by Lee Stranahan
"You've heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession..." - McCain economic advisor Phil Gramm
When Phil Gramm called the country's economic problem 'mental', he was ooted from the McCain campaign within a few days. And for good reason - he, like the other Republican leadership, treated the obviously faltering economy like a mere illusion that happy talk and willful ignorance could save the economy. That attitude made the problem worse.
But I can't help thinking he was onto something; just aimed at the completely wrong people. There IS a mental component to the economy and the short sighted, selfish lugheads who are laying off workers and cutting hours when their company is making money have a real mental problem. These CEOs are making the country worse.
By focusing on layoffs at their companies, these business executives are not focusing on growing and expanding their companies in a time where there are tremendous opportunities. Of course, Gramm wouldn't have dared be critical of corporate America so he didn't see the real source of the cynical negativity is in the boardroom, not the lunchroom.