Below is an extract from The Economist whose editor bears the unlikely name of Zanny. Yes, I know it is naughty of me to point out that Zany is often associated with the bizarre, weird, peculiar, odd, and perhaps avant-garde. But its also a fitting description of her introductory comments on the US economy.
To her credit Zanny does mention the downside - like 80% of Americans believe their children will be worse off. They also worry about inequality - and with good grounds since the income of top earners was 13.53 times higher than those at the lower end and income disparities are now so pronounced that America’s richest 1 percent of households averaged more than 84 times as much income as the bottom 20 percent in 2019. There is also some concern over corruption in politics and that life expectancy is in decline - but don't worry - the poor 11.6% of the population have a safety net. Apparently one that can't cope with the more than half a million homeless people. Zanny could have mentioned the damaging cost of education, health care, and housing, let alone racial or environmental issues, but for an economist these are externalities. However Zanny has a message: Don't mention the bad things because it could lead to pessimistic policies like protectionism, lower immigration and government subsidies that could spoil the secret sauce which has made America so successful (for the 1%).
Don't you just love the thought process....
Zanny's own words
Zanny Minton Beddoes
Editor-in-chief
It’s the nature of the news business, and of many of the cover stories that we write, to dwell on what is wrong with the world. But this week we have two covers that are a reminder that good things do happen—and that they’re often overlooked.
In most of our editions we focus on the astonishing performance of America’s economy. Nearly four-fifths of Americans tell pollsters that their children will be worse off than they are. In fact America has sustained its decades-long record as the world’s richest, most productive and most innovative big economy. Indeed, it is leaving its peers ever further in the dust. Only those in über-rich petrostates and financial hubs enjoy a higher income per person. American firms own more than a fifth of patents registered abroad, more than China and Germany put together.
Americans worry about inequality—and it is true that the middle-class has seen fewer gains than the rich and the poor, who have benefited from a big increase in the size of the safety-net. It is also true that America’s politics are toxic and that life expectancy is being dragged down by shootings and drug overdoses. China and climate change remain real threats. But talking down the American economy is not only wrong in fact, it also breeds pessimistic policies like protectionism, lower immigration and government subsidies that could spoil the secret sauce which has made America so successful.
Zanny's credentials
Zanny Minton Beddoes is the Editor-in-Chief of The Economist. Previously she was the business affairs editor, responsible for the newspaper’s coverage of business, finance and science.
Prior to this role, she was The Economist’s economics editor, overseeing the newspaper’s global economics coverage from her base in Washington DC. Before moving to Washington in April 1996, Ms. Minton Beddoes was The Economist’s emerging-markets correspondent based in London. She travelled extensively in Latin America and Eastern Europe, writing editorials and country analyses. She has written surveys of the World Economy, Latin American finance, global finance and Central Asia.
Ms. Minton Beddoes joined The Economist in 1994 after spending two years as an economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), where she worked on macroeconomic adjustment programmes in Africa and the transition economies of Eastern Europe. Before joining the IMF, she worked as an adviser to the Minister of Finance in Poland, as part of a small group headed by Professor Jeffrey Sachs of Harvard University.
Zanny Minton Beddoes
Editor-in-chief
It’s the nature of the news business, and of many of the cover stories that we write, to dwell on what is wrong with the world. But this week we have two covers that are a reminder that good things do happen—and that they’re often overlooked.
In most of our editions we focus on the #10; America’s economy">astonishing performance of America’s economy. Nearly four-fifths of Americans tell pollsters that their children will be worse off than they are. In fact America has sustained its decades-long record as the world’s richest, most productive and most innovative big economy. Indeed, it is leaving its peers ever further in the dust. Only those in über-rich petrostates and financial hubs enjoy a higher income per person. American firms own more than a fifth of patents registered abroad, more than China and Germany put together.
Americans worry about inequality—and it is true that the middle-class has seen fewer gains than the rich and the poor, who have benefited from a big increase in the size of the safety-net. It is also true that America’s politics are toxic and that life expectancy is being dragged down by shootings and drug overdoses. China and climate change remain real threats. But talking down the American economy is not only wrong in fact, it also breeds pessimistic policies like protectionism, lower immigration and government subsidies that could spoil the secret sauce which has made America so successful.
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