Ask What You Can Do for Your Country...

The economy is tanking, or at least it is not moving very fast to the positive side. The vicious circle of no jobs, therefore no money, therefore no spending, therefore no hiring is continuing apace.

Yet there are about 90% of us who do have jobs, or don’t have jobs by choice as in retired (or fabulously wealthy). So what can we, who are in that 90% do to help our country along with our fellow countrymen (and women)? Isn’t it obvious?

Spend money! There are reports of a pent-up demand for all sorts of consumer goods, but we who have the gold are now saving more. I suppose that is a good thing except that in today’s world, it looks like hoarding.

I’ll go even further out on this fragile limb and suggest that we buy locally and buy products produced in the U.S.A. Do we really want or need to support China more than we already are? China and India have a growth rate much higher than ours and the trade imbalance is striking. How about buying an American car instead of the “cooler” imports. Unless you really need a Maybach, most American cars are now built well enough for our use, and are backed up by liberal warranties. Detroit finally got the message.

We may have to pay more for clothes and other goods made in the U.S. but the effect is great when done in large numbers. Spend just a little more (sometimes) and help out your neighbor. If we all did a few things like buying what we have been wanting for some time, buying goods from our own country, and encouraging our friends and relatives to do the same, the consumer numbers would tick up, causing businesses to produce more, causing more hiring, then causing more spending from those new paychecks. See? It can all work out if we all do just a little.

I have now convinced myself to buy that new car now.