Mad as Hell

AT LAST! The recession appears to be on its way out, or perhaps it's over already. But in any case, the end is in sight and I'm delighted--not for the same reason most Americans are (the economy? So what?) but because we can soon say goodbye to a lot of hideous self-pity and endless hair-brained schemes to put the country back on its feet.

You see, the recession was so much more than a recession. It was a national mentality. It gave meaning to American politics and drove popular culture. From Tom Harkin's government works projects ideas to popular support for tax cuts (and even throwing out the weighty tax system), the recession was not limited to being a small, temporary downturn in the business cycle. God no! It was the fucking Great Depression all over again. It was Heaven's judgement on the United States. Government was supposed to stop everything and end the recession--no, not the recession: the RECESSION.

MORE THAN anything else, the recession had a perverted moral quality to it. Bill Clinton recently had a political ad in which he talks to a group of ordinary folks (see below for "the oppressed middle class") explaining America's problems. The country, you see, is in such bad shape (read: RECESSION) because "we" lost sight of "traditional values" in the 1980s. That's right: We lost sight of traditional values.

The thinking was that American's fundamental moral character changed spontaneously in 1980 and the recession was a JUDGEMENT FROM GOD on us for our sins. It was a penance for greed a la Reagan and Boesky. It was not just a downturn in the country's real GNP--no, no, no. If we were better people, it would never have happened.

Many believed the recession, being divine punishment, would never end. Popular culture witnessed long-term relative American decline and it saw the recession, and it linked the two. The result was a maze of political ideas and common myths: we need a work ethic back, we need political vision, we must buy American, we need a fundamental restructuring of the way our economy works.

Some Crimson editors in a not so recent editorial dissent linked the recession to the presence of affirmative action programs. It dawned on no one that no matter how good our economy could ever be, recessions will still happen. They are a fact of life.

Economic fluctuations just happen, and there is no way to get rid of them. "Fundamental problems" and "recession" should never be mentioned in the same breath. They are both quite capable of occurring completely independently of each other.

BUT THERE was more to the Clinton esque idealism of just retribution for lazy voodoo economics. Something about the hardships of zero growth and increased unemployment brought out the worst in Americans. For one thing, the people just had to blame Bush for the recession. This is the oldest political tragedy in the books; Americans are incapable of differentiating what the government can do from what it cannot.

Bush was blamed because he "didn't care" about the average guy and because he "didn't do enough" to make things better. Of course, it goes without saying that the government should do something to help. If homeless people can't find jobs, well, that's one thing. But if the majority is hurt, then so much for the free market and "hands-off" government. And so much for bringing down inflation.

It also went without saying that Bush could have done something. Government can do anything, right? Bush can just waive his little finger and make everything better. If we can get so many government programs with such low taxes, then the normal laws of cause and effect don't apply to politics. Our paternalistic government is omnipotent. Which means that Bush is a BAD, BAD person. He just stood there watching while good, decent Americans went without jobs.

This litany became tiresome fast. Overnight our president went from Persian Gulf victor and pioneer of the New World Order to an out of touch goof with "no vision." Now things will change back. The recession is over, and Bush will once again become "a good guy," just in time for November.

THE BIGGEST losers of the recession, however, were the Japanese--all of them collectively. They became one entity (referred to by Newsweek as "Japan,Inc.") out for the sole purpose of screwing over the USA. The USA, you see, didn't lose jobs because that's what happens in every natural economic downturn. No, we were exporting them to Japan Free trade is fine if you're a fuddy duddy economist trapped in an ivory tower, but for real people in the real world the catch phrase was (and is) "Buy American." Economists might have studies and data, but they don't truly understand our economy an all its subtle nuances; only the untrained, Nintendodulled masses understand that.

Hard times bring out class struggle and this recession gave the middle class in awareness of its own existence and the realization that--oh my God--it was oppressed. The solution was tax cuts at once. The deficit? What? The middle class had heard quite enough about the need for more taxes, Didn't anyone read its lips in 1988? Fiscal reality and time delays aside, clearly tax cuts were the obvious solution.

And once the middle class decided it existed, it declared itself "mad as hell." In fact, it is so mad that maybe as much as forty percent will go to the polls in November. Why exactly it is mad is nuclear. Perhaps it was the recession, which elected officials didn't cause. Maybe it was the savings and loan scandal that was a direct result of the industry deregulation the voting public was so in love with in 1980. Or it could even have been House members bouncing checks, even though no taxpayer money was involved.

Voters are certainly not named because of homelessness, or because of the budget dificit or because of the depletion of the ozone layer--these problems are too big and too hard to solve. They aren't even visually upset because government policy is shortsighted and inefficient--whenever a politician espouses rational planning he is very quickly voted out of office. Maybe the American public is just angry because of relative decline--of which it is the cause.

I don't know who said it first, but in a democracy we don't get the government we want; we get the government we deserve, and in November that will be George Bush. The recession brought out the worst in this country, and I'm glad it's ending because I don't think I can stand it another minute.

Thomas S. Hixson '94 is having a "The Recession is Over, But Finals Aren't Party" in Cabot Science Library. Free four-color pens to anyone with similar political opinions.