MSM Wakes Up

The Main Stream Media (MSM)  finally woke up to the fact that the United States is in deep economic trouble. When the alarms raised on the editorial pages begin to migrate to the reporting pages, there has been a major awakening to an emerging crisis. This morning’s Wall Street Journal of April 23 is a case in point. (Yes, the Wall Street Journal is a huge component of the  MSM as the most widely read newspaper in the U.S.).

The front page article titled “Dollar’s Decline Speeds Up, With Risks For U.S.” reports on the absolute decline of the dollar of over 40% of its value in the six year period before the crisis of 2008, and this week fell to its lowest level since August 2008. The lead paragraph in the article states: “The U.S. dollar’s downward slide is accelerating as low interest rates, inflation concerns and the massive federal budget  deficit undermine the currency. “ One of the conclusions drawn in the article is that “While the weaker currency is helping to drive the recovery, it has also contributed to palpable public worries about inflation and the diminished standing of the U.S. on a global stage.” The article ends by tying the dollar’s weakness to the rise of gold to over $1500 this past week. 

In the Business and Finance section of the paper, there is a page one article on the unbelievable rise in the price of silver, up over 160% in the past year.  Although the reporter’s main thrust of the article is the fact that silver investors may be in for a big fall, he acknowledges indirectly that there is a “panic” to buy the metal. What is left unsaid is the fact that the “panic” has been created by those loosing faith in our fiat dollar.

In the same section, on page B5 the article “Battered Dollar Gets A Holiday Reprieve” leads with: “After the dollar was caught in a downdraft most of this week on U.S. monetary and fiscal policy deficiencies, the maligned currency got a respite Friday and could gain from a market correction early next week.” Note the core reason cited for the dollar’s weakness was U.S. monetary and fiscal policy deficiencies.

Gold and silver achieved new highs in the past week. There is one simple reason for the rush to hard metals—a growing unease that the world’s financial system is failing, and in particular the inability or unwillingness of the U.S. to put its fiscal house in order. Our country has become so polarized that few believe that we can pull ourselves back from the brink of financial disaster. 

The MSM is always late to the party. The fact that they collectively have arrived at the point where the blogosphere was six months ago is moot. The MSM is good at reporting what happened yesterday, and when they start reporting that the sky is falling, it is too late. The sky has already fallen. 

JP