An Endless Supply Of Panic
Sunday, January 25th, 2009Since its inauguration, the Obama administration has done its utmost to convince us that the recession we’re in is unlike any other the United States has experienced, with the exception of the Great Depression. While it’s true we’re in a recession, John Stossel writes, it’s hardly time to panic. While it’s true we’ll have to deal with some unique circumstances before climbing out of this recession, it’s nothing that can’t be solved by thinking things through and reacting rationally.
Stossel points out a phenomenom that we’re watching play out today:
Even smart people like Paul Volcker say, “This crisis is different.” Politicians say things like this because they’re too close to the problem. They’ve panicked. I saw this again and again doing consumer reporting: People closest to problems often panic beyond reason. After 9/11, people overreacted because of fear of terrorism. We federalized airport security and spent tax money on nonsense like bulletproof vests for dogs. In 1999, it was the Y2K computer technicians themselves who were most convinced that computers would freeze and planes crash. It was the bird flu specialists who were convinced that millions would die from the bird flu. Today, it’s the scientists creating global warming computer models who are most insistent that we take economically destructive steps to stop climate change.
A friend of mine held a key position in Fingerhut’s Y2K team. At the time, I was working at Quebecor in St. Cloud. Another friend of mine was involved in getting Quebecor Y2K compliant. Both were telling me that the crisis was vastly overblown, that newspaper articles were long on crisis hysteria and short on actual facts.
The effect of the media’s fearmongering? You couldn’t buy a generator if your life depended on it. A guy in Wisconsin bought enough Hamburger Helper to last 15 months and stored it in his basement. At the time, USA Today showed a picture of the guy’s basement. Not only did this gentleman buy that much Hamburger Helper, which might be considered cruel and inhuman punishment in the Obama administration, he bought the metal shelving for that Hamburger Helper. (more…)