Cartoons, cartoons, cartoons.... John Crowther's Cartoon Odyssey

I think of it as The Fool's Journey. I've been asked who the "fool" is. It's me, but in the classical sense of the court jester. Only the fool was allowed to tell the king of his follies. All cartoons are available as prints or originals, framed or unframed, through my website or e-mail. For mugs, t-shirts, and other products visit my gift shop at www.zazzle.com/jcrowtherart* (be sure to include the *).

Saturday, September 19, 2009

The Hole Truth


As California's unemployment numbers hit the highest they've been since the 20's "crash," pundits and anchor whores, encouraged by the networks who hire them, which are owned by corporate America, which has a stake in consumers getting their "confidence" back, are crowing that the economy is turning around, as evidenced by the fact that "things are finally getting worse slower." Gotta love it!


5 Comments:

Blogger Andrew said...

Since Rupert Murdoch owns the Wall Street Journal now, I'm waiting for the headline "Economy Sucks Less."
Two-inch type would be a nice touch.

In all seriousness though, think of a graph with a downward slope over the past 18-24 months, then a bottom, then an upward slope. If we are at the turning point, then we're at the bottom -- where things are the worst. We are unlikely to bounce back to bubble levels. The upward slope will be less steep, thus it will take longer to recover than it took to crash.

Also, don't assume a positive correlation between GDP, S&P 500, and unemployment. Wall Street often rallies on news of a big layoff.

The headlines may have a germ of fact, but it's all in how you spin it. As the old expression goes, "Lies, damn lies, and statistics." Or, to tie this into your cartoon, "Statistics and You Lie!"

10:07 AM  
Anonymous Jean said...

Any kind of slowing up is cause for celebration I guess. Even if it is only slowing up from getting worse! Times are certainly tough but focussing on the bad will only make things worse. Remaining optimistic is the hardest thing to do... but it's the only reasonable thing we can do. I guess you can't blame the networks for trying. Sometimes the truth hurts way too much.

6:10 PM  
Anonymous Lee said...

Amen, my brother, amen.

10:35 PM  
Blogger John M Crowther said...

I admire the positive outlook, Jean, and yes, optimism is better than the alternative. But we all know the saying, "the truth shall set us free."

9:09 AM  
Anonymous Jean said...

Ah John but... whose truth? [grin]

1:47 AM  

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