A: Amy’s plan to save the economy from ourselves

I ran across this CNN poll  that stated the following:

·         Nearly eight in 10 Americas say things are going badly in the country

·         Three out of four questioned say that things are going well for them personally

 Huh?  This made me think about the media, self fulfilling prophecies and how collectively, we are idiots. So here is my plan to save the economy from ourselves...

1.       Stop talking about the economy.  To start with, it’s boring.  And, it’s fruitless.  Commenting on the economy is like commenting on Jessica Simpson’s weight gain.  The more we talk about it, the bigger the story gets.   Plus, if you say something enough times, you start to believe it even if it is not true (see CNN poll above).

2.       Stop buying stocks.  We all like to say we have a high risk tolerance but that’s a lie.  So, stop putting your money in companies you know nothing about.  Today I heard these stats on Good Morning America: 

·         New York Times Co. shares have fallen from $24.27 to $3.95, cheaper than the $4 cost of its Sunday edition.

·         General Electric Co. shares fell from $30.30 to $9.08, cheaper than a GE two-slice bagel toaster at Wal-Mart, selling Tuesday for clearance price of $12.

·         Office Depot is down from $38.27 to $1.26, less than a 12-pack of medium point Papermate BallPoint Stick Pens that run $1.89.

·         US Airways has fallen from $53.89 to $3.66, less than the current $4 cost of two in-flight coffees

Instead of investing in large publicly traded companies, become an angel investor in a small business.  Now is a great time to start a business.   Trader Joes, MTV, Wikipedia and IHOP all did it during tough economic times.  

3.       Start having more kids. Declining populations and declining economies go hand-in-hand.  Americans are not reproducing at a rate to support the people who are already here.  Plus, our leaders keep encouraging us to spend to save the economy but people are scared to spend, so the money is not being re-circulated.  Here is where kids come in.  Kids are money pits.  Even if you want to save, they always need more and more.  So, if more people were procreating like Nadya Suleman, octo-mom and using the internet to generate income for themselves, we’d be putting money back into the economy now with the added bonus of ensuring there are enough future tax payers around to support us in our old age.  It’s like killing two birds with one stone.    

Comments

[Skip]

Also, having babies during an economic downturn is an excellent way to get successful children. As explained in Malcom Gladwell's recent book Outliers, children born during bad economic times have less competition b/c everyone's too poor or depressed to procreate. So there's less competition to get into college, get on the good sports teams, etc. Your child will think he's so great, when really it's just that none of the competition was born.

[Caitlyn]

I have been wanting to read that book...or any book by Malcolm Gladwell, as they all just seem so interesting. But unfortunately, I haven't yet gotten around to it b/c I spend all of my free time drinking wine and watching TMZ. I like the idea that kids born during depressions excel though...it means my little niece-to-be is totally going to kick ass on her softball team!

Excellent comment Skip!