Tom Petruno, the markets columnist for The Los Angeles Times, makes some cogent points about our bifurcated economy.
It’s painfully difficult to reconcile the plight of the unemployed with the fact that 140 million or more Americans are expected to be out in force shopping this weekend, hoping to give a decent holiday to their kids or other loved ones.
It’s also difficult to reconcile the ongoing struggles of many small businesses with government data this week showing that U.S. companies’ earnings reached an annualized rate of $1.66 trillion in the third quarter, the highest ever before adjusting for inflation.
The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Petruno adds, “Many companies are more efficient than ever and are sitting on mounds of cash.”
Maybe I’m wrong, but it seems to me that ad people and other professional communicators need to wrestle some of this corporate cash away from the tight wads, so we can tell American success stories and motivate further successes. You know, to get the economy back on track, to pay off the national debt, put people to work, feed and house the poor, etc.