Friday, July 29, 2011
Friday at the Movies: Chicken Little Returns?
A short but rather timely parable. Walt Disney released this version during World War II. This time, it's not the sky that's falling, but the debt ceiling.
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3 comments:
What's the parable linkage, BB - that we shouldn't be worried about the inability of our government to attend to basic fiscal hygiene functions? I'm sorry, this really, really concerns me and a lot of other people. I don't think it's frivolous to be appalled at what has happened over the past few days and weeks.
Scout
Does this landmark Disney Short from 1943 seem frivolous? The use of fear mongering as a political tool is hardly frivolous. Look who is being targeted first to fear - the weakest among us.
As Roosevelt said in the same era, we have nothing to fear but what?
bb
The fears are real enough. Check the tax that Congress has imposed on your 401k Monday afternoon if you doubt the harsh reality of what's going on in the past week.
In 1933, the problems were caused by global forces that no one country could control. The immediate crisis is completely self-inflicted by pols who have the cute idea that the routine, but absolutely essential task of periodically adjusting statutory debt limits presnts a splendid moment to bloviate on issues that should be resolved without putting a gun to the head of the US and global economy, not to mention the personal welfare of the ciizens of the United States. If I were running a rating agency I would have down-graded US debt instrument weeks ago a this farce unfolded on the general principle that the United States of America, once thought to be a great country of some exemplary governance merit to the rest of the world, is terminally incompetent of dealing with the financial issues of even the routine bookkeeping variety.
If I were re-phrasing Roosevelt for today's situation I would say "The only thing we have to fear are political office holders who would tear down this nation for personal political aggrandizement." It doesn't have quite the rhetorical fluorish of the original, but it is accurate in today's context.
Scout
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