The lunatic(s) in the fountain
Would you listen to economic ravings of psychiatric patients? Don't look now, but we are doing the equivalent - and allowing them to wreck our economy.
Whenever possible, I like to do my mobile work at a cafe’ that has this beautiful fountain in its courtyard. The white noise is soothing, and it’s terrific to look at, and ponder things large and small.
A few days ago, a friend who I haven’t seen in a while, a rock-ribbed older conservative (who knows and accepts me as a classic liberal), saw me here, and visited for a bit.
She said she’s dumbfounded as to how so many Americans are being duped into believing the seemingly endless variety of lies that Biden and his administration keep spreading, regarding where our economy is, how it got here, who’s to blame, and why the policies they’re pursuing will turn things around.
I asked her:
“When is the last time you saw a conservative or libertarian public figure having a hair-on-fire moment about this, which they matched with the evidence of the reality, to support what they’re saying, presented in a format that even a child can understand?
When is the last time you saw one of them post such materials on the bad guys’s social media timelines, in response to their deranged rantings - right in front of all their followers?
Me neither.”
I was thinking of thingss like this, from last September:
I then went one step further, and asked her:
“Imagine that a psychiatric hospital inpatient escaped, and stood up in that fountain, in his underwear, and started spouting economic theories that are so insane even a competent, properly-educated 12-year-old could debunk, in less than 60 seconds? And yet, he’s allowed to stand there, day after day, week after week, drawing bigger and bigger crowds, without any substantive push-back from anyone who knows the reality?”
My friend, a red-meat, traditional conservative, saw my point, but was taken aback by such a different way of looking at things, which clearly implicates the Republicans, and right-leaning organizations, for failing to do what I suggest.
“But what about Fox News?,” she asked. “Isn’t it the most-watched TV news channel?
“No,” I said. I crunched the numbers several years ago, and discovered (and documented) the fact that it has roughly 10% of the US TV news audience. She found this difficult to believe, so I emailed her my report:
“The Metrics: Fox News vs. Mainstream Media” - a report by Jon Sutz
If you doubt the urgent need for the documentation and outreach strategy I advocate, to help expose the nonstop flow of lies about our economy, economic policies and their consequences, and the prospect of the measures that Biden is pursuing to turn things around, consider some research I did for another report I produced, “America At The Precipice”:
[1.13] 83% of U.S. college graduates and 68% of elected officials cannot identify the functional differences between the free market and a command economy.
[1.11] 57% of U.S. high schoolers score below proficiency regarding knowledge of basic economic principles; less than half can correctly define the term “budget deficit”; nearly half cannot identify what the stock market does, or its relationship to our economy.
[1.12] Almost half of U.S. teens and adults believe the statement, “Money holds its value well in times of inflation,” is correct.
[1.14] 60% of U.S. high school students, and 36% of adults, do not know that if a city government sets a maximum amount landlords can charge in rent, the most likely result is fewer apartments available than people want to rent.
[3.2] 58% of American Millennials say they would rather live under either communism, socialism or fascism, than under capitalism; UPDATE, January 2019: “61% of Americans aged between 18 and 24 have a positive reaction to the word “socialism.”
[3.3] 45% of 16-20-year-olds say they would vote for a socialist; 21% say they would vote for a communist.
[1.15] 54% of adults do not know what a subprime mortgage is.
For reference, I summed up some of this information into a composite graphic/self-promo piece (large version and sources here):
Make no mistake: The lunatic in the fountain, vomiting up one lie about economic principles, and America’s predicament, is there for one reason: Because those who are supposed to be exposing his deranged statements, for the American people, en masse, are not.
And as a result, otherwise reasonable Americans who study at or have graduated from our mainstream “educational” institutions, and consume “news” from the 90% of TV news channels that are not-Fox-News, only hear what that lunatic, and the pundits on MSNBC, and Biden and his spokespeople say — without being aware they’re being spoon-fed utter insanity, that will not only not solve our problems, it will make them worse.
So who’s really to blame for our situation?
Hint: It’s not the lunatic in the fountain - or any of his comrades masquerading as “journalists,” “public servants” or “educators.”
It’s those who know he’s there, and what he’s doing, yet choose to complain about him only within in their own circles, never even bothering to reach outside “the choir,” to explain things in clear, plain language — and ideally with carefully-constructed infographics to back it all up. (Psst: This is one of my key skills; see examples here)
Until that happens, nothing else can or will alter our trajectory, hurtling by default towards the economic implosion of America.
Please join me in praying for our beloved nation, and that, as George Washington said, we can “raise a standard to which the wise and the honest can repair.”
Additional reading
Debunking 10 of Joe Biden's lies about the state of the US economy - NY Post
White House Chief Klain criticized for retweet saying inflation, supply chain 'high class issues' - Just The News
Psaki: It’s ‘Unfair And Absurd’ That Companies Would Raise Costs For Consumers Due To Higher Taxes - The Daily Wire
“America At The Precipice” - Jon Sutz
“Meet Today’s Typical Millennial” - Jon Sutz