The Politburo Diktat

MiniTruth Economic Analysis

As economic conditions improve, it is vital for MiniTruth comrades to understand proper methods for handling economic reports.

1. "Bad News - Bush. Good News - Lies." This is the basic rule, comrades. Repeat it often, at mealtimes, in sleep, while at pasture. To any negative economic data, it is appropriate to claim the item as "one more nail in that lying Bush' coffin," "Just another proof that Rovian economics does not work," etc.. In response to any positive economic news, simply claim that it is a lie; the statistics have been fudged. "Rove has gotten to BLS."

This is the Leftie pitcher's "money pitch." His bread and butter fastball, his "out" pitch. When it's a tough situation, just throw heat, comrades. "Bad News - Bush. Good News - Lies."

2. Just like a good pitcher, the Leftie blogger or reporter needs a 'change of pace' to set up his 96 MPH fastball. The second element of Leftie economic analysis is to challenge the details. For example, were 308,00 jobs created last month. Comrades, this is very easy. They were the wrong kind of jobs, or perhaps they were in the wrong place. Thus: "Sure overall jobs are up, but manufacturing declines in the critical typewriter industry continue to decline; these can hardly be made up for by service sector employment like university R&D." Or, "While employment grew in (choose one) Bush-favored states like Texas, battleground states like Ohio, or states with already critically weakened economies like California, the overall job growth picture reamis bleak. Note that no matter where the growth is concentrated, it can be discounted as immaterial.

3. The old "wrong statistic" dodge. This is the merry-go-round strategy. Whatever item has been reported as positive, simply reference another (hopefully unfavorably trending) stat. "What good is job growth, if balance of trade continues to balloon?" OR "What good is an improvement in the balance of payments, if consumer confidence remains low?" Or (rock-paper-scissors) "What good is an uptick in consumer confidence, if job growth lags?"

As a side note, it is especially impressive if your counter-statistic can be really, really obscure. I always like something like, "the monthly survey of chip manufacturers' purchasing managers' grocery bills." It just sounds so leading indicator-ish.

4. The last is a bit of a throwaway, but should be a part of any Leftie twisters' arsenal. Never be afraid to characterize any good economic news as transitory, short-term, superficial, or illusory. Who can challenge that? "Sure, new jobless claims were at the lowest levels since the Eisenhower administration, but isn't that just a transitory effect?""

Clenched fist salutes: NTCDD, Tao of Dowingba, and any economic post by Atrios.