Times of Trouble

Whether or not we are on “the edge of recession,” as the Kansas City Star claims—indeed, wishes—we are certainly on the edge of and knee deep in worrying about recession. The mainstream media do not help matters much as by feeding consumers a steady diet of worry and sensationalism, which can only contribute to a depressed level of confidence.

 

We at Ingram’s, however, try to remain grounded in our reporting. Like our readers, we have no interest in hyping apotential recession and no great despair about seeing a recession come. Recessions are nearly as dependable as the cicadas and not a whole lot more frightening. We cheerlead progress, not anxiety at Ingram’s. We present facts so that our readers can form their own opinions about any number of given subjects, the economy foremost among them.

Last month, we convened several of the region’s most respected economists. While most share concern about the economy they all seemed hopeful of continued stability and even trend growth in the coming year.

This month we convened area leaders of the commercial construction industry for the Building and Construction Industry Outlook. While all the participants from the assembly voiced issues they and their industry face, most were optimistic about their business and most appeared to have a solid inventory of business going forward. Indeed, the greatest challenge they face is finding adequate staff and subcontractors to perform the work already in the pipeline.

The perspective of the builders differs from that of representatives of certain other business sectors, especially that of the residential home construction and residential real estate market. For the commercial construction and design industry, the future looks bright for the foreseeable future.

Does the Future Have a Face?

While the economy poses challenges for some and forces all to operate with an eye on the future, financial worries pale compared to some very real worries about our security.

I refer specifically to the spate of mass killings that have afflicted our nation and our state. The most recent incident in Kirkwood, Missouri, an all-American suburb of neighboring St. Louis, hits way too close for me. I lived in and near Kirkwood during the 90s and can tell you I can’t fathom an incident such as the assassination of five public servants.

Hardly a week goes by where we don’t hear about a school, shopping mall or business being shot up by some lunatic and lives being lost. I would have liked to believe that by 2008 our society would have transcended such barbaric actions but the opposite appears to be true.

What the two phenomena—mass murder and recession—have in common is the role of the media in hyping each. There is a copycat element to both. We cease to spend and invest because we are told no one else will, and, in extreme cases, we pick up a gun to settle a score because we have seen others do the same and get great attention in so doing.

The media has a necessary role to playin reporting the news. Unfortunately, and in this election year, they seem much too interested in creating news as well—the worse the better. Whether they are fueling the recession fires, or propagating sensationalism, mainstream media would serve society more effectively and responsibly by avoiding the hype that in turn fuels crime—and many of the problems we face today as Americans.

Joe Sweeney

Editor-In-Chief & Publisher

JSweeney@IngramsOnLine.com