To say that recent economic news has been grim would be an understatement of Monty Python proportion. One doesn’t need to look far to find a myriad of references to depression recession and “these tough economic times.”
Yes gloom is in the air and modern pessimism flourishes. The fatalistic media is fanning the flames. And yet about a week ago a glimmer of hope shone through the dark clouds of cynicism.
On Tuesday March 10 Citigroup Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. all posted significant rises in their stocks reporting the largest profit margins since late 2007. After reporting five straight quarterly losses Citigroup jumped 38 percent. JPMorgan increased 23 percent and Bank of America climbed 28 percent. General Electric Co. surged 20 percent the biggest advance since 1980. Virtually every major stock market mirrored this rise including the Nasdaq the Dow Jones the S&P 500 and markets in London Frankfurt and Paris.
Though the positive burst has since tapered out the majority of markets continue to post steady increases. One week later on March 17 stocks continue to rise significantly aided by a better-than-expected housing market report. Many of them have reached their highest points since the start of the economic downturn.
One would hope that this news would be broadcast far and wide but apparently good news never sells. Instead talk show hosts prefer to keep predicting the economic apocalypse. A March 10 BBC article packed seam to seam with hope for improvement ended by giving the disclaimer: “The news coming out on the economic front will continue to be rather gloomy.” A lovely thought from a rather too happy article – after all we can’t let ourselves run away with “idealism.”
The role of pessimism in our lives and discourse is undeniable. The term “idealist” these days is practically an insult. And yet what is so foolish about hope? I understand the need for balance and for facing the truth but who says truth is always grim? When did we lose the ability to face both the good and bad truth? It is better to air on the side of optimism rather than pessimism lest one ignore a positive truth and so doing lose it.
I don’t mean to undercut the seriousness of the economic situation. The country has a long way toward recovery. Economists predict that the U.S. unemployment rate will reach 9.4 percent this year and remain elevated through at least 2011 according to a monthly Bloomberg News survey from March. Nor do I sneeze at the speed at which the market’s upswing can reverse. This news does not represent a guaranteed return to happy times. However the stock market’s growth is a time for optimism.
In a single stroke after Citigroup announced its profits other companies followed suit and markets rose. It was not merely a mindless economic force that determined this surge; social mood and consumer trust influence markets.
Why then do we choose distrust – a self-fulfilling prophecy that spirals into further depression? Instead we should build another kind of self-fulfilling prophecy: one of hope. Of course there is a chance we may fail. But we can be sure that by letting despair reign in our hearts the brighter day will never come.