More Media Malpractice - Austerity Scolds Edition

H/t to Mr. Pierce for directing us to this analysis by Kevin C. Brown discussing the media co-conspirators in the austerity con game being run by "Plutocrat Pete" Peterson. Peterson, you might recall, has made his name in recent years by being at the forefront of Wall Street vultures "visionaries" looking to turn Social Security into what amounts to a Vegas table game. Unfortunately, he's hardly been alone in his efforts, as Brown points out:

"An essential and successful element of the Peterson strategy is to create an environment where it is widely if not universally believed that there is no alternative to his vision. In this view, it’s 'not realistic' to believe the country can afford the same programs it once did. Those who are prepared to be 'adults' will look at these 'hard truths' without flinching and recognize that it is time to take citizens-have-to-do-with-less medicine.

"The conceit is that those with 'courage' will see past narrow, partisan concerns and embrace an ideal: a bipartisan consensus that has the strength to demand 'shared sacrifice' from a childish and selfish populace.

"A review of the proceedings of the Fiscal Summits of the last three years makes agonizingly clear that most of the journalists who conducted interviews or moderated panel discussions both reflected and amplified the Peterson worldview — entirely unselfconsciously, it would seem."

Brown, of course, names those Peterson acolytes in the media =cough=Sunday talk shows=cough= often thought of as the "serious people" who are more than willing to prescribe needless pain for the poor and the middle class ("Tax breaks for me, austerity for thee."). It's an interesting piece, and you may find some surprising names on the list (or not).

Meanwhile, let's not forget what a smashing success austerity has been in Europe.