparison to the Great Depression seven times, building on a theme that dates back at least into 2006.

The Biz Flog is named for the beating business often takes in the media and runs weekly in BMI's The Balance Sheet and as a channel on EyeBlast.tv.


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Talk about depression.

February 28, 2008 - 16:43 ET by mattm

Talk about depression.

Last time rich were this rich was the Great Depression?

February 28, 2008 - 17:24 ET by Gary Hall

The last time rich were this richer than everone else was the Great Depression?

Come again - not under Bush. Try the year 2000.  

In fact, suddenly a couple of yeas back we started hearing about this all over the MSM. It soon became a powerful part of the "hate Bush - blame it all on Bush" 2008 campaign; as the Democrats saw it and as their friends, the MSM, saw it.

But where did that information come from all the sudden? Well, it came from the left -- but the numbers were not about how the rich were getting richer during these Bush years; rather, the numbers were all about how during the economic bubble - that era of historic greed, corporate and accounting fraud - the rich got  richer (and the CEO's too). When was that?

During the Clinton era. The problem with the MSM is that they so wanted it to be, that they can't even read a picture:

Not since the 1920's roared. (NY Times David Kay)

The key date here is that this story was published on June 5, 2005,  but the story was about were we got to this marker during the year 2000. Within days of the story, the rest of the media, and the Democrats had the country all talking about how, under Bush, suddenly everything was upside down again - rage and anger filled the airwaves and the blogosphere  ... look at the words and the chart carefully --

The share of the nation’s income earned by the taxpayers in the top 0.1 percent has more than doubled since the 1970’s, and in the year 2000 exceeded 10 percent, a level last seen in the 1920’s

Something else the MSM and the D's are all pissy about - that suddenly the CEO's got so rich again - Think again:

Depression marketing

February 28, 2008 - 19:37 ET by TheGuy

This is great! The liberals will eat this bull up and skew all their behaviour accordingly. Meanwhile the smart investor will take advantage of their confusion to get even Richer. Yeeha! Sign me up.