The root of all evil

The media...

They sit back in their boardrooms, trying to devise ways to put the fear into the general public. "The sky is falling" is their drug. Climate change was faltering and fewer subjects were falling for this false science. They needed something new.

A recession, naaaah, that is so 1980's. What we need is a good dirty thirties style depression. Yes, that is what we need for sure. A few months of doom and gloom regarding the economy and TADA! Here we are... at least in the minds of the public. It does not matter what the facts are, as long as the perception is there.

Canadians are adopting a bleak recessionary mood, even though the numbers are not that grim, an economist says.

The Conference Board of Canada reported Monday that its index of consumer confidence has reached the lowest level since the recession of 1981-82. Yet the actual economic indicators are not that bad in Canada, compared with the United States, Europe and Japan, said Glen Hodgson, senior vice-president and chief economist.

"The bad news is out there," but now "it's become very personal," he said.

The index fell for the third month in a row in December, dropping 3.3 points to 67.7. The lowest point was 63 in the recession of 1981-82, Hodgson said. In the board's system, the index was at 100 in 2002.

The psychology of bad times is reflected in consumers' expectations that they will be worse off six months from now. "Respondents also viewed the job situation in their communities negatively," the board said.

Yet the latest employment statistics, for November, show that the country added 133,000 jobs in the first 11 months of 2008. [...]

Good going media. Job well done... Can't wait to see what you will come up with next. Global cooling perhaps?