America: A Bitter Nation of Whiners

McCain adviser talks of 'mental recession'

Yeah, retired Senator and McCain Economics adviser Phil Gramm (R-Enron) thinks the lousy numbers are all in your head, the one that's whining constantly. Don't you love the above headline the Washington Times uses to bury the lede...

"You've heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession," he said, noting that growth has held up at about 1 percent despite all the publicity over losing jobs to India, China, illegal immigration, housing and credit problems and record oil prices. "We may have a recession; we haven't had one yet."

"We have sort of become a nation of whiners," he said. "You just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline" despite a major export boom that is the primary reason that growth continues in the economy, he said.

"We've never been more dominant; we've never had more natural advantages than we have today," he said. "We have benefited greatly" from the globalization of the economy in the last 30 years.

"Who's We, kemo sabe?"*

I must say, a more elitist response would be hard to formulate than Gramm's inartful "Things are great, you just don't get it." And oh yeah, we haven't had [a recession] yet. NBER, definers of the "Business Cycle," disagrees with Gramm's PhD in economics. Of course, the important thing is he didn't call us bitter.

*Always heard this as a kid but not so much anymore, so here's the context:

That raises what's called the Tonto question: Caught in an ambush, the Lone Ranger turns to his sidekick and says, "Looks like we're surrounded by Indians." And Tonto replies, "Who's we, kemo sabe?"