Spend Spend Spend A short opinion piece on getting the wheels turning and the irrelevancy of philosophy and religion.
When the wheels of consumer spending start whirling around, everything else jumps on the bandwagon. We need another call to arms similar to that Kennedy made: Don't ask what the country can spend for you, ask what you can spend for your country. It's true. Corporations and businesses are sitting on trillions of dollars. Markets are flourishing but only on the basis of mergers and acquisitions. Financial institutions are achieving ever higher profits based solely on pared down balance sheets. Individuals are reducing credit card debt and saving again. All are waiting with baited breath to see which way the wind will blow. Problem is the wind. That's us. We, the consumers of the world -- which include everyone from the homeless wench pushing her grocery cart of worldly possessions down a forlorn street to Warren Buffet, Carlos Slim, the Walton gang and Bill Gates -- are all the wind behind the sails of the economy. We are its engine. Think about it. Unless there is demand productiion will languish. No one is going to produce a product or service if there is no demand for it. Demand determines quantity, direction and growth. We had it right last time but we got greedy and over-extended on every level. We did it to ourselves again. Well, we always do, don't we? It's a moot point but if we could learn to behave we'd do alright. Big huge gigantic if. This is why religion and philosophy are irrelevant. Both have been charged with teaching people to behave well. But the simple fact is the human race behaves rather poorly most of the time and neither discipline has produced much good and a lot of blather. So we rely on law and regulation. Religion and philosophy at best are bright shiny objects to wonder at. But we are coming into adulthood and it's time to put the toys away and do what we seem to do best: When we back our collective asses into a tight corner we finally get up off them and get back in the game, each time it is hoped with a bit more wisdom and will to discipline. Especially now when so much is depending on us. So lets start spending some of that money and credit. It's our responsibility to give back by buying new cars, appliances, clothing, electronics and new houses in order to get things moving so we may once again reap the profits and benefits of a vital and growing capitalist economy. And for the nouveaux pauvres let us be generous of heart and allow and encourage our government to grant humane access to food, clothing, education and shelter to all in need. Money spent in this manner will come back to us twofold or more and is no less an investment in our heritage than butter for guns. This is not to say we will have achieved the Xanadu of our desires, but it is hoped that we will have learned enough from this past fiasco to avoid the next one for a much longer time before we screw ourselves up again. We know it's coming so the best we can do each time is put a larger distance and time between the occurrances. Est sicut est: We have met the enemy once again and once again, it is us.
