Next?

Investors fear bubbles, and with good reason. Assets presumed to have a certain value can suddenly depreciate, with devastating, far-reaching consequences to the investors. This link includes an infographic tracing the most significant bursts of bubbles in history, starting with the Dutch tulip bulb crisis, through the Great Depression and the 2008 financial collapse. Those are financial bubbles, and wise investors are always trying to determine what the next bubble will be. The bubbles are sometimes inflated by nefarious actors. Think of the ‘creative’ architects of all those derivative securities that bundled sub-prime mortgages that turned out to be worthless – and the game-players who made fortunes by betting that they would turn out to be worthless.  And, of course, when the financial bubbles burst, it is not only the well-heeled investors who suffer.

Like just about everyone, I took a hit from the 2008 economic collapse. But today, I have in mind not financial bubbles. It is ‘truth bubbles’ that interest me. What triggered this line of thought is a very insightful episode of National Public Radio’s On the Media that played last week.  The linked 12-minute segment is one part of their full hourlong show that covered corporate ‘green pledges’ generally. But the clip that I linked covers a particular pledge that turns out to be one of what I would call ‘truth bubbles’ – the promise from the petrochemical industry that plastic could be recycled. That notion, which has been sold quite effectively to environmentally conscious citizens turns out not to be true. Worse, it seems that those pitching the idea have known all along that the idea has always been a non-starter. According to Laura Sullivan, the On the Media investigative reporter interviewed by host Bob Garfield in the segment, only about nine percent of plastic has ever been recycled.  And all those numbers in the triangles on the bottom labels of products?  Nearly useless. So, while we dutifully sort plastic items that are supposedly recyclable, separating them from those that are clearly not, our efforts yield little benefit to the planet. Turns out that most of the ‘recycled’ plastic ends up discarded in less-developed lands such as Indonesia.  They import America’s recycled plastic waste, harvest what is actually recyclable – basically, plastic beverage bottles and milk jugs – and then, too often, lose track of the rest. Read: dump and discard. And whatever is dumped and discarded will eventually make its way to the sea.

On the Media host Bob Garfield is at his satirical best as he chides us for feeling so smug with our all-too-futile recycling efforts. But the main message of the piece is that plastic recycling is yet another example of what I call a truth bubble. Truth bubbles are inflated by some private interest – generally, an entire industry or a mega-corporation that seeks to persuade the public that their product’s value and utility override any environmental or health problems that its use might create. Moreover, that any and all of those problems – if they exist at all – are the result of their product’s misuse. And, thus, it follows that individual citizens are themselves responsible for that misuse, and cleaning up the mess. Brilliant! Offloading responsibility to little old us, enabling the product’s creators to continue reaping the mega-profits.  Exhorting citizens to ‘clean up their mess’ is far superior to messy real fixes like regulation of single-use plastics through bottle return, reusable bags, charging the corporations themselves for clean-up.

For the record, here is the famous 1970s ad mentioned in the story. It features an actor from New Jersey made up as a Native American who, appalled by all manner of pollution, sheds a single tear for the despoliation of the land’s beauty. And proving the emphasis on individual, rather than corporate responsibility, today’s YouTube version of the ad has a link to this group – kab.org. Keep America Beautiful leads the Great American Cleanup – a laudable effort to pick up trash discarded by slobs. But it only proves the point of the whole story – that individuals cause the problems, and if only enough individuals pitched in, the problems would be solved. It’s like magic.

Truth bubbles differ from financial bubbles in a key way. The financial bubbles can burst in what seems like an instant – when investors rush for the exits in a panicked sell-off. Truth bubbles can linger for years, even decades, well beyond the time when the specific misinformation programs are exposed. The plastic recycling lies now being aired are merely the latest example. Think about how Big Tobacco continued their pignorant (pretend-ignorant) public relations programs casting doubt on the ever-growing scientific evidence linking cigarette smoking with cancer and other health problems. Think of Big Oil, which continues to this day to fund ‘think tanks’ that seek to cast doubt on greenhouse gases’ contribution to the climate crisis. Some of those ‘think tanks,’ such as the notoriously pignorant Heartland Institute, go on to sell fables such as the supposed benefits of ever-increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide. Really. And don’t forget that Big Oil is responsible for the granddaddy of all truth bubbles. It is now well documented that ExxonMobil knew all about the social and planetary costs of burning fossil fuels as far back as the 1970s – based on world-class research that they funded and later suppressed.

Truth bubbles such as these and others – that globalization would benefit everyone, that tax cuts for the wealthy would ‘trickle down’ to the middle and working classes, that ‘voter fraud’ is a genuine problem that must be dealt with – all have something in common. That is, that they are promoted by some private interest – an industry, a global mega-corporation, a political party – that seeks to gain or retain power or wealth by promoting a lie dressed up as truth. If it were that simple, fighting the truth bubbles would be easy – just get the truth out there. But, alas, simple solutions are illusory.

I’m currently reading a book by Robert Reich – Supercapitalism. It’s not new, but its publication date is just one of the reasons I am finding it both informative and cautionary. Reich released the book in 2007, right on the eve of the speculation- and corruption-spawned financial collapse. Reich’s diagnosis of our ailment – the subversion of democracy by capitalism – what he calls ‘super-capitalism’ – is right on target. But he also points out the difficulty of overcoming truth bubbles.  In so many cases, they represent a ‘devil’s bargain’ for ordinary people. Here is a passage from Reich’s book:

“After all, where do we suppose the great deals come from? In part they come from lower payrolls – from workers who have to settle for lower wages and benefits, or have to get new jobs that often pay less. They also come from big-box retailers that kill off Main Streets because they undercut prices charged by independent retailers there. They come from companies that shed their loyalties to particular communities and morph into global supply chains paying pennies to twelve-year-olds in Indonesia. They come from CEOs who are paid exorbitantly; from companies all over the world who wreak havoc on the environment. . . “

Think of the everyday convenience of plastics and low gas prices, the ‘great deals’ consumers find thanks in no small part to globalization, even the comfort afforded by certain unhealthy products such as tobacco, and you realize why in many cases the big lies told by their pignorant purveyors become an easy sell. Individuals can’t solve the societal problems caused by the products and practices pushed by the masters of the truth bubbles. It will take collective action by all those individuals, united in a political movement that holds the purveyors accountable and promotes and protects the public good at the expense of those private interests and their profit and power.  And the grand challenge is this – we will have to realize that the general good and the long-term stability of the planet are more important than the short-term, everyday conveniences afforded by those products and practices that are wrapped in devil’s bargains.

For now, it seems to me that there are two things we must do. The immediate task, I think is to behave like an investor trying to see the next financial bubble on the horizon. That is, to foresee and deal with the next truth bubble. My money is on several. First, look at this chart:

Party control of state governments

Republican-controlled governments	23
Democratic-controlled governments	15
Democratic governor/Republican-controlled legislature	7
Republican governor/Democratic-controlled legislature	3
Democratic governor/Split legislature	1
Republican governor/Split legislature	1
Total	50

It is easy to see that Republicans have remarkable power to enact voter-suppression laws disguised as (here’s the ‘truth bubble’) election security laws. As of February 19, 2021, state lawmakers have carried over, pre-filed, or introduced 253 bills with provisions that restrict voting access in 43 states. Many of these attempts to restrict voting echo the Jim Crow-style barriers erected in the past to make it hard or impossible for citizens in minority groups – especially Blacks – to vote. And remember – all these potential restrictions are based on a single, huge, big lie – that massive voter fraud exists. This will be a truth bubble especially hard to overcome. But activists are on the case.

The second truth bubble is another one that has been around for a while, but nonetheless persists. And it has the powerful armor of convenience and great deals. The United States in recent years has become the largest producer of oil, surpassing even Russia and Saudi Arabia. That surge to the top is produced almost entirely by the fracking revolution.  Going back to Reich’s ‘devil’s bargains,’ who will not admit that we all benefit from relatively stable gasoline prices? The truth bubble here? It’s the ‘magic’ of fracking. Ah, but then there is the makeup of the chemical stew that is introduced into the ground, and thus, in many cases, the ground water. Here is a paragraph from a short article on the Green Matters website.

Despite the fact that most fracking fluid chemicals are considered “proprietary” to the company responsible for the fracking, the EPA has identified 1,084 different chemicals reported as being used in these formulas. This means that lead and benzene are only the tip of the iceberg. Methanol, ethylene glycol, propargyl alcohol, and many other potentially hazardous chemicals can be found in any given mix of fracking fluid, which can get into the ground or the groundwater. What happens then?

Indeed, what happens then? Ah, it’s just 1,084 different chemicals. What could possibly go wrong?  Hey, did you hear gas prices are 30 cents lower per gallon over on the other side of town?

Reich talks about hyper-powered capitalism having overwhelmed democracy.  That’s what we need to change. And as for what we need to do, beyond identifying and controlling those crucial truth bubbles, is to restore the power of democracy. That is, to unite as citizens promoting the common good, rather than cowed ‘consumers’ seeking the next ‘great deal,’ damn the consequences.

The best way – the only way, I think in the immediate future – is to take away the power of Mitch McConnell’s Republican Party to stand in the way of all progressive initiatives. That is, to eliminate or, at a bare minimum, seriously reform (i.e., weaken) the filibuster.

President Biden is not the progressive that many of us wish was elected, but his administration is what we have right now. And, for the foreseeable future, it is our only hope for protecting the vote and taking steps toward creating a fairer, more responsible society that looks after the general good rather than enabling the super-powerful and uber-wealthy. Hell, even Noam Chomsky gives an overall positive assessment of some of Biden’s early moves. The well-known linguist and progressive activist recommends keeping pressure on the administration to look after the general good. Amen to that.

As a Minnesotan, I am grateful that I have two Senators that have spoken out in favor of progress for America. That is, for doing away with the filibuster.

Without that essential reform, we will have nothing but more ‘truth bubbles’ coming our way. Look out for what’s next.

Michael Murphy
Saint Paul MN

Next?

Investors fear bubbles, and with good reason. Assets presumed to have a certain value can suddenly depreciate, with devastating, far-reaching consequences to the investors. This link includes an infographic tracing the most significant bursts of bubbles in history, starting with the Dutch tulip bulb crisis, through the Great Depression and the 2008 financial collapse. Those are financial bubbles, and wise investors are always trying to determine what the next bubble will be. The bubbles are sometimes inflated by nefarious actors. Think of the ‘creative’ architects of all those derivative securities that bundled sub-prime mortgages that turned out to be worthless – and the game-players who made fortunes by betting that they would turn out to be worthless.  And, of course, when the financial bubbles burst, it is not only the high-rolling risk takers who suffer.

Like just about everyone, I took a hit from the 2008 economic collapse. But today, I have in mind not financial bubbles. It is ‘truth bubbles’ that interest me. What triggered this line of thought is a very insightful episode of National Public Radio’s On the Media that played last week.  The linked 12-minute segment is one part of their full hourlong show that covered corporate ‘green pledges’ generally. But the clip that I linked covers a particular pledge that turns out to be one of what I would call ‘truth bubbles’ – the promise from the petrochemical industry that plastic could be recycled. That notion, which has been sold quite effectively to environmentally conscious citizens turns out not to be true. Worse, it seems that those pitching the idea have known all along that the idea has always been a non-starter. According to Laura Sullivan, the On the Media investigative reporter interviewed by host Bob Garfield in the segment, only about nine percent of plastic has ever been recycled.  And all those numbers in the triangles on the bottom labels of products?  Nearly useless. So, while we dutifully sort plastic items that are supposedly recyclable, separating them from those that are clearly not, our efforts yield little benefit to the planet. Turns out that most of the ‘recycled’ plastic ends up discarded in less-developed lands such as Indonesia.  They import America’s recycled plastic waste, harvest what is actually recyclable – basically, plastic beverage bottles and milk jugs – and then, too often, lose track of the rest. Read: dump and discard. And whatever is dumped and discarded will eventually make its way to the sea.

On the Media host Bob Garfield is at his satirical best as he chides us for feeling so smug with our all-too-futile recycling efforts. But the main message of the piece is that plastic recycling is yet another example of what I call a truth bubble. Truth bubbles are inflated by some private interest – generally, an entire industry or a mega-corporation that seeks to persuade the public that their product’s value and utility override any environmental or health problems that its use might create. Moreover, that any and all of those problems – if they exist at all – are the result of their product’s misuse. And, thus, it follows that individual citizens are themselves responsible for that misuse, and cleaning up the mess. Brilliant! Offloading responsibility to little old us, enabling the product’s creators to continue reaping the mega-profits.  Exhorting citizens to ‘clean up their mess’ is far superior to messy real fixes like regulation of single-use plastics through bottle return, reusable bags, charging the corporations themselves for clean-up.

For the record, here is the famous 1970s ad mentioned in the story. It features an actor from New Jersey made up as a Native American who, appalled by all manner of pollution, sheds a single tear for the despoliation of the land’s beauty. And proving the emphasis on individual, rather than corporate responsibility, today’s YouTube version of the ad has a link to this group – kab.org. Keep America Beautiful leads the Great American Cleanup – a laudable effort to pick up trash discarded by slobs. But it only proves the point of the whole story – that individuals cause the problems, and if only enough individuals pitched in, the problems would be solved. It’s like magic.

Truth bubbles differ from financial bubbles in a key way. The financial bubbles can burst in what seems like an instant – when investors rush for the exits in a panicked sell-off. Truth bubbles can linger for years, even decades, well beyond the time when the specific misinformation programs are exposed. The plastic recycling lies now being aired are merely the latest example. Think about how Big Tobacco continued their pignorant (pretend-ignorant) public relations programs casting doubt on the ever-growing scientific evidence linking cigarette smoking with cancer and other health problems. Think of Big Oil, which continues to this day to fund ‘think tanks’ that seek to cast doubt on greenhouse gases’ contribution to the climate crisis. Some of those ‘think tanks,’ such as the notoriously pignorant Heartland Institute, go on to sell fables such as the supposed benefits of ever-increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide. Really. And don’t forget that Big Oil is responsible for the granddaddy of all truth bubbles. It is now well documented that ExxonMobil knew all about the social and planetary costs of burning fossil fuels as far back as the 1970s – based on world-class research that they funded and later suppressed.

Truth bubbles such as these and others – that globalization would benefit everyone, that tax cuts for the wealthy would ‘trickle down’ to the middle and working classes, that ‘voter fraud’ is a genuine problem that must be dealt with – all have something in common. That is, that they are promoted by some private interest – an industry, a global mega-corporation, a political party – that seeks to gain or retain power or wealth by promoting a lie dressed up as truth. If it were that simple, fighting the truth bubbles would be easy – just get the truth out there. But, alas, simple solutions are illusory.

I’m currently reading a book by Robert Reich – Supercapitalism. It’s not new, but its publication date is just one of the reasons I am finding it both informative and cautionary. Reich released the book in 2007, right on the eve of the speculation- and corruption-spawned financial collapse. Reich’s diagnosis of our ailment – the subversion of democracy by capitalism – what he calls ‘super-capitalism’ – is right on target. But he also points out the difficulty of overcoming truth bubbles.  In so many cases, they represent a ‘devil’s bargain’ for ordinary people. Here is a passage from Reich’s book:

“After all, where do we suppose the great deals come from? In part they come from lower payrolls – from workers who have to settle for lower wages and benefits, or have to get new jobs that often pay less. They also come from big-box retailers that kill off Main Streets because they undercut prices charged by independent retailers there. They come from companies that shed their loyalties to particular communities and morph into global supply chains paying pennies to twelve-year-olds in Indonesia. They come from CEOs who are paid exorbitantly; from companies all over the world who wreak havoc on the environment. . . “

Think of the everyday convenience of plastics and low gas prices, the ‘great deals’ consumers find thanks in no small part to globalization, even the comfort afforded by certain unhealthy products such as tobacco, and you realize why in many cases the big lies told by their pignorant purveyors become an easy sell. Individuals can’t solve the societal problems caused by the products and practices pushed by the masters of the truth bubbles. It will take collective action by all those individuals, united in a political movement that holds the purveyors accountable and promotes and protects the public good at the expense of those private interests and their profit and power.  And the grand challenge is this – we will have to realize that the general good and the long-term stability of the planet are more important than the short-term, everyday conveniences afforded by those products and practices that are wrapped in devil’s bargains.

For now, it seems to me that there are two things we must do. The immediate task, I think is to behave like an investor trying to see the next financial bubble on the horizon. That is, to foresee and deal with the next truth bubble. My money is on several. First, look at this chart:

Party control of state governments

Republican-controlled governments	23
Democratic-controlled governments	15
Democratic governor/Republican-controlled legislature	7
Republican governor/Democratic-controlled legislature	3
Democratic governor/Split legislature	1
Republican governor/Split legislature	1
Total	50

It is easy to see that Republicans have remarkable power to enact voter-suppression laws disguised as (here’s the ‘truth bubble’) election security laws. As of February 19, 2021, state lawmakers have carried over, pre-filed, or introduced 253 bills with provisions that restrict voting access in 43 states. Many of these attempts to restrict voting echo the Jim Crow-style barriers erected in the past to make it hard or impossible for citizens in minority groups – especially Blacks – to vote. And remember – all these potential restrictions are based on a single, huge, big lie – that massive voter fraud exists. This will be a truth bubble especially hard to overcome. But activists are on the case.

The second truth bubble is another one that has been around for a while, but nonetheless persists. And it has the powerful armor of convenience and great deals. The United States in recent years has become the largest producer of oil, surpassing even Russia and Saudi Arabia. That surge to the top is produced almost entirely by the fracking revolution.  Going back to Reich’s ‘devil’s bargains,’ who will not admit that we all benefit from relatively stable gasoline prices? The truth bubble here? It’s the ‘magic’ of fracking. Ah, but then there is the makeup of the chemical stew that is introduced into the ground, and thus, in many cases, the ground water. Here is a paragraph from a short article on the Green Matters website.

Despite the fact that most fracking fluid chemicals are considered “proprietary” to the company responsible for the fracking, the EPA has identified 1,084 different chemicals reported as being used in these formulas. This means that lead and benzene are only the tip of the iceberg. Methanol, ethylene glycol, propargyl alcohol, and many other potentially hazardous chemicals can be found in any given mix of fracking fluid, which can get into the ground or the groundwater. What happens then?

Indeed, what happens then? Ah, it’s just 1,084 different chemicals. What could possibly go wrong?  Hey, did you hear gas prices are 30 cents lower per gallon over on the other side of town?

Reich talks about hyper-powered capitalism having overwhelmed democracy.  That’s what we need to change. And as for what we need to do, beyond identifying and controlling those crucial truth bubbles, is to restore the power of democracy. That is, to unite as citizens promoting the common good, rather than cowed ‘consumers’ seeking the next ‘great deal,’ damn the consequences.

The best way – the only way, I think in the immediate future – is to take away the power of Mitch McConnell’s Republican Party to stand in the way of all progressive initiatives. That is, to eliminate or, at a bare minimum, seriously reform (i.e., weaken) the filibuster.

President Biden is not the progressive that many of us wish was elected, but his administration is what we have right now. And, for the foreseeable future, it is our only hope for protecting the vote and taking steps toward creating a fairer, more responsible society that looks after the general good rather than enabling the super-powerful and uber-wealthy. Hell, even Noam Chomsky gives an overall positive assessment of some of Biden’s early moves. The well-known linguist and progressive activist recommends keeping pressure on the administration to look after the general good. Amen to that.

As a Minnesotan, I am grateful that I have two Senators that have spoken out in favor of progress for America. That is, for doing away with the filibuster.

Without that essential reform, we will have nothing but more ‘truth bubbles’ coming our way. Look out for what’s next.

Michael Murphy
Saint Paul MN