CONSUMING ECONOMY

Eileen and I had set a savings goal that once we reached it we would do some bathroom revisions. Even though we reached that goal, I suggested to Eileen that we wait until we see what this economy is going to do. She agreed. Thus we are contributing to the very problem that is stifling this nation.

This nation’s economy is a consuming economy. That’s to say that our economy is dependent upon people buying (consuming) goods and services. Stores, shops, businesses, factories, and even hospitals can hire people only if other people purchase goods and services from them. If they don’t make “sales,” then people get laid off or terminated. The more demand there is for products and services, the more people get hired to meet that demand. The health of our economy needs and people’s jobs depend upon others consuming goods and services.

And so, people need our bathroom revision to take place but we can’t put our own status in jeopardy to make that happen. This very scenario is what is happening throughout this nation. Businesses and consumers aren’t consuming right now because of the uncertainty of the economy. Everyone is hunkering down in anticipation of hard times continuing, or worse times ahead.

Some people think that an answer to our problems is to raise taxes so that the government can have more money. We all know that the government never has enough money and it always spends everything it gets, and then some. That’s why we have a debt ceiling crisis right now. Yet, giving the government more money to spend doesn’t cause consumers to have the confidence required to spend. Thus the demand for non-essential products remains weak. Increasing taxes on the “rich” who are the ones who control the job market and are the only ones spending discretionary income in a bad economy seems quite counterproductive. This is not a time for class-envy or coveting our neighbor’s goods.

Washington and its subjects need to temper its lust for money. Its appetite is so veracious and out of control that it borrows 40 cents of every dollar it spends. The government doesn’t come close to living within its means. That scares businesses because the government always goes after them for more revenues. When the government increases the businesses’ cost of doing business, the businesses pass it on to the consumer. In an economy where consumers are already skittish about buying, increased prices make matters worse. Without the necessary sales, businesses don’t hire and the whole adverse economic cycle keeps going.

It seems reasonable to me that this is the worst time for the government to be taking money out of people’s pockets. Businesses need the money to hire and expand while consumers need the money to consume and make the whole system work. The big problem is that we keep mixing socialistic government concepts with free market principles. It’s like mixing oil and water. The more dominant the government is, the more it chokes the free market system. Our economy is dependent upon the consuming of goods and services.

The economy and people’s jobs needs all of us to make bathroom revisions, home revisions, car purchases, washers & dryer purchases, and such. Meanwhile, we need the government to get out of the way by first getting its house in order.