Guess what time it is kids??? It's time for the ultimate reality show. I know that you desperately want to become a contestant and the good news is you don't even have to apply! Just by being a member of the American public you're automatically in!
I've often suspected we're in some type of world like The Truman Show, I feel like I finally have proof. First the news keeps reporting that home sales are down and the bubble has burst. After a while their prophecies came true in many parts of the country. Then it was that the mortgage crisis was about to come unhinged. We automatically had people contacting us to find out if they were in trouble.
Lately economic data alternates between dire and promising. They do their best to suppress the promising, but at times it leaks out, like the air out of an old, collapsing, balloon. Case in point. Thursday evening I sat with my full stomach not wanting to do much. I finally decided, after a couple of card games with family, to surf the news. Picture this, it's 8 pm on Thanksgiving Day and I read headlines that blast "Black Friday Disappointment with Retailers". Just sitting there looking at those headlines made my head swirl a little. I sat there and chuckled a little, thinking they were probably going to be right, but no matter what time zone in the U.S. they still had no reason to call it yet. Friday the headlines continued to be bleak. Stories showed up with shoppers heavy, but retailers were reporting they were looking, not buying. A few quotes were thrown in, just to be on the safe side. All of them leaning towards "gas prices are so high this year that I just have to cut back!" Fast forward to Saturday with the retailers beaming like yesterdays headlines were so much fluff and shouting that Black Friday (which I didn't even know existed until a mere few years ago) was ahead of the game! Sales were actually up 8.6% from 2006. In case the news got too good many reports were tinged with dire predictions for the rest of the holiday season.
Ever feel like a puppet on a string? NO? Then watch old tapes of the former top economic guru Greenspan stopping outside a restaurant with a frown on his face, or making a cryptic comment to someone that just happened to leak. All chaos broke loose and economic futures were made, or broken, with every tic the man exhibited.
Greenspan isn't the top man in charge anymore and Bernanke apparently doesn't have as many facial tics, or a highly pronounceable name like Greenspan, so in an effort of cooperation the news is stepping up to the plate! Remember on Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, the heartfelt warnings that it was going to be a killer traveling season with record crowds? Oops, the next day reports showed that people were surprised at the lack of long lines in airports around the US. They apparently all heard the news and showed up early, only to find that it was a bunch of hype.
Yes, Virginia, Chicken Little is alive and well! Yes, Virginia, too, the sky is falling. Only this time it's from the overburdened satellites trying to keep up with the latest "news" blast.
Yep, this is a reality game we're playing all right. It's the news against the American Public. The only problem is, they win, we ALL lose. It seems that good news doesn't win in the ratings portion of the game, so news organizations, in an effort to fill their full time slots, have to seek out the dark side, even if it means presenting the minority opinion of some as opposed to the true reality you and I live everyday.
America, are you ready to be The Biggest Loser?
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