It seems a long way off already, but President Trump’s State of the Union address went heavy on good news about the economy and unemployment, which of course had Democrats sitting stoically in their seats with incredibly sour looks on their faces.
It felt good to be able to applaud tax cuts, economic growth, and record-low unemployment numbers, but in the Washington Post Friday, George F. Will explained how good economic news is actually bad news.
Opinion: The good economic news is actually bad. Here’s why. https://t.co/CHYqardgrE
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) February 3, 2018
A Republican is president. #SavedYouAClick https://t.co/celoEolyBT
— ?It's?Almost ⛄️Christmas? (@jtLOL) February 3, 2018
Well, that certainly explains why the Washington Post was happy to publish the piece, but what is Will trying to say about good economic news giving rise to poor behavior? We’ll skip right to his conclusion:
Americans consider deferral of gratification unnatural, which it is. Time was, however, thrift was considered a virtue. People sat at kitchen tables, calculating how to bring their outlays, for living and retiring, into alignment with their incomes. But eventually many people decided: This is no fun. Instead, let’s disconnect enjoyable spending decisions from tiresome facts about resources, thereby living the way the federal government does.
We’re still not getting it. So, bad economic news would be preferable?
Good is bad. Up is down. Left is right. Black is white. The Last Jedi was a good movie. We have always been at war with Eastasia. https://t.co/TIKfPLQXGZ
— JERRY DUNLEAVY (@JerryDunleavy) February 3, 2018
This bad article is actually good. Kidding. It's just bad. https://t.co/PVNrcyBGDz
— Ben (@freedomanddogs) February 3, 2018
Recommended
Yes, let's go with this anglehttps://t.co/ZGxG16q2gw
— David Burge (@iowahawkblog) February 3, 2018
Self-parodic. https://t.co/yaO5pQNSVO
— Omri Ceren (@omriceren) February 3, 2018
This bad tweet is actually bad. I’m not being ironic. https://t.co/xL2joo4XR5
— All-American Male (@AllAmericanMaIe) February 3, 2018
https://twitter.com/TheJeffBurkett/status/959822100646293504
https://twitter.com/matthufflepuff/status/959915857592844288
The corporate press is the enemy of the American people. https://t.co/P4oZ1hYnmv
— Michael Malice (@michaelmalice) February 3, 2018
These people are living in a different dimension. https://t.co/my54FycA6X
— Political Possum (@PoliticalPossum) February 3, 2018
This physically hurt to read https://t.co/O2aVkvbGLW
— Jake King (@Kingj282) February 3, 2018
"The economy being good is bad because people aren't frugal like they used to be and will therefore spend their extra money irresponsibly" is a uniquely garbage take. https://t.co/jqVfAkL1GF
— NeoN: Automataster (@neontaster) February 3, 2018
George Will is a smart guy but MAN this piece is not. Good economic news is not the root cause of irresponsible behavior. https://t.co/KzQwf9QQnp
— Cody Royals (@codyroyals) February 3, 2018
This op-ed suggests we should live our lives like the struggling federal government. So here, I saved you a click. https://t.co/iP5AqpdoF6
— LEET OCEAN (@nuleet) February 3, 2018
A very strange article. It starts off by giving some examples of economic prophecies in the 20th century that not only didn't materialize, but the opposite happened. It goes on to say that people are better off poor because they can't be trusted with money if they have it. https://t.co/Hn0yhQkqY3
— Imshin אימשין (@imshin) February 3, 2018
The WaPo is just salivating for an economic pullback. The global economy is running full strength and this is the opinion they opt to publish. https://t.co/UzuJSaAKov
— Ryan Smyth (@RyanSmyth7) February 3, 2018
This sounds like an attempt at under cutting the "Trump is helping the economy." argument. And given the derangement of media outlets on the subject of Trump I'd not be surprised. https://t.co/7hcsDGpix0
— Cruel Angel's Thesis (@ShadowHarbinger) February 4, 2018
You think Obama ever got this hot take? https://t.co/Ud6FeImDYE
— Cameron Gray (@Cameron_Gray) February 3, 2018
https://twitter.com/Dogtownz/status/959851474736988160
Sometimes you guys try too hard. My god. https://t.co/hyJRpGsh1w
— Blackburn Review©®™ (@BlackburnReview) February 3, 2018
https://twitter.com/Chairmnoomowmow/status/959817182476668929
Say something nice. Just once. https://t.co/nbMOVyTeAz
— brownOUT (@JHWalz32) February 3, 2018
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