Retailers are hurting; should we spend to revive the economy?

People are losing their jobs, savings and homes. Casting discretionary spending as "patriotic" is a bonehead move, IMO. Each dollar spent on things such as construction, infrastructure, healthcare and the like will CREATE jobs, rather than just propping up the retail machine.

If people cannot afford it, they really shouldn't spend.

This could go either way. We could just throw money at this and start the overconsumption engine once again.

Or we as a nation could use this "opportunity" (in quote marks because there's quite a bit of pain associated with it, and for most of us it'll be anything but voluntary) ... use this set of circumstances to reorient our relationships with money, consumption, expectations, stuff and the very fabric of our everyday lives (to say nothing of the fabrics we wear and the sheer number of same clogging our closets and drawers).

If we could manage to take care of the necessities that include food, shelter and medical care, then put everything else under a skeptical, world-reimagining microscope, the prospect of changing ourselves as individuals and families, and our communities and country, is something we shouldn't ignore while looking for another way to start rabidly consuming once again.

I'm under no illusion. If and when things start to right themselves, some will be changed profoundly by this, others will not.

Your grandparents, great-grandparents, maybe even your parents, had their worldviews shaped by things like the Depression ('30s), World War II ('40s), the Cold War ('50s and on), the whole 1960s, etc. ... and those things that happened to them in those circumstances affect how they see the world thereafter.

Will the conspicuous consumption of the 1980s on, which built up to where we were just a few months ago, mark such an era for us? Many will feel entitled to the kind of free money that was flowing so strongly just a year ago.

Then we have the post 9/11 era, in which the idea of a terrorist attack in America became all too real, except for the fact that we haven't been attacked since. Instead we have war all the time overseas, a war fought by the poorest Americans. A war our outgoing president said we should respond to not with sacrifice but with more shopping. Again, a war (two wars) seemingly without end. Sounds a bit like the Trojan War, right?

And now with the current economic collapse, in which housing, securities, manufacturing and just about every other industry is swirling in the toilet bowl of life, this could be the beginning of a decade of hard times, or just a blip.

Maybe not having underpants full of money to cushion our fall to earth will signal the beginning of a new America. Some of what happens will be good, some not so much.

All I know is that even those who are working right now and do have some money to kick around don't want to get too deep into debt because things are so uncertain. ... And uncertainty breeds more of same.

Call it an era of uncertainty and austerity. We're in it, for sure.

Hi Julia,

I couldn't find a way to just email you directly, so I'm commenting on this topic. (Even though my question has very little do with it!) I'm looking for a medium sized filing cabinet for my home. The problem is that all the ones that I have found to be affordable are gray, bleak, and very sterile looking. Doesn't exactly match my home decor! The ones that look a bit more modern or less office-like are quite expensive. Any ideas on where I can get a good quality, non-bleak looking filing cabinet without breaking the bank?

Thanks!

You bring up an interesting idea - spend any extra money you have on items that create and sustain jobs elsewhere in the economy. Many many products we buy are imported, but services are local. ~Julia

Sol, what about buying one of those cheap, bleak filing cabinets and covering it with a tapestry, small rug, or other textile? Put a plant on picture frame on top of the cloth and voila! You've created a great distraction from your utilitarian filing cabinet. ~Julia

Your Starbucks Gold Card Link links to the wrong page. It comes up this page.
Please have someone fix it.

Xmfan,
I just tried the Starbucks link and it worked. Here is the url, so copy and paste it into your browser window if you still can't get the link to work:

https://www.starbucks.com/GoldCard/Index.aspx

This is the second comment today saying a link didn't work. I'll alert the tech guys.
~Julia

What gets missed in these stories is gasoline. Cheap gasoline is obviously a good thing for the consumer, but rapidly falling gas prices, which we should not worry about, account for about half of the decline in sales over the past three months. So in effect by looking at the 2.7% drop, we are overstating the magnitude of the problem.

Dan

I, too, didn't get the Starbucks story where I was supposed to. Will use the link you provided.

The comments are not appearing as soon as they are published, so you probably did not see that I left the link in an earlier comment. Here it is again for anyone who missed it:

https://www.starbucks.com/GoldCard/Index.aspx

Give you computer plenty of time to load it. ~Julia

Thanks for the suggestions Julia! Anyone else have ideas or suggestions? I'd really appreciate it, thanks!

Note to Sol: My late husband used to spray-paint the drab filing cabinets to suit the color-scheme of the room. Also, I use side-by-side two-drawer oak-finish filing cabinets in 2 different rooms. They make great tables as well as filing cabinets.
As for spending to help the economy... I learned how to downsize when I retired, and had to live on less than half of what I previously earned, so I wasn't jolted by the plunging economy as badly as some. Still, I'm careful about what and where I buy. I try to support local business whenever possible. Two friends and I went to the movies today, and were saddened by the obvious lack of foot traffic, customers in the food court, and box office business, etc. Soooo... at techie Steve said, get your priorities in order, and spend when and if you can afford it AFTER basic needs are met.

Here's the latest scoop on saving BIG TIME at the Discovery Shop in Burbank. This coming Tuesday (also known as Inauguration Day!!) the whole store will be 44% off, celebrating their 44th year of Discovery Shops. Location: Between the Shell Station and Big 5 on Victory just west of Magnolia. jj

Thanks Ellie, I really appreciate the suggestion. I love the idea of having file cabinets that can also serve as tables. Hopefully this three-day weekend will see some sales!

Owning a retail based business, I can absolutely attest to how slow the economy has become. Your following comment/question:
"So why should consumers go into debt to get us out of it?"

is an interesting one.

From a retail point of view, at this point in the economy; I think discretionary spending is what's been most impacted. People are trimming the fat and only buying what they really need or really want.

If the economy continues on this downward spiral, the issue will go far beyond discretionary spending. As more and more jobs are lost, people will spend less and less, until the only purchases are the absolutely needed ones.

I hope to see a light at the end of this tunnel coming soon.