This is a guest blot submitted by ArphaxadHunter@xanga Stop saving money, you idiots! The economy is
not in a dire crisis due to some uncontrollable external cause, but because
you, the consumers, are too scared to keep going out and spending money. Sure, prices are soaring and companies are crashing and gas prices are plummeting. That's just part of life; get over it. But you're certainly not helping matters by selfishly hoarding your money to yourself for that hypothetical rainy day rather than keeping the capital flowing.
Ever heard of the idea of the self fulfilling prophesy? Yeah? Well, it's a real life boogie man that will gobble you up in your sleep if you don't open up that wallet and start buying crap.
Also, don't use credit cards. They're the equivalent of going into the future and taking money back in time, except your bankrupt future self is
not equipped with a high tech futuristic laser rifle and can do nothing to stop you as you sap away poor future you's grocery money.
Comments (39)
I've got no money to save. LOL
I agree to an extent. However things have gotten a little bit tough for the lower and middle class Americans, and we have no money to save. But I think a lot of this "crisis" is self-inflicted, people were freaking out WAY before it got to this extent, and because they were freaking out prematurely, it has caused greater problems now. It is true that people who have money should not be so afraid that they will run out, but if they would start putting some of it into the economy, things could potentially get better faster. BUT, people have no brains and only repeat things they hear on the news, so of course they cannot figure this out.
if i have a few million and i spend it; how does that help others; doesn't that just help me and give me more bills?
spending money is not the problem. i have the money to buy it; i just cant believe the price of things.
even if you have a million dollars in your pocket; it should not cost you around 300 - 1500 dollars to get a cart full of food.
the problem is things are priced to high; people are not buying things because they dont want to pay 4 times what things are worth.
a bag of chicken should not cost 70 bucks.
God money Ill do anything for you.
God money just tell me what you want me to.
God money nail me up against the wall.
God money dont want everything he wants it all.
No you cant take it
No you cant take it
No you cant take that away from me
No you cant take it
No you cant take it
No you cant take that away from me
Head like a hole.
Black as your soul.
Id rather die than give you control.
Head like a hole.
Black as your soul.
Id rather die than give you control.
Bow down before the one you serve.
Youre going to get what you deserve.
Bow down before the one you serve.
Youre going to get what you deserve.
I'm not totally sure if this post was meant to be serious or sarcastic. But in the event that the author was actually being serious, I'll respond to that.
I have to disagree. Sure, in the past consumer spending has accounted for about 2/3 of our economy. However, that number is descriptive, not prescriptive. And if the markets are being destroyed by the Fed, or Congress, or the executive branch, or whoever, then all the spending on behalf of consumers won't amount to much-- especially if they're investing into bubbles which are just going to burst down the road, and make the problem even worse than if they weren't spending (or spending differently).
The problem with our economy is not that people are just hoarding all their cash. The problem has had several factors, but the primary factor is the loose monetary policy of the Fed. In hindsight, we see that interest rates were way too low, artificially raising demand beyond market levels, causing over-investment and mal-investment. Now, we're seeing that those levels are not sustainable. Also, the government has run deficits the bulk of the past several decades. In order to pay for these, they're forced to either print money or borrow it. Once again, this creates an increase in the money supply that doesn't reflect the actual growth of the economy.
Part of the reason prices had been soaring was precisely this large expansion of credit and money in our economy. If one largely increases the money supply, then the currency loses value and prices go up. However, with credit drying up all of a sudden (because the increases in credit/money were mostly artificial and created by the government, and therefore not sustainable but only leading to a bubble), we may go through a brief period of deflation (and with oil and precious metals plummeting in price as of late, there's a good chance that's happening-- unless, of course, the Fed responds with even looser money).
Plus, there's the fact that I'm in poor grad student, and I don't have all this money to spend. In fact, my spending habits would be the same no matter the state of the economy, primarily b/c I just don't have that much as of now.
I got NO money to SPEND or SAVE.
Lmao! You sound just like my economics professor! Haha.
prices are not soaring. the retailers association is freaking out and they've got everyone running 30-50% off sales EVERYWHERE. and this is the prime season to buy more because everyone will be offering their Friends & Family discount. Gap, Inc. will be offering about 25% off everything.. Pottery Barn had their 20%... Restoration Hardware will have their 20% off everything.. Calvin Klein just got a fresh batch of fall/winter outerwear and it's already 30-50% off.. Old Navy has its new shipment of fall/winter outerwear & accessories going for $10-$20!! sales are soaking the malls to lure customers into the stores to shop shop shop! the customers benefit from the sales and economy slump, not the retailers. we lose out cuz we have to cut our profits by nearly 50%! then you have companies that are already dying out, Mervyns offering 30-70% off everything storewide, now that it's going out of business.. ditto Linens & Things. What's next? Keep an eye out and the next failing corporation will offer similar discounts on great items!
it supposed to work... remember the time when 9/11 hit; the market would've crash, but bush told everyone to continue to spend.. and the stock market boomed instead.. to explain how this work; when we spend money, we're creating a demand for something.. the corporation needs to meet those demands so they have to grow; to grow, they need to hire more employees and buy more stuff (creating jobs).. when they buy more stuff, it's creating a demand, and some other corporation tries to meet that demand.. not only that, but this new demand will create new businesses; this creates more jobs.. yeah, we're giving money to the business (who then are giving it back to the investors, suppliers, bankers, government, and us working people), but the created jobs will put money into the people's pocket.. so you see, it will improve the overall economy..
of course, like any monetary policy, it doesn't actually work right away...
i think that if obama gave out money to everyone, and everyone who receive that money actually spend it.. the economy may recover a bit faster..
it does make sense to spend money so the economy can get it act back together but its tough to do that for many families when they can't afford basic needs like food and clothing.Â
LOL.
I dont have any money to spend, ass. Thanks for assuming though. And maybe if the economy didn't suck I could actually get a job too. Wouldnt that be nice?
I'll keep saving money, thanks. But I'm helping the economy by using credit cards!
You should use credit cards. Because it helps you build credit. You need credit for a lot of things. Home, car, job, even insurances.
Just don't overspend like you're a 5 year old at ToysRus, and you'll be okay.
Wow this is really, really bad advice.
I always save as much as I can. I'm not going to change any of my habits. I am going to play the technicals of this market and buy and short stocks using SSO and SDS. The rest of my money stays where it darn well belongs, and will always belong, in my pocket!
who has $ to save these days?
@RoAngie467@momaroo -
hmm... it might not a good idea to try and help the economy by using credit cards. If enough people default on their payments the government will need to step in and order banks to forgive those debts
hmmmmmmmm....................
---
Uh... I think the consensus is that the US economy is in a "supposed" dire crisis because of controllable internal causes - namely people spending and borrowing beyond their means assisted by years of low interest rates. If you think 4-5% from a year or two ago was a high rate - roughly 20 years ago the interest rates were in the double digits, which was heaven for savers and hell for borrowers.
It seems quite cavalier to think that rising prices, bankrupt companies, and gas prices plummeting are just a part of life and that people should just get over it.
The post has also neglected two important parts of life: inflation and deflation. During times of inflation and growth whatever people save is worth less than the day before. This is due to rising costs and (the basic necessity of) taxes. On the opposite side of the coin, with deflation, you risk a deflationary spiral which is basically caused by lowering prices that lower wages and lower production and thereby lowering employment. If you keep spending, you can guess what you end up with: nothing-except for some crap that becomes obsolete and/or depreciated to nothing in a few weeks or so.
I don't doubt that consumers have a large impact on the economy, but how are lower-medium income people expected to survive when they are getting assaulted from all fronts. The natural inclination would be to hoard (if it is even possible for them) their cash for a "hypothetical rainy day" and to be selfishly trying to feed themselves instead of lining the pockets of multinationals that invest the majority of their profits outside of the country.
In any case, before I would even come close to spending my money, I would expect that the government and large corporations that sit on hundreds of billions of dollars to start spending their hoards of cash within the country first - a la Keynesian theories that were developed in the 1930-ish's as a potential solution to depressions. (Basically, the idea is that the government would try to avoid a depression by spending a lot of money to stimulate the economy.) One of the areas that the government could start spending is infrastructure and manufacturing. This is supposed to create jobs and real wealth within the country.
You're a moron. Daddy doesn't spend a dime on recreational stuff... and do you think he's sitting on loads of money? No, he can't even afford groceries.
The people who are hoarding the money are not the sorts who would be on Xanga... they're people like Bill Gates. Did you know that the top 5% of people hoard 80% of the cash?
Yeah... don't act like us middle class or poor people have the money to spend. It's not that we don't WANT ot buy iPods, Cars and Cell phones, it's that we don't HAVE the money in the first place.
Now hush... go to sleep or something and stop whining about things that you don't know anything about.
Yeah...you sound like my history teacher. "The economy sucks, but the people can help it if they just spend more money!" If that's true, I hope Obama gives some awe-inspiring speech about this.
hehe, kudos to that last paragraph :)
I'm pretty sure there are victims of natural disasters that will disagree with everything you had to say about saving money. Rainy days are not hypothetical...it really happens. You never know when you are going to need to fall back on your savings just to survive the week.
I agree that spending is good for the economy, but only if you can afford it and if it's something you actually need. If you're spending just to spend, it doesn't make sense.
This is the worst advice I've ever heard. Â Part of the reason the economy is in the toilet right now is because people have been spending money they don't have. Â People used to SAVE money, now all they do is spend it, and now there's no more money to spend because everyone's living paycheck to paycheck. Â
DON'T USE CREDIT CARDS, AND STOP SPENDING MONEY ON UNNECESSARY CRAP. Â SAVE YOUR MONEY!Â
Seriously people--listen to Dave Ramsey, he's got the best advice when it comes to money. Â And he'll always say the borrower is slave to the lender. Â Don't spend money you don't have, and stop living above your means. Â Â
If this is a serious post then you're a moron. If this is all sarcastic then you've pushed a lot of buttons, props. If you're totally serious then you need a review in politics and economics.
haha this is so true---I actually am scared to spend my money. my brother said this exact thing to me the other day, about how hoarding my money is bad for the economy. now, i know nothing about economics, but maybe i will stop being so reluctant to buy things i want/need.