"Good Morning America" highlighted how financial matters have Americans so stressed out, their health is literally deteriorating.
The segment, titled "Recession Depression," blamed personal issues on the "troubled" economy. ABC made yet another comparison between today's economy and the economy during the Great Depression. Only this time, the reference was used to predict a rise in suicides.
"The link between financial troubles and psychological problems is well documented," said ABC reporter Chris Cuomo.
"In the U.S. the seminal example is the Great Depression, when the suicide rate jumped from 14 to 17 for every 100,000 Americans," commented Cuomo. "And today, with the threat of recession looming large, the price we pay physically may skyrocket as well."
The Business and Media Institute compared 2008 with the economy during the stock market crash of 1929 in an exhaustive study that showed how the media are four times more negative in 2008 than they were in 1929.
Interestingly, if you continued to watch "Good Morning America" for the following 20 minutes, you would have listened long enough to hear Cuomo go from warning about the "recession looming large" to reporting the economy is looking up.
"Turn now to the economy where the news is not all bad. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says the danger of a substantial economic downturn has faded, thanks to reforms in the financial markets and strong exports."
