Saturday Econ Notes: Fighting the Recession Through Consumerism

Forget Islamo-fascists or secular humanists: the biggest threat to America is cheapskates, regular Americans who don't buy enough stuff. Or so one might think from all the talk from the President and Congress about needing a stimulus package -- that's the modern translation of "bread and circuses" -- to stave off a recession. The U.S. economy grew 3.8% in the second quarter of 2007 and 4.9% in the third quarter, people bought more computers and cars and who knows what else, but apparently that's not enough. President Bush, who wasn't willing to let funding for children's health care increase any more than $5 billion, wants to pour $150 billion out of government coffers to encourage shopping.

Now Mrs. Madville Times and I certainly won't burn our $1600 rebate check from Uncle Sam in protest. But when we think about what we would do with the money, we find our priorities leaning toward some distinctly unpatriotic uses. I'd love to use the rebate to pay down our medical debt. Otherwise, it would be nice to just sock the money away and add a little cushion to our pretty lean budget.

We're not the only folks with such unpatriotic thoughts: some of the economists in the street -- actually, folks at the mall -- KELO interviews say they'd put a rebate check in the bank as well for future expenses, like a wedding or kids' college tuition.

Such anti-American thinking! If Congress and the President enact a tax rebate, they'll be expecting us to let those handouts burn holes in our pockets. Pay down your credit card debt? Knock a couple payments off your mortgage? Save the money? Blasphemy! If we don't buy more iPods and TVs and plastic junk from China, we're not helping the economy!

It seems the whole economy is based on our indulging in a constant orgy of ever increasing spending. Responsible, conservative financial behavior -- the frugality that got Grandma and Grandpa through the Depression and paid for World War II -- would ruin the nation... or at least the wealthy corporations that depend on our mindless overconsumption.

Is that why no one talks about energy conservation? Is that why Bob Ellis speaks so insultingly of the poor? If everyone tightened their belts and started putting money in the bank, the U.S. economy would collapse. Responsible -- dare I say moral -- behavior would lead to serious economic harms. That suggests something profoundly wrong in the values underpinning our economic system.

The dependence of our economy on overconsumption is a moral failing more destructive than any of the faux family values that Bill Napoli or Jim Dobson preach. This is why I'm so much more concerned about economic issues than abortion, gay marriage, or any of those popular social issues. We need to figure out how to get everyone off the treadmill of "buy, buy, buy!" and put our economy on a practically sustainable and morally defensible foundation.