Keep Calm and Carry On (Editorial)

The warm weather reminds us that we’re approaching the middle of 2012, and the recovery that technically began almost three years ago remains sluggish.

Jobs are still being added, but the unemployment rate nationally is falling more because of discouraged workers leaving the job market than because of any sustained improvement in hiring. Some industries – the news industry, for one, and manufacturing certainly – will never look the same, no matter what.

Corporate results are mixed. Look, for instance, at the story in this week’s issue on the performance of Arkansas’ trucking companies: some good, some not. Small banks are starting to give up on independence; big banks have profited handsomely from the failure of others.

The stock market is generally trending in the right direction, but on any given day the news from Greece or France is enough to scare investors and take back a percentage point or two.
The political environment becomes more discouraging every day. Compromise is seen as surrender, gridlock a bragging point in now unlimited advertising – regardless of the effect on lives and prospects. Young adults, even the brightest and best prepared, are on the sidelines.

Every day, business owners in Arkansas and all across America come to work and try to figure out a way to keep things moving forward. To keep the lights on, to keep the employees busy, to make sure the paychecks clear.

It’s no wonder that the British propaganda message from 70 years ago has found a new and receptive audience: Keep Calm and Carry On. As the weather warms up in Arkansas, the only improvement might be, "Keep Cool and Carry On."