We are sick of hearing about the economy. No, not just because the wild, daily swings of the stock market are making us seasick, or because debates about bailouts are so incredibly complex and dull. We are sick of the economy because we are sick of listening to people whine about their sorrows and preach the impending doom of Western Civilization itself.
Yesterday, one so-called expert told Reuters that the economic downturn would result in "more crime, especially stealing." Timothy Fong, a psychiatrist at UCLA, also said we can expect "more workplace violence and more violence at the malls." Others predicted a rise in depression, drug use and anxiety which "might lead to violent behavior in stores."
What a load. To start with, the whole "more crime in a bad economy" argument is pseudo-Marxist crap. It's a theory proffered by those who think money is the sole determinant of human affairs; the kind who think that poverty "causes" crime. (Because, apparently, poor people are incapable of making moral choices.)
It's total BS. According to Canada's CBC, a 2006 criminology study found that rates for murder, rape and assault were actually "unaffected by changes in the business cycle." There is, however, a correlation between property crimes and economics: Property crimes go up when inflation does, because -- duh-- there is a bigger market for stolen goods. That's why crime rates dropped during the Great Depression compared to the much more prosperous Roaring '20s."
Speaking of the "Great Depression," this here ain't it. During the depths of the depression, recall, almost one-third of Americans were out of work, bread lines were common in most cities and half the Midwest dried up and blew away. The more we hear about today's woes being the "worst since the Great Depression," the sorrier we feel for ourselves and, not incidentally, the more we dishonor those who lived though the real thing.
All the complaining about economy is also deeply, profoundly ungrateful. Compared to the rest of the world, Americans, even those in dire straits today, still have a remarkably high standard of living. Most of us have plenty to eat. Most of us have heat and power. We have clothes to wear, even if we can't afford new stuff. Most of us are managing to keep our cell phones, for goodness sake. Yes, times are tough compared to a year ago. But let's not feel too sorry for ourselves. Millions of people across the Third World live in appalling slums; endless miles of corrugated tin shacks next to open sewers. They don't have enough clothing, food or even clean water. Listening to pampered Americans whine about our relatively minor sorrows is sad and galling.
America will become prosperous again, and it will happen the same way we became rich in the first place. Not from government handouts, nor by "flipping houses," or shuffling complex financial instruments. The only way back is hard work and innovation. Step one is to stop whining about it.
