Writing at the Columbia Journalism Review's website (10/17/08), Elinore Longobardi points out the pure absurdity of Newsweek's persistence in the role of economic cheerleader:

In the October 20 cover story, Fareed Zakaria... explains the problem:

Two decades of easy money and innovative financial products meant that virtually anyone could borrow any amount of money for any purpose.

Then come the "we's":

If we wanted a bigger house, a better TV or a faster car, and we didn't actually have the money to pay for it, no problem. We put it on a credit card, took out a massive mortgage and financed our fantasies.

Fantasies like…. healthcare? Filling the gas tank? Food? Education? Childcare? The fact is that the costs of living have been rising while middle-class wages have been lagging--with growing income concentration at the very top.

Longobardi identifies "the fundamental problem with this piece" as being "that a single 'we' exists as an economic reality. We can all learn from this crisis, goes the argument, because we have all brought it on ourselves."

See FAIR's recent issue of Extra!: "Fareed Zakaria, Spokesperson for the Global Elite: Newsweek Pundit Presents Pro-Corporate Views as the Poor's Perspective" (7-8/08) by Roger Bybee

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