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[- next is then 'meter' visualizations then]

Aha. This would do it too. Every month, possible. Every 2 - 3 months. Possible.

- Can be done by Obama admin
- BBC can even do it. To save the world, to reduce the 'devastation' stemming from all these American systems - and affecting the regions of the world in such drastic way -

we need to have 'meters' and analysis attached to America. In real ways.

American people's 'substantial' income level has been in decline or - hasn't been seeing any much substantial increase - for a very long time. (Some say 30 years, others say 20 years. Or there might have been some increase - but that's all eaten up by this credit thing and mostly by increase in health care cost, etc)

Then now, newspapers industry is facing crisis. There are many reasons to this is one good reason which hasn't been focused on much is

simply, American people are not rich enough, paid enough to sustain casual newspaper purchases.

There are many other reasons, and I will miss hardcopy papers going away but I do position myself in the camp that 'they need to go through this change'. More focused, more persistent, more sorted - more responsible and essentially interactive. That should be the way.

But I do feel something like irritation or small anger, the way some talk that newspapers are essential and they need support from people.

Well, newspapers and journalism and journalists never really worked on the issue of American people's wage stagnation or decline in any substantial ways.

America's middle class emerged in major way in 50s - let's say. Then first sign of decline showed up in late 70s to 80s. I don't see a journalist - who has been talking about this - persistently past some decades. [I don't even see - domestic coverage expert - a journalist who specialized in - the condition of American economy and average American people's income issue. There is no such specialization while we have specialized reporters in the issue of the Middle East or Washington DC politics?

There is no such specialization?

Then, of course, you could lose customers. Model was you depend on people paying up a dollar or a dollar and half - or less - just feeling okay to tip in that much of their income just to have something to read. Sitting down and spent maybe an hour - reading through. (In that sense, it was a wasteful habit people acquired for a while - wasting tons of trees and transportation.)

But people's income lost such 'affordability' and casualness. They have to trim spending - to the literally minisclue level. Or they came to be surrounded by 20% 30% interest charging credit cards and then maybe 2% offering saving accounts. For years. Their 'average' financial situation became so unstable, destabilized, etc.

But newspapers never came to be with American people at this level. They covered in very limited ways, they rather advocated consumption, spending, fancy house remodeling and second home purchases, wine drinking and celeb chef style cooking and vacation trips.

I don't know when they come back in some different kind of shapes and forms, will have focus on real 'bread and butter' level issues for average Americans.

It was probably at March 6th, Thursday, during NewsHour (PBS).

There was a talk about American economy and its recovery - between 2 male figures. One guy was sounding almost cantankerous but also, for me, hitting right points. Such as

American people need to be able to save and spend both

He also wants to see real wage level increase in USA.

And in the end, I think he kind of said he doesn't even hope he will be able to see these things would happen - in his life time and it may take another few decades.

I just don't find the transcript on the NewsHour main site.

* The problem is that NewsHour doesn't post whole an hour as a piece. It cuts up whole show into several segments.

So it might be in the part which was not transcribed or archived [I have to ask them].

Next potential is that might have been part of 'News and Notes' or even On Point?

or there was a feel that that was 60 minutes like style. Very short, interview type of talk...

It won't take much to present this view, perspective in coherent and simple way.

- Warren Buffet criticizes him in CNBC
- Larry Summer's sounding caution (that's fine. But where is the project of Obama team to put him on Youtube regularly? for 'common' talk?)
- criticism about Tim Geithener - that he has no staff, and more problematically, that he now has lost 'trust' from Wall St.
- Rumor? that Robert Rubin is actually advising Obama team about how to deal with toxic assets? (Stress test and how results would be weighed)

In all this, he sounds, plain. Partially because he is not an expert in economics and fiance - so he can plainly pile up reasons why American economy has arrived to this 'mess'. He knows. He saw. He witnessed some in his life. All those changes and choices, American society 'made'.

And from there, he wants to take America somewhere better. When he says we can't have lasting prosperity based on this boom and bust cycles (and credit based over-consumption, spending, etc) - he sounds like an amateur. Many who actually studied history of economy would simply and casually respond to him that '(speculative) market' is part of the world for centuries and we will never be able to do without it, and yes, this downturn or crush is rather catastrophic but - we will still have similar kind of cyclic situations. This one is bad. We must repair and we try to regulate better and have improved oversight, we will be cautious, but ...

part of him being amateur on economy (and financial market) starting to sound - he is alone. There is no one else around him,

to count up -

why America came to have such (weak or unstable) economy,

list all major reasons, and reflect,

and list 'goals' - and paths, and talk, discuss about which are doable, how long this would that or take, what would be achievable, promise-able - and what would not be. How long and how much pain - and disagreements - it might take to get us there - and where? how far - we can - actually redesign and rebuild America's economy, economic culture, population's understanding of economy?

From his inaugural address, and recent address at Congress, and some fragments of speeches given past few weeks,

he kept his plain view.

There are reasons we are having these problems, in the past etc,

We ought to list them and study them, understand them,

and we must try to get to new ways, different ways.

It's simple. But it adds up. It adds up many many painful memories, why we made mistake, why we weren't smart enough, prudent enough, why we didn't argue enough, why we left many issues so un-dealt with. It adds up.

And talking of, envisioning solutions and path ways to solutions - lists so many problems, issues, obstacles and pitfalls and so on.

Media seems cannot do this, in any way. Even quality medias cannot do this. It's not managing very well. Not enough focus. Not enough 'repetition' - subjects and themes, changes almost bi-weekly. No real, solid, painful but effective - continuous 'work' is done by media.

Experts. Well, they have enough brains and experiences so I hope someone will really work this way - Obama's personal 'plain' way - maybe Elizabeth Warren or Paul Volcker - can do this. But it sounds almost all other experts can talk about these problems in very limited, fragmented and segmented ways.

cf: tomorrow, News and Notes (WNYC, NPR) says it will cover the topic of 'how to achieve long term prosperity (and pull America? and the world? out of 'this boom and bust cycle'). I don't think they will really be able to do such coverage. Depth won't be there. Reach won't be there. Plainness - would be replaced by 'how things are commonly talked, how things are commonly addressed' (in limited sets. Few things together. But not all relevant stuff cumulatively added, jumbled up.)

Life's most important 'sparks' and other ingredients are not having 'spaces' - in our lives.

We talk of Athenian Democracy / Republic as our sources of inspiration but somehow we approach from some very wrong formats.

Athenians had vibrant engagements to the issues they had to deal with. And it was not because there were books, or book reading environments, or many people had 'study room' or office at their private homes. It was not because of those. (true, we don't know why they had active republic...)

Plato nor Socrates, nor Aristotle did not write 'BOOKS'. Books came much later. Their intellectual quality was based on (maybe not all but good portion of) populations' quality and engagements. I am not even sure they'd choose to have thousands of books in secluded locations for limited kind of populations - or rather have actual discussion and debate spots across their cities or towns.

And in that sense, Dynabook needs to drop 'book'. Book is a cave. Infamous Plato's cave. It did not gain its 'light' from its form. It gained its light from people having quality. And Plato himself did not put it in the form of books like currently we have.

True, publication helped modern world. But that's because modern world really did not start with enquiring why Athens or Sparta or other ancient societies had managed to have those civil quality - among populations.

Ancient worlds - we take as sources of inspiration - were not built over books.