Homes for Sale in Utah

For years, a friend of mine and I would rant about how George W. Bush was responsible for everything that went wrong, everything. The press was literally trying to create a self-fulfilling prophecy by misrepresenting economic data in as negative a way as possible. So we would blame Bush for everything, the weather, traffic congestion, airline delays, long lines at the grocery store, faulty windshield wipers. It was a running joke on which of us would come up with the most ridiculous problem we could connect to Bush.

The media pounding Bush has taken is likely the cause of the public’s continued pessimism about economic conditions even as the economy has expanded for 25 consecutive quarters.

On Tuesday, in an interview on CNBC, Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune owner Sam Zell suggested to “Squawk Box” anchor Becky Quick that many of the economic problems facing the country today are caused by fear-mongering and politicking by Democratic Presidential Candidates in a very long election cycle.

Zell attributed much of the current economic troubles to fear-mongering and politicking by the Democratic presidential contenders who get a lot of ink and airtime in the MSM.

“Obviously what we have going on is an attempt to create a self-fulfilling prophecy,” said Zell, chairman of Equity Investments Group and owner of the Chicago Cubs, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and other companies. “We have Democratic candidates who are vying with each other to describe the economic situation worse.

“The reality is that if you live on Wall Street and you’re in the credit markets the world couldn’t be worse. If you’re a farmer and you’re getting $25 for your wheat, you’re having a great time. If you’re a CEO and you’ve got a balance sheet that’s bullet-proof, you’re in a great position.” And if you are a homeowner with 53% appreciation over the last five years you are sitting pretty on a wealth builder, your house. Zell continued, “This whole thing is way out of control, way out of hand.”

Now that’s something Bush should get credit for!