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26 Dec 08

RealClearMarkets - Articles - Save Jobs. Buy Something

Another point of view on shopping. I don't buy it. (haha - literally) We HAVE to break ourselves of the over-consumption habit, of living beyond our means, of using shopping like a drug... and yes, it's going to hurt the economy that has built up around the philosophy that shopping cures all ills, but that's not a healthy philosophy - and changing bad habits is difficult, but worth it.

www.realclearmarkets.com/...save_jobs_buy_something.html - Preview

politics economy consumer

01 Dec 08

Forget commercialism! The new realities of consumption and the economy.

"Spending our way to prosperity? Not this time around.

As a “New Dream” economist, I am asked all the time: won’t consuming less hurt the economy? When there’s less spending, people get laid off, their incomes fall and businesses, especially small ones, go bankrupt. This question is especially urgent today, given that the recession is deepening and spreading. George Bush was widely (and rightly) criticized for suggesting shopping as the patriotic response to 9/11. Would Barack Obama be wrong if he suggested the same?

Short answer: Yes. But with this topic, there’s rarely a short answer. So here’s the longer one."

www.newdream.org/blog - Preview

consumer economy politics

Let’s remember, first, that the economic crisis wasn’t caused by a decline in consumer spending. It was triggered by the bursting of the housing bubble, Wall Street excesses, and some other factors. Consumers are cutting back now, but the decline in spending is one of a series of falling dominos—more an effect of recession than a cause.

New Dream Blog » Blog Archive » Holiday shopping–just don’t

"We can find better ways to support one another than funneling our money through giant multinationals in hopes that some trickles down to its employees."

www.newdream.org/blog - Preview

economy consumer politics environment

For the last two decades, the U.S. has been a consumer-driven economy. Bursts of spending have lifted us out of a series of short, not-too-painful recessions. And consumers are well aware of their “heroic” role. They’ve been told over and over that their spending is the basis for our economy. (Less discussed is how the consumer binge led to our gaping trade deficit.)
While some consumers have been on a debt-fueled binge for quite awhile, apparently they haven’t forgotten how to sober up. And fast. They’re acting smart and cautious. That’s a good thing. Scaling back on gifts and holiday spending this year suddenly seems like the socially acceptable thing to do. Spending liberally can feel unseemly.
2 more annotations...
- Roughly a quarter of annual spending, garbage and ecological impact occurs between Thanksgiving and New Year’s.
- We can find better ways to support one another than funneling our money through giant multinationals in hopes that some trickles down to its employees.