Archive for May 9th, 2008
Sleight-of-hand economics to make even Houdini jealous
This is a bit of trickery that might have made even Houdini jealous.
First comes a “nothing up my sleeve” assessment of the dismal state of the economy:
We’re still shedding jobs, consumer confidence remains down, and discretionary spending shrinks as gas and grocery prices rise.
Second, a little “abracadabra” (i.e., mumbo jumbo that really means nothing):
May’s promise of spring has yet to lighten the spirits of working people and the somber solons who represent us.
Then right before your eyes, the sleight-of-hand:
As JFK famously observed, a rising tide lifts all boats. Now, however, the tide has gone out. And those left behind by the receding waters of recession are eagerly courted.
Notice how this economic downturn is portrayed as something natural, even inevitable? Nothing we can do about it – we all know what happened to King Canute, right?
But play this paragraph back in slow motion, and you can see the magician at work. The misdirection (essential for any trick) is in these two phrases: “a rising tide lifts all boats” and “the tide has gone out.”
