Comic economics

Rest easy. The government that pulled the strings for Freddie Mac, Sallie Mae and Social Security is now at the wheel of the automobile and banking sectors. What could go wrong here?

In the Great Depression, they took a different route; one that ironically seemed suited to them. Comics.

They decided to promote a cheaper source of iron for the diet. So, they turned to Popeye, whose extraordinary strength had yet to be accounted for. The government supplied spinach as the explanation and the popularity of this second cousin to lawn clippings soared.

The basis of their strategy was based on an erroneous study of iron content that was off by a full decimal. This was a government project, after all. At least they didn’t label it as a source of salmonella. That was an idea that’s time was yet to come.

They weren’t the only ones who used the funnies as a source of inspiration. A young Elvis Presley was obsessed with Captain Marvel. A comic book still sits in his boyhood bedroom in the Memphis apartment. The Pelvis copied the Captain’s touseled do, along for a penchant for jumpsuits and capes.

Borrowing from comics doesn’t work out for everyone. A small source of pride for me was when a patent application was turned down, citing that I had already conceived it. Pride until I discovered that I shared that distinction of being cited in such a way with another. It seems that an engineer was denied protection for a process because it had already been posited in a comic. In the relevant episode, Donald Duck takes a blow to the head and begins spouting scientific ideas. Yes, the idea emanated from an artist known for his scientific prowess, not the bird. But, finding myself in league with a cartoon duck kind of devalued the distinction nonetheless.

I never saw the economic stimulus package or bailouts as effective solutions to our current woes. The government needs to return to its depth and get out the comic books.