
 |
|
February 13, 2012
Binyamin Rose: Back to the Bunker: How a life-risking act by a Christian family during the Holocaust saved a family and built a thriving community a world away
Menachem Wecker: Business Schools Teach Real Estate Despite Troubled Housing Market
February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
|
| |
Jewish World Review
January 25, 2008
18 Shevat 5768
Happy talk is a sad policy
By
Michael Goodwin
| 
|
|
|
|
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
You don't have to be Chicken Little to think the sky is falling. Panic selling on stock markets around the world reflects the fear that we're headed for a deep recession and that the United States is unable to stop the slide.
History teaches that we have been here before. Consider a passage describing the nation's mood during the Great Depression: "Capitalism, it seemed to many, had spent its force; democracy could not rise to economic crisis. The only hope lay in governmental leadership of a power and will which representative institutions seemed impotent to produce."
That's from volume two of the late Arthur Schlesinger's three-volume account titled "The Age of Roosevelt," which compellingly chronicles how America spent decades digging itself into a hole, and how FDR, within 100 days, started the recovery. The times and specifics are different, and we're not in a depression now, yet broad similarities between the 1930s and today are striking.
Start with the fact that wealth, in terms of homes and other assets, is vanishing daily in great gobs. Confidence in our leaders, once again, is missing in action. Fear has become a psychological barrier. The levers of power are elusive.
We need somebody with vision and courage to show us the way forward.
But is there a new Roosevelt among us? Would we recognize him? Would we even follow anyone who told us the truth instead of just blabbing on in feel-good happy talk?
Judging by how timidly and unrealistically the presidential candidates are approaching the unfolding crisis, the 2008 campaign has not yet produced a leader or the bold ideas America desperately needs. Even the alleged geniuses at the Federal Reserve were slow to see the train wreck coming. The .75% slash in the interest rate yesterday was a sign of panic, an emergency measure reflecting a dire situation mere months after the same bankers expressed a "don't worry" nonchalance. That it made a disastrous day only a bad day is no cause for cheer or hope.
Failure, like success, is often a matter of will. And the failure by the leading candidates of both parties to offer solutions is surely because such solutions will be painful for many Americans. Better to hide the scope of the problems, at least until after Election Day.
Let's face it - promising pain and sacrifice is not a path to victory. Not when our culture preaches we are entitled to the easy way out. The hard work and discipline that made our nation great has been replaced by magical thinking. Heaven help the pol who tells us otherwise.
So we are stuck with the shared illusion that if only the government hands out fairly modest amounts of money and tax breaks, all will be well. Hence the competition to see who can offer the biggest and fastest stimulus package, as though the candidate with the most expensive, least-considered giveaway will look the most presidential.
Hardly. Not when you realize that, with the government operating in the red, the planned giveaways to consumers and businesses are financed with borrowed money. That China has become our biggest banker adds to the sad point. The government is borrowing more money from China so Americans can go to the mall and buy more goods made in China. Sounds like we're bailing out China and digging a deeper pit for ourselves.
It's time to stop pretending the economy has small problems that we can fix quickly and painlessly. To do so only puts off the day of reckoning, and makes it ultimately more severe. The overriding truth is that we are living beyond our means and have become dependent on other countries to prop us up.
It can't go on forever, no matter how tightly we close our eyes and wait for magic.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in Washington and the media consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Michael Goodwin is a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the New York Daily News. Comment by clicking here.
Archives
© 2007 NY Daily News
|