Just a little factoid about the economy and the urging that you and I

[nadinbrzezinski]

go spend money

It is sad that people fail to understand that our economy is set to fail or succeed on consumption

Yes, 70% or so depends on you and me getting cheap baubles

This was a policy decision made in the 1930s, read that again... but modern consumerism goes to the Roosevelt admin, fully implemented by trumman and finally became the way of life by the 70s

There are plenty of laws of unintended consequences, but the economy DEPENDS on consumption

Among those is the mad rush to factories in the East to maximize profit and the increasing cycle of design obsolescence built into product you buy.

I doubt the news critters kNOW why this is so, but it is so

Why I am not that annoyed by them trying to get you into a store or two.

[JuniperLea]

1. Very sad, and very true

And then we wonder why society has forgotten the difference between the things we need and the things we want.

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. I suspect we will see a change in how we do business, no pun

after all this policy of consumption was one way to avoid depressions, even Keynes believed in that... and in a mixed economy it worked for what three generations?

[Warpy]

2. Yes and no

The era of cheap crap purchased by debt is just about over.

The first clothing manufacturer who turns to a classic line made of durable natural fibres is going to get very rich very quickly.

Just like planned obsolescence went out of favor when car loans exceeded the useful life of the car, trendy crap that falls apart after six washings will no longer seem particularly attractive.

Anybody at DU in the rag trade should take note of this. Really.

The difference will be between ultra cheap crap produced by machines and less cheap crap that requires people at various points of manufacture.

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. I am not talking about the era of cheap crap

that is part unintended consequences

I am talking about consumerism as a national policy to drive the economy

If the crap produced is less cheap or not, does not matter, they still need you to buy

And as to designed obsolescence, given I-PODs cannot change batteries, and many other electronic goods are cheaper to change than repair, no, you are wrong. It is here to stay UNTIL there is a change in the POLICY level.

Hell my PDA is a very CHEAP laptop that when it breaks, not if, when it breaks down, it will be cheaper to replace than repair, that is the way things are. That is by design

[AdHocSolver]

5. The economy is, by definition, the production and consumption of goods and services.

Therefore, without consumption, there really is no economy. The economic term for that situation is a depression.

The real problem with the U.S. economy is the fact that most of the goods and services consumed here are produced in other countries. This country does not earn income by producing stuff here. Practically everything we buy is purchased by going into debt to the countries that actually produce the goods we consume.

This country is acting like a person without income going on a spending spree and running up a big credit card debt. At some point, the people we borrow from are going to stop lending us money, and then we are screwed.

The corporations have been buying practically all of our consumables and services from foreign countries, mainly from China and increasingly from India, and supporting this life-style by selling financial paper backed by other financial paper backed by worthless mortgages.

This is why the world economies are falling apart.

The solution to the economic problems is to start producing a majority of the products and services we consume right here in America using American labor. In other words, create jobs in the U.S. and put Americans back to work. Hopefully, the goods and servvices will be environmentally friendly. Actually, they have to be environmentally friendly. However, the important condition to revive the U.S., and the world's, economies is that a majority of the consumption in the U.S. must be of goods and services produced in the U.S.

The cartel agreements like NAFTA, the WTO, the IMF, and the World Bank, all of which are designed to prevent true "free trade" must be replaced with rules and regulations that allow American made goods to be competitive with cheap labor goods produced abroad.

Besides implementing "fair trade" laws, the U.S. must implement true universal health care. Health care must be divorced from control by the corporations as employers. Employer controlled health care stifles competition and effectively makes workers indentured servants of the corporations. It also makes it difficult for new and smaller companies to compete in the market place.

The issue of shoddy, throw-away merchandise is another problem that needs repair, but it isn't the main issue of why the economy is in bad shape.

I do agree that just buying more junk will not help the economy, if the junk that is bought is made in China. Buying more foreign -made junk on credit will only increase the U.S. trade deficit and exacerbate the economic problems.

[Raksha]

7. Great post, especially this part...

The solution to the economic problems is to start producing a majority of the products and services we consume right here in America using American labor. In other words, create jobs in the U.S. and put Americans back to work. Hopefully, the goods and servvices will be environmentally friendly. Actually, they have to be environmentally friendly. However, the important condition to revive the U.S., and the world's, economies is that a majority of the consumption in the U.S. must be of goods and services produced in the U.S.

The cartel agreements like NAFTA, the WTO, the IMF, and the World Bank, all of which are designed to prevent true "free trade" must be replaced with rules and regulations that allow American made goods to be competitive with cheap labor goods produced abroad.

I think most Americans have already learned this the hard way, if they didn't know it already.

[MazeRat7]

6. They dont call it the GDP for nothing....

the whole system is built on the relationship between production and consumption.

Evil corporations produce and the lemming public consumes.

Until someone maps out a different stragegy... I think it works (for the most part).

Peace,
MZr7