The human toll here looks to be much worse than the economic toll...

[Gonad the Barbarian]

and we can be grateful for that," Kudlow said.

CNBC anchor Larry Kudlow was slammed for finding a silver lining in the wake of the disaster in Japan, expressing relief that the human toll was greater than the economic toll.

The bespectacled host made the remark Friday during a report about the global markets that showed the Dow Jones, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 performing well despite the disaster.

"The human toll here looks to be much worse than the economic toll, and we can be grateful for that," Kudlow said.

Kudlow -- seemingly realizing the gaffe – quickly backed off those comments, saying that "the human toll is a tragedy; we all know that" before being cut off by co-host Trish Regan.

The comment was particularly ill-timed as a small screen graphic announcing the likely death toll appeared as he was making the remark.

Commentators and media reporters quickly ripped the host for his insensitivity.

"In these tough economic times, isn’t it nice to know that calamitous natural disasters needn’t have an adverse affect on your investment portfolio?" wrote Vanity Fair's Jaime Lalinde.

Kudlow later tweeted an apology.

"I did not mean to say human toll in Japan less important than economic toll," he wrote. "Talking about markets I flubbed the line. Sincere apology."

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nat...t_human_toll_is_worse_than.html#ixzz1GbMtA9mL

I don't post this to slam Kudlow, he's getting plenty of that from other folks. But what gives most of those folks their moral authority to do so is merely the fortune of not slipping up and actually saying something like that themselves. This money first and above all attitude is pervasive in our culture, we all know it, and pretending it's not, or is limited to just some isolated gaffes, is insultingly dishonest.

 

[Phokus]

Freudian Slip by Kudlow. Money > Human life, that's how conservatives (especially wall street apologists like him) think.

I can only think of his internal monologue:

"FUCK FUCK FUCK, you were only supposed to THINK it, not SAY it."

 

[nageov3t]

isn't true, though, isn't it?

it's tragic that thousands of people died and I feel terrible for what Japan is going through, but ultimately, it doesn't effect me directly in the slightest. a huge hit to the stock market, however, would.

 

[Thump553]

Kudlow often impresses me as a person whose tongue is frequently disconnected from his brain. He's got his conservative dogma/unregulated/untaxed enterprise dogma down pat and that, coupled with his distinctive voice, has led to his TV success. As a commentator he's pretty much a Johnny one-note in my opinion.

 

[thraashman]

Wow, I think that goes a bit beyond gaffe. That's a major fuck-up is what that is. I understand he's supposed to be an economic commentator, but that was a horrible thing to say. I find it hard to believe that he just goofed up words as I don't know what he could've been trying to say. Money is never more important than human life (or at least it isn't to Liberals). He needs to make a hefty financial donation to the Red Cross or something to overshadow those words.

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

isn't true, though, isn't it?

it's tragic that thousands of people died and I feel terrible for what Japan is going through, but ultimately, it doesn't effect me directly in the slightest. a huge hit to the stock market, however, would.

You can be grateful there wasn't much economic impact, but comparing it to the human loss isn't really the way to go about that.

 

[Texashiker]

The human toll here looks to be much worse than the economic toll...and we can be grateful for that," Kudlow said.

At the very least, Kudlow was being honest, and that is a lot more then can be said about a lot other people.

Its a sad day when disasters are measured by the effects they have on the stock market, and not by how many people died.

 

[Jaskalas]

At the very least, Kudlow was being honest, and that is a lot more then can be said about a lot other people.

Its a sad day when disasters are measured by the effects they have on the stock market, and not by how many people died.

Imagine if the market did drop due to this. All the TRILLIONS the government spent to inflate this bubble economy would have been wasted - they'd have to pour in more money.

They know damn well what will occur when their bubble pops. It'd be worse than Japan. They are grateful for not having to deal with that at this moment.

 

[nageov3t]

At the very least, Kudlow was being honest, and that is a lot more then can be said about a lot other people.

Its a sad day when disasters are measured by the effects they have on the stock market, and not by how many people died.

I'd imagine more people in the US have money invested in the stock market than have a direct, personal connection with Japan.

 

[airdata]

CNBC anchor

CNBC is about the dolla dolla bills.

 

[soundforbjt]

He should be fired. No amount of money can make up for the loss of lives.

 

[wuliheron]

Gimmie a break. People die in Japan from an earthquake and its a tragedy, but when they die in Africa from starvation or on the highway nobody gives a damn. It's called yellow journalism and we've all been conditioned like Pavlov's dogs to look for that next juicy plane crash that gets us salivating.

 

[nageov3t]

Gimmie a break. People die in Japan from an earthquake and its a tragedy, but when they die in Africa from starvation or on the highway nobody gives a damn. It's called yellow journalism and we've all been conditioned like Pavlov's dogs to look for that next juicy plane crash that gets us salivating.

:hmm: :\ D:

 

[ShawnD1]

Japan is not yellow journalism since that disaster is real.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_journalism

Frank Luther Mott (1941) defines yellow journalism in terms of five characteristics:[1]

1. scare headlines in huge print, often of minor news
2. lavish use of pictures, or imaginary drawings
3. use of faked interviews, misleading headlines, pseudo-science, and a parade of false learning from so-called experts
4. emphasis on full-color Sunday supplements, usually with comic strips (which is now normal in the U.S.)
5. dramatic sympathy with the "underdog" against the system.

Simpsons did a good parody of this. On action news, the news anchor says "THE PRESIDENT HAS DIED..... his hair today"

 

[Fern]

I don't know much about him. But I'll give him the benefit of the doubt, all he had to say was:

"The economic toll here looks to be much less than the human toll, and we can be grateful for that," Kudlow said.

There's nothing wrong with expressing relief that even more problems will not continue to be generated by the quake/tsunami. The last thing Japan needs is a huge hit to it's economy; they will need great sums for rebuilding etc. Nor given the shape of the economy globally do other countries need cascading economic problems. Misery is not confined to being rocked then hit with a 23' wall of cold seawater. Being unemployment, bankrupt, homeless and hungry sucks pretty hard too.

Fern

 

[Tom]

I don't know much about him. But I'll give him the benefit of the doubt, all he had to say was:



There's nothing wrong with expressing relief that even more problems will not continue to be generated by the quake/tsunami. The last thing Japan needs is a huge hit to it's economy; they will need great sums for rebuilding etc. Nor given the shape of the economy globally do other countries need cascading economic problems. Misery is not confined to being rocked then hit with a 23' wall of cold seawater. Being unemployment, bankrupt, homeless and hungry sucks pretty hard too.

Fern

Totally agree. I'm sure that's all he meant.

btw,

i don't know if there's a thread for this next thought, as an American I am grateful we have such a wonderful ally as Japan and am in awe of Japanese culture and society. In many ways they teach the world a way forward, that culture and democracy can be a beautiful thing.

 

[wuliheron]

Japan is not yellow journalism since that disaster is real.

Yellow journalism doesn't just involve totally made up bullshit. In this case it is the first two criteria that are the most obvious:

1. scare headlines in huge print, often of minor news
2. lavish use of pictures, or imaginary drawings

The headlines for "NUCLEAR MELTDOWN" and "DEATH TOLL RISES" get bigger every time I check and the number of photos and videos grows by the moment. It's as much a soap opera as anything else and I'd love to see a blooper reel.

Not that yellow journalism is all bad. Americans are famous for being generous when it comes to natural disasters like this and sensationalism no doubt prompts many to contribute.

 

[sandorski]

Kudlow often impresses me as a person whose tongue is frequently disconnected from his brain. He's got his conservative dogma/unregulated/untaxed enterprise dogma down pat and that, coupled with his distinctive voice, has led to his TV success. As a commentator he's pretty much a Johnny one-note in my opinion.

Indeed. He has always come across as a douchebag shill. I'm sure he didn't mean it the way he said it, but if he lost his job over it, chances are his replacement would be many times more intelligent.

 

[rudder]

Gimmie a break. People die in Japan from an earthquake and its a tragedy, but when they die in Africa from starvation or on the highway nobody gives a damn. It's called yellow journalism and we've all been conditioned like Pavlov's dogs to look for that next juicy plane crash that gets us salivating.

With cars... tens of thousands of people don't die within an instant. Car accidents are an accepted risk of modern life. With Africa... conditions which lead to starvation are largely brought upon by the people themselves. Rulers vie for power and when they get it.. siphon off all foreign aid to support their regime. Rebel factions form, power changes hands, repeat. People do give a damn... but short of invading these countries nothing will change. The process has lost it's shock value. It has been 16 years since mass genocide gripped everyone's attention.

Japan... they did not bring this upon themselves. They were victims of a natural disaster. It is indeed a tragedy.