Jericho: Go Spend Money!
I keep hearing people lament "Where's my bailout?"
CNN and other sites seem to be running story after story about how to become a hermit and live on boiled wall paper and spend no money.
Folks, listen up! No one cares about you.
That's right. You are a faceless voter and consumer. You are just a number. Obama doesn't know who you are. No one at AIG knows who you are. You are just a walking wallet who once every four years is of interest to the politicians. The rest of the time, they couldn't care less about you.
As an individual, you are powerless. In vast numbers, we are unstoppable.
We've proven this. We the people, much to the surprise of the Religious Reich, elected a President who can speak in full sentences and knows that there is more to life than war and lining the pockets of his friends. And, in case you haven't noticed, he's Black. It shouldn't have been possible, but we did it. It wasn't done with (just) large campaign contributions. Most of the money that elected Obama came from small time contributors, giving $5 and $10 bucks.
In vast numbers, we are unstoppable.
People are scared right now. We've seen huge companies crumble under their own weight. This effects a key economic predictor: Consumer Confidence. When massive manufacturers and huge banks disappear from the landscape, when our 401ks become 201ks, Joe the Plumber and Bob the Builder and Hank the Sex Worker start looking at their finances. The first inclination is to run away and hide. Previously, most of us would have shoved our money in the bank and left it there to gain a 0.0001 percentage point of interest. But, when you aren't sure from day to day who your bank actually might be - well, let's just say all of this can shake up consumer confidence.
But, I want you to think about this phrase: "Consumer Confidence" - it's as simple of a thing as it sounds. If the consumers feel threatened, they stop spending. If they stop spending, many businesses change their attitudes. They produce fewer products, close shops that were risky and raise prices to keep their numbers up or drop prices to keep moving product. Closing doors means fewer jobs and price instability confuses people, both of these lower consumer confidence and the cycle repeats.
We've been going through a long term Consumer Confidence trough since 9/11. We had some short term improvements until this recent financial run and we are now in territory that your grandparents and great-grandparents would recognize. People keep using words like "Recession" and then whisper the word "Depression" - don't be fooled, this is a Depression.
However, are you on a soup line? No, neither am I. Sure, there are lots of people out of work, more than usual. But it isn't 50% unemployment, it's not even 10% nationally. There are already indications of improvement - something I predicted would happen not long after Obama took office and here we are.
It comes down to this: no one is going to bail you out. All of the business world is looking at the lot of us, waiting for us to react. If we keep hoarding our money and learning tips on how to live on ramen and shop with coupons, this Depression will move into Great Depression territory.
However, if you, like me, are tired of feeling powerless - do something about it. "What do I do?" you ask? Simple. Prove your own Consumer Confidence ...
That's right. Tonight, look at your finances. Really look. Make sure your bills are paid and that you can eat between now and next paycheck. If there is anything left, figure 20% of it and ... go spend it!
"I'm broke" you say. Fine, you're exempt. But, make sure you are broke. Seriously. Do you have room on your credit card? Spend some of it. Do you have some emergency funds socked away? This is an emergency - spend some of it.
You have all kinds of excuses. The weekend is coming - go have fun! Buy some food and drink at a local pub. Take the coin jar to a Coin Star and then head for the casino! Spring is around the corner - hit some of the smaller, funky clothing shops that you always mean to check out and buy a new wardrobe. Sure, you could go to the big box stores, but a $50 sale in a small store will do more for the economy than $50 at Sears or Amazon. Let's practice a little "trickle up" economics!
Yeah, I'm probably saying things in direct opposition to what the "experts" are saying. Do you feel the experts are getting us out of this situation? I sure don't! The big thinkers out there rely on we dumb-ass consumers to part with our hard earned cash. Guess what? Those big thinkers work for your employer. When I part with my cash, some of it ends up in your paycheck. If there are six degrees to Kevin Bacon, I bet I can make it from my wallet to your wallet in less than ten degrees.
If the sales go up, the Consumer Confidence indicator changes and that forces businesses to react accordingly. It really is just that simple. In vast numbers, we are unstoppable and if you want to keep your job, you need to invest in your own future. Don't buy ramen, buy steak, prepared in a little restaurant near your home. Do it. I give you permission to go have a little fun.
Trust me, if you don't do this, we'll all regret it. Spread the idea around. Invite your friends out to spend money. Talk it up in your blogs. Twitter it. Get the idea out there. I need a new job and I need you people to improve the economy so that I can get one.
And, if there is any doubt, I have already put my money where my mouth is. I put a down payment on a couch for my new apartment. Sure, I could use the beat up one we have. But, instead, I'm buying a new cool one, totally on credit. It's a completely stupid idea that is the best thing in the world for the economy.
Unstoppable!
CNN and other sites seem to be running story after story about how to become a hermit and live on boiled wall paper and spend no money.
Folks, listen up! No one cares about you.
That's right. You are a faceless voter and consumer. You are just a number. Obama doesn't know who you are. No one at AIG knows who you are. You are just a walking wallet who once every four years is of interest to the politicians. The rest of the time, they couldn't care less about you.
As an individual, you are powerless. In vast numbers, we are unstoppable.
We've proven this. We the people, much to the surprise of the Religious Reich, elected a President who can speak in full sentences and knows that there is more to life than war and lining the pockets of his friends. And, in case you haven't noticed, he's Black. It shouldn't have been possible, but we did it. It wasn't done with (just) large campaign contributions. Most of the money that elected Obama came from small time contributors, giving $5 and $10 bucks.
In vast numbers, we are unstoppable.
People are scared right now. We've seen huge companies crumble under their own weight. This effects a key economic predictor: Consumer Confidence. When massive manufacturers and huge banks disappear from the landscape, when our 401ks become 201ks, Joe the Plumber and Bob the Builder and Hank the Sex Worker start looking at their finances. The first inclination is to run away and hide. Previously, most of us would have shoved our money in the bank and left it there to gain a 0.0001 percentage point of interest. But, when you aren't sure from day to day who your bank actually might be - well, let's just say all of this can shake up consumer confidence.
But, I want you to think about this phrase: "Consumer Confidence" - it's as simple of a thing as it sounds. If the consumers feel threatened, they stop spending. If they stop spending, many businesses change their attitudes. They produce fewer products, close shops that were risky and raise prices to keep their numbers up or drop prices to keep moving product. Closing doors means fewer jobs and price instability confuses people, both of these lower consumer confidence and the cycle repeats.
We've been going through a long term Consumer Confidence trough since 9/11. We had some short term improvements until this recent financial run and we are now in territory that your grandparents and great-grandparents would recognize. People keep using words like "Recession" and then whisper the word "Depression" - don't be fooled, this is a Depression.
However, are you on a soup line? No, neither am I. Sure, there are lots of people out of work, more than usual. But it isn't 50% unemployment, it's not even 10% nationally. There are already indications of improvement - something I predicted would happen not long after Obama took office and here we are.
It comes down to this: no one is going to bail you out. All of the business world is looking at the lot of us, waiting for us to react. If we keep hoarding our money and learning tips on how to live on ramen and shop with coupons, this Depression will move into Great Depression territory.
However, if you, like me, are tired of feeling powerless - do something about it. "What do I do?" you ask? Simple. Prove your own Consumer Confidence ...
Go Buy Something!
That's right. Tonight, look at your finances. Really look. Make sure your bills are paid and that you can eat between now and next paycheck. If there is anything left, figure 20% of it and ... go spend it!
"I'm broke" you say. Fine, you're exempt. But, make sure you are broke. Seriously. Do you have room on your credit card? Spend some of it. Do you have some emergency funds socked away? This is an emergency - spend some of it.
You have all kinds of excuses. The weekend is coming - go have fun! Buy some food and drink at a local pub. Take the coin jar to a Coin Star and then head for the casino! Spring is around the corner - hit some of the smaller, funky clothing shops that you always mean to check out and buy a new wardrobe. Sure, you could go to the big box stores, but a $50 sale in a small store will do more for the economy than $50 at Sears or Amazon. Let's practice a little "trickle up" economics!
Yeah, I'm probably saying things in direct opposition to what the "experts" are saying. Do you feel the experts are getting us out of this situation? I sure don't! The big thinkers out there rely on we dumb-ass consumers to part with our hard earned cash. Guess what? Those big thinkers work for your employer. When I part with my cash, some of it ends up in your paycheck. If there are six degrees to Kevin Bacon, I bet I can make it from my wallet to your wallet in less than ten degrees.
If the sales go up, the Consumer Confidence indicator changes and that forces businesses to react accordingly. It really is just that simple. In vast numbers, we are unstoppable and if you want to keep your job, you need to invest in your own future. Don't buy ramen, buy steak, prepared in a little restaurant near your home. Do it. I give you permission to go have a little fun.
Trust me, if you don't do this, we'll all regret it. Spread the idea around. Invite your friends out to spend money. Talk it up in your blogs. Twitter it. Get the idea out there. I need a new job and I need you people to improve the economy so that I can get one.
And, if there is any doubt, I have already put my money where my mouth is. I put a down payment on a couch for my new apartment. Sure, I could use the beat up one we have. But, instead, I'm buying a new cool one, totally on credit. It's a completely stupid idea that is the best thing in the world for the economy.
Unstoppable!
posted by Jericho Brown at 3/18/2009 03:43:00 PM
2 Comments:
That was a long 'un. :) I pretty much agree. The only way to fix the economy is to buy stuff. But... it helps if one has money to do so. If I hadn't gotten a bunch of gift cards for the baby showers, I'd be hermited up like most people. Instead, I get to go spend other people's money on fun stuff for my kid!
BTW- screw banks... credit unions are the way to go.
Freakin' top class!
Guess what, I AM that nad you're talking about in your posting. I'm bricking my pants, almost certain to get laid off after 8 years of good pay and benefits. Only difference between me and that nad is that while I AM trying to work out how to live on boiled wallpaper, I already knew that no-one gives a shit and that nobody will or ever has bailed me out. The only time I forget that I'm nothing but a watery bag of chemicals with a pointlessly overdeveloped brain is when I'm enjoying myself too much to think about it.
And I know I'm stupid. And I know I wanna fucking hide. I never could see the difference between 401K and betting on the horses, but seeing as I got employer contributions, and that a magazine sent by some financial thing, my mandatory workplace seminars, the telly and any acquaintance who ever mentioned it told me that 401K is good, I figured that even if I didn't win, I'd at least break even. I figured this because I know bollocks-all about finances, so the overall idea I got was that 401K was a SAVINGS plan. Employer-encouraged. "The value of investments may go up as well as down"; I saw that on the telly, but I thought that with a SAVINGS plan, the most "down" it could go would be for you to make +0.0000001%, not -23%. Silly me. Fancy being fooled by fucking semantics.
I GAVE away $7000 over my hard-earned money to a financial instituion last year!! Why would I do that? I know it pays people's bills, and that Fidelity employees have to eat just as I do. In fact, maybe it's not so bad, seeing as I had enough to pay my own. Still, the SAVINGS was supposed to be for the future, and I might have given it to someone else if I knew I couldn't keep it. And of course, the fat millionaire cunt bosses doubtless got way more than their fair share from my generosity, leaving the bookkeepers, clerks, cleaners, admin assistants, mangers, IT specialists and other middle-class plebs like myself with crumbs.
I have been spending beautifully for two years. I was debt-free, earned more than I needed, and LOVED to flash my cash. I loved to get the drinks, buy the meals, pay for the tickets, chip in more than my share, and say "lets just go in a car park. I'll pay", instead of driving around for half an hour looking for a dumb space. I loved to shell out for the charity drives, support the volunteer firefighters, make donations to websites I believed in etc. It was fucking great. And I loved to go on e-bay when I was depressed and cheer myself up by splashing out on unnecessary cycling team gear and rare records.
I keep telling myself I have to stop all this. No more extra-large Red Bull for breakfast (there's water in the tap). No more runs to 7-11 at 3am for overpriced junk food. But now that I've read your article, I feel MUCH better. I have decided that rather than take all these spices out of life, I'm going to keep on treating myself and enjoying it. I'll get some severance money, and I do have a little "savings" (in a BANK, as well as that joke of a 101K), so I can keep going for a while. Who wants to get old anyway? Squirreling it all away "just in case"? I agree with you; "just in case" is NOW. I'm not going to live forever, but I'm alive NOW. If I don't like it, I know what to do.
OK - I'm off to the Goodwill to stock up on tracksuits, shoes and headscarves!
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