At The Left Coaster, Paradox has put up a post arguing that it's time for a little less detachment about the impending Depression [see The Agonist] and a little more thought about the damage that's already been done, and being done, and the suffering that's already started.
Paradox says:
I have deep and enormous respect for the professional economists like Krugman and qualified bloggers who write about economics, it requires the deepest of academic and writing skill qualifications, but I’m starting to get angry at the dry, abstract language of outcome in all of this that doesn’t remotely convey the reality of economic policy failure for our little people. Monetary assets, liquidity preference, TED spread, aggregate demand, hell universal acceptance of Keynes will be ruthlessly slammed home at last, what the fuck all does it matter when thousands of American lives are being obliterated every day!?
“Destructive unemployment,” it’s been so calmly called. Destructive enough to rip your marriage apart, getting the kids used to a new school in the middle of term because your sister’s basement is in another district, blasting apart any career path with 20 years of investment behind it, and worst in all of it the slow, patient twist of the knife, lonely hours of creeping fear, a thumping heart the only sound in the dark when you think about how long it can take to die sometimes in this world....
For just those 450,000 Americans who lost their jobs—never mind the millions more that preceded them—they’re out of time.... As long as I breathe, I swear on the soul of my daughter, I will do anything to make our leadership learn it and do everything possible to never put our people through this again.
We both agree and disagree with this, in that we think that Paradox is (1) right in every respect, but (2) scaring the bejesus out of us because we're little people too, and if we're not there yet, we've already seen our retirement funds go down the toilet and are facing the same threat of the same misery.
Looking at pain you are helpless to remove, we'd argue, produces that feeling our co-blogger calls "copelessness." In a bad time, the only hope is exactly what Paradox says: that people are spurred to use all their resources of energy, intelligence, and humor to alter the system and hold those who caused the crash accountable. Ridicule of those responsible may be the only form of accountability we can get. It's not much, but it's better than nothing.
Much better than nothing is getting out in the community and doing whatever needs to be done to mitigate or vitiate if not alleviate the current agony the refugees of the Bush era. There but for the grace of God, etc.
Pass the anaesthesia.
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