Traditional politics has been all about who gaining and who's losing. Yet it has lately become unfashionable, indeed in poor taste, to notice such things. In the present upbeat climate, downbeat data are slightly subversive. It is necessary to minimize all worry about the economy lest the public lose confidence, a perfect tautology. Bankers and business leaders have become cheerleaders in the nationwide pep rally.
Recent polls show, accordingly, high rates of consumer confidence.
These are the ones who have heard the distant roar of surging wealth and assume that the rising tide will lift them, too which may explain the record level of consumer debt. Even in 1992, with the nation mired in recession, political engagement was grudging. But there was no sense of moral urgency. It was simply time to replace old management with new. Some people will say we don't need a vital politics to be a vital society.