Soldiers' Angel - Holly Aho

Uncle Jimbo has this post - Rational Exuberance - up at Blackfive, which reminded me of a post I was intending to put up, one along similar lines. Uncle Jimbo refers to a recent article from the BEA (Bureau of Economic Analysis) which says in part:
"Annualized GDP growth in the 1st quarter was estimated at a rapid 4.8% rate; growth was 1.7% in the 4th quarter of last year."

He relates that to an economy during a time of war, certainly not the doom and gloom the media likes to spin on America. I had a similar article in mind, from (of all places) the Times - America's economic hegemony is safe. The article, dated April 25th, begins:
"BARRING some wholly unexpected statistical oddity, we will get another spectacular signal of the health of the American economy this Friday..."

The article is filled with numbers and math (which I won't bore you with cause I had to read it twice just to keep my eyes from glazing over), but it also comes to the conclusion halfway through:
"I give you this little statistical litany not just for its own intrinsic appeal, but as a healthful antidote to some of the wishful thinking about America’s inevitable decline you can read in the rest of the media.

Historically speaking, indeed, America’s economic hegemony has never been greater. However messy Iraq and Afghanistan get, it would be unwise to bet that the US will not continue to be Top Nation for quite a while yet."

Either Uncle Jimbo is a genius for putting this together without help from the Times, or...well that's probably it. In any case, something else about this topic caught my eye. The Times article concludes with this:
"The only real threat to American economic hegemony, I suspect, is the willingness of its people to continue to tolerate the pains associated with its success. Income and wealth inequalities have grown rapidly in the past ten years — even as the long-term growth rate has accelerated — and, given the continuing direction associated with globalisation, they may get even worse over the next 20 years.

That could tempt Americans to turn their backs on the very free markets that have been the foundations of their continuing prosperity."

Why did that stand out? Because over the weekend I received one of those mailers designed by a PR person from a book company, hoping I would be willing to review books on my blog. One of the books touted in the letter insert was "The Trouble With Diversity", by Walter Benn Michael. I haven't read the book, but the insert recaps:
"The Trouble with Diversity by Walter Benn Michaels examines America's fascination with diversity but neglect of the growing economic divide between the rich and the poor."

Ahh hhaaaa haa haaa haa haaaa! Perhaps Mr. Michaels does not read the Times. I just had to mention it as the timing was too rich to ignore.