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'Media depression' cause of downturn

Everyone who hasn't been living under a rock knows that the American (and world) economy has been in turmoil for some time now. "Recession" is an understatement at this point. But I can't help but wonder what the cause is for the severity of the downturn. So I started contemplating the self-fulfilling prophecy that is what I call a "media depression."

There are many government reports that are showing the automaker's difficulty, significant job losses, leadership's intervention, etc. Because these news items are plastered all over the TV, Internet and newspapers, the public ingests everything on a daily basis and reacts accordingly. Why would anyone want to buy that new car or that new TV? Why would many want to go "out to eat" when money's tight? Why would anyone want to pay $30 to take in a movie/food on a given evening? They wouldn't. And why? Because everyone's reading about the horrible economy. And since the media keeps doling out one bad state of the economy after the next, people's mindsets are conditioned to react accordingly ... save every penny.

It's the same thing that happened in the 1930s that our grandparents grew up with. My grandmother was a "pack rat" as she kept everything. (Cleaning out her basement when she moved into a retirement facility was not fun, but back to the main point.) The public's lack of spending is having an effect on businesses, which then have to cut costs/pay/employees. And that leads to further job losses and more penny-pinching.

Recessions are a necessary part of the continuing economic equilibrium. But the severity of such downturns can be avoided with some common sense and/or regulation about what is published regarding the state of the economy in order to avoid this "media depression."

Doug Memler

Winfield

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