Published: July 11, 2008 03:55 pm            

Pumped dry by our mental recession

Steve Boggs, Democrat Publisher

The great divide in America these days has everything to do with the state of the economy. The upcoming election is being framed by each major party, and on Thursday, former Texas Sen. Phil Graham stepped right into the middle of that stage fight.

What is the state of the U.S. economy? Obviously, that depends on your particular status at this time. If you’re in the oil business, it’s a good run right now. If you commute 50 miles to work at a $10-an-hour job, the economy doesn’t look too bright these days.

Democrats are portraying the U.S. economy as being in dire straights. High oil prices, tumbling stock market, tensions in the Middle East, housing market crash — very effective talking points.

Republicans counter that the economy is fundamentally sound. They use words like benchmarks and underpinnings as the basis for the argument that the economy is shaky, but not in a full-blown recession. Indeed, statistically, the U.S. economy is not in a recession. However, it’s hard to convince someone of that as they drive away from the gas pump or pay the electric bill.

On Thursday, Graham, an economic adviser to GOP presumptive nominee John McCain, told the Washington Times in a taped interview that America had become “sort of a nation of whiners.” He said, “You’ve heard of a mental depression; this is a mental recession.”

Graham also said, “We may have a recession: We haven’t had one yet.” He went on to elaborate that exports are booming and that 1 percent growth is sustainable.

Of course, everyone is now condemning Graham and all Republicans for being out of touch with American voters. That may be, but it doesn’t mean what he said isn’t true. We are a nation of whiners. We have that luxury because we are the richest, most powerful country on earth. Quite frankly, times have been pretty good for a long run in America. Now, when things get shaky, we’re not sure how to react. We long for $2 a gallon gas, even as we complained when it reached $2 for the first time. We demand help from the government on mortgages we had no business signing in the first place.

We whine about a lot of things. Here’s a few from my list: FICA, summer TV repeats, the existence of Ann Coulter and Keith Olberman, road construction, Rose O’Donnell, the intersection of I-20 and FM 51 and Pac 10 football officiating. That’s just to name a few. Yes, we are a nation of whiners. So what! That has nothing to do with the current state of economy. As Dad sometimes says, “You’d whine if we hung you with a new rope.” Probably true.

It’s election year politics, nothing else. If Democrats controlled the White House, it would be the Republicans trumpeting how “bad” things were — starting with the U.S. economy. The party on the outside has to convince Americans their lives are in the toilet to get elected. That’s basic election-year politics. In fact, some of it is even true. How much, we may never know.

Graham was right, but his comments missed the mark. Our whining is inherent to our own personal economic situation. Americans would probably have no problem paying $4 a gallon for gas if they felt the price was fair and accurate. They don’t, and they are outraged, yet powerless to do anything about it. It is this sense of suspicion that would play into any political party’s election-year plans.

Sen. Graham’s assertion that things are not as bad as they seem is accurate enough. The Democrats’ assertion that things aren’t going well is also fairly accurate. So far, neither presidential candidate has come up a solid plan to address this country’s problems. They have 113 days to do so.

Until then, the mental recession of our nation’s leaders will continue to pump us dry.

        

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