How is one supposed to gum one's kippers, or even sip one's tea under the un-hindered onslaught of amazing and apparently un-reality-connected information pouring from what one takes under normal circumstances to be a reliable information source? From Dean Baker (of/on the TAP/Beat the Press blog), one of the few economists who seem to have had it mostly right, on the subject of Richard Bove ("Bovay") getting his nationally broadcast, lingual prostate-laving this morning by NPR's eternally credulous and chipper news reader, Steve ("Little Squeaky") Inskeep. The 'interview' seemed in keeping with NPR's self-appointed duty to buck up the spirits of Middle-Class (and upwards) America in these hard times...The hed is Baker's:
NPR Presents the Views of Economic CreationistIrresponsible it might be, but I bet you there were waves of relief lapping like oceans of warm urine around the kitchens and breakfast nooks of Murkin middle management this morning.
The banks are just fine. Only a small number of loans have gone bad. Ah yes, it's a beautiful day. I suppose we have full employment also.
It's great to have diverse viewpoints, but NPR should try to make sure that the economic analysts it features have some grasp of reality. Richard Bove, who was featured on a segment on Morning Edition, doesn't fit the bill. Banks are seeing record default rates on all forms of loans and will continue to do so for the next two years. It is absurd to contend that the banks are just fine as Mr. Bove contends. It is irresponsible to present this as a serious position.
Unasked, of course, was/is: "If you're correct, and the crisis is a scam, what happened and still is going to happen to all that loot that the Busheviks shoveled at the banks in their last months in power?"
Squeaky, of course, couldn't even bring himself to ask Bove what the sources were for the numbers he was throwing around to buttress his claims. Apparently he didn't want to risk embarrassing his guest by inquiring why his numbers were so much smaller than those in the public conversations. He noted a disparity, but never asked Bove to explain it.
But if you're the Nation-wide Propaganda Repeater, probably there are things you don't wanna ask...I, for one, am not especially excited that NPR seems to have become the apotheosis of the CorpoRat Press, given that
In the CorpoRat State, corporate media are the State Media!
1 comment:
Great post, woody.
You know its bad when some of our nations most esteemed economists ( Dean Baker, Paul krugman, Joe Stiglitz, William Black, James K. Galbraith) have to use the kind of words they have been using to characterize what is going on:
match the phrase to the economist:
"Robbery of the American people"
"Cash for Trash"
"Economic Creationists"
"The greatest looting of the American people in our history"
"Plan is a Rube Goldberg device"
Extra credit:
who said the following:
"We have failed bankers giving advice to failed regulators on how to deal with failed assets. How can it result in anything but failure?"
I tell you. If their day job does not work out, I'm sure these guys could get a job writing for Leno or Letterman.
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