Depression Porn

Forgive me for yet another non-baseball thing, but Virginia Postrel has an excellent post noting how journalists seem to be really getting off on “Depression Porn“:

The Boston Globe’s Drake Bennett asked a bunch of people, including me, what a 21st-century Depression might look like. The results sounded pretty damned good to some people–a sure sign of an affluent society, or at least affluent commentators.

The prospect of a Depression is already creating jobs for (a few) writers. Hodding Carter IV has gotten a book deal described by Publishers Weekly this way:

“After 10 years of profligate spending fueled by real estate flips, refinancing and credit card debt, the author will write about living on what he actually earns. In order to do so, he and his family of six will mine cost-saving techniques from the Great Depression and the first cookbook in America, and stay within their budget, whether that means growing their own food or bartering for things they need. Carter is writing a column based on his experiences for Gourmet.”

If that last line doesn’t bring a smile to your face, you really are depressed.

I’m glad I’m not imagining that a lot of folks seem almost excited about crappy economic times. It’s almost as if surging unemployment, deflation, and allied nastiness is just another retro craze.

(link via Sullivan)