“I’m still ugly,” sniffed the young woman.

Her words come to mind when good news about our economy emerges.

They were part of a talk by a famous motivational speaker. He made a simple point: How we see reality depends on what lenses we choose to look through. For instance, when we view a cloudy day through sunglasses we see gloom.

He talked about a young woman whose outlook was bleak. She underwent surgery to correct her deformed nose. Her family, friends, and surgeon admired her new perky nose. However, she was blind to the improvements. She was biased against anything positive about her appearance.

These days, we are inundated with bias. Against good news about our economy. Much of big media ignore the good news. Literally. They simply refuse to report it.

Or when they do report it they give it the “however” or “to be sure” treatment. “The unemployment rate fell to 3.9 percent last month. However, millions of American jobs are failing to lift workers above the poverty line. A new study of poverty in this country undercuts the rosy scenario portrayed by this administration…” Ad infinitum. Ad nauseum.

As for ignoring good economic news, major networks often do not mention the good news. They do not mention that unemployment is lower now than virtually any time in 50 years.

They often fail to mention that Hispanic or African-American jobless rates have never been so low. The same for various minorities.

Women’s employment numbers are breaking records. Disabled workers are joining the workforce in great numbers. As are former prisoners. Workers who have had difficulty landing jobs are now finding them.

Meanwhile, lowest-paid workers are seeing their wages rise. Families in the so-called middle class are enjoying more disposable income. Because wages are creeping up. And because the tax cuts have juiced up their take-home pay.

The employment figures tell us our economy is healthier than it has been for many years. Is it perfect? Of course not. No economy ever is. But compared to the economy of a few years ago? Compared to the economy of 6 or 8 or 18 years ago? It is healthier.

Do big media sing the praises of this economy? Not much. Workers do, despite the media.

We take the temperature of our economy in countless polls and surveys. They all show big improvement. Consumers are more confident. Consumers are more optimistic. Business owners are more positive.

This should be news. It should be big news. Because not only is our confidence up. It is breaking records on the upside. One example is the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index. Just before our last election it stood at 98.6. It May it hit 134.1. In comparison, in the middle of the Reagan boom the index was at 100.

So, what is the mood in big media? Is it time to break out the bubbly? Nah. It is more like a taste of sour grapes and curl of the nose.

Here is a May 6 report from The Week magazine. It typifies the glass-half-empty view of the media.

“Last Friday’s jobs report had some eye-popping numbers, especially an unemployment rate of 3.6 percent — the lowest it’s been since 1969. That’s great news, but not for everyone. Low unemployment means businesses are finding workers harder and harder to come by.” The headline for the story: “Why good news for the economy is bad news for employers.”

We know the reason for such attitudes. Too many people in big media wear dark anti-Trump glasses. Their lenses block the sun. This inspires them to let their political biases darken any good economic news from this administration.

It is easy to get the feeling that many of them will cheer any bad news on the economy. To many of them, this economy is still ugly.

Imagine if the next report said the economy produced 1 million new jobs in the month. And the unemployment rate fell to 1 percent. CNN would lead with something like “While job figures improved last month, a roller-skate factory in Sheboygan laid off 12 workers today, a troubling sign of…”       

Tom Morgan writes about political, financial, and other subjects from his home in upstate New York. Contact him at tomasinmorgan@yahoo.com, read more of his writing at tomasinmorgan.com, or find him on Facebook.

For victims of heinous crimes whose perpetrators are behind bars, parole hearings can be traumatic. The state can do more to protect victims and families of victims from undue suffering by passing Ramona’s Law. The bill extends the maximum time that certain violent felons are reconsidered for parole by the state parole board from two years to five years. This change would help protect victims from reliving the crime as frequently as current law requires.

The bill is named for Ramona Bantle-Fahy, a crime-victim survivor and advocate, who bravely spoke in favor of the bill in Albany recently. I was humbled and privileged to stand behind her as she courageously shared her story in front of cameras and lawmakers. In 1992, she was working as a real-estate agent in Erie County when a man called her to schedule an appointment to see a house. At the house showing, he attacked her, tied her hands, threatened her with a knife, and raped her. He later pushed her down the stairs and shoved her into the trunk of his car. Ramona was able to free her hands and picked the trunk lock. When the car slowed down, she jumped out of the car and ran. Had she not been able to escape, she believes she would have been murdered. Her attacker was later arrested, convicted on several felonies, and sentenced to 25 to 50 years in prison. 

In 2017, Ramona’s attacker was up for parole after serving his minimum sentence. He was denied parole but less than two years later, he was scheduled to appear again and she had to prepare to do what she could to keep him behind bars. With the parole hearings, it is not just the hearing date that victims have to consider but the process involved. Victims are notified of the hearing date if they choose to be notified and invited to send in written impact statements to the parole board. They may also submit audio or videotaped statements and/or meet with a member of the parole board concerning the inmate. In communication with the parole board, they are asked to explain how lives have been changed as a result of the crime, what emotional and/or physical impact the crime has had, and the effect the crime has had on children of the victim and other family members. After providing these statements, they await notification of the parole board’s decision. All of this ends up taking several months and victims say they relive the traumatic experience each time in order to convince the parole board not to grant parole. By the time it is over, they feel as though they have to begin the process again to prepare for the next hearing.

Ramona’s Law would allow victims of heinous acts more time in between parole hearings. Specifically, it would authorize the parole board to have more discretion in setting the times in between hearings. The state parole board has the discretion to set the date for reconsideration for parole but according to current law, that date can only be set within two years (24 months) of the denial. The bill would extend the parole-reconsideration period up to 5 years (60 months) for inmates who have been convicted of certain Class A-I and A-II felonies and certain Class B felonies. These crimes include murder in the first degree, aggravated murder, murder in the second degree, rape in the first degree, sodomy in the first degree, and predatory sexual assault against a child. 

The change would bring New York more in line with what victims’ advocates have been successful in achieving in other states. Of the 35 states that grant parole boards authority to release an inmate, 25 states allow at least five years between the initial decision to deny parole and subsequent reconsiderations for release. New York should be the next state to help victims of violent crimes from unnecessarily reliving these horrors. In general, we enact many laws in Albany to help criminals, but we need to do more for victims. 

William (Will) A. Barclay is the Republican representative of the 120th New York Assembly District, which encompasses most of Oswego County, including the cities of Oswego and Fulton, as well as the town of Lysander in Onondaga County and town of Ellisburg in Jefferson County. Contact him at barclaw@assembly.state.ny.us or (315) 598-5185.