Economic 'debate? over surplus spending short on sanity

If the alleged major politicos in this country and all of the associated political, economic and media "experts" don't get their act together pretty soon, you can watch for me on the "Jerry Springer Show."

I'll be the guy who's turned to way too many Strawberry Shortcake Sundae Surprises for consolation; you know, one of those guys who has to be winched into the living room to feed the canary.

Am I joking? Is this humor? Not so much. I was so confused about the state of the economy and contributing factors as depicted recently in the media that the shortcake sugar run seemed the only hope for a moment of sanity. I know, I know, it's silly, but hey ...

My unnerved moments re: the economy are always more distressing for having the responsibility of giving economic news of value to the readers of this paper.

For days, no doubt like you, I'd been watching this incredibly disingenuous play on TV wherein alleged political heavyweights and glamorous media doyen-reporters pretend emphasis on "pretend" to debate whether eliminating the $1.3 trillion surplus was good for the good old U.S.A. The capper for me was the moment some bonehead politico stared into the cameras and explained with this lizardy grin that eliminating the surplus actually was A Good Thing because having none "means that now we have to control our spending."

Just the guy I want watching the cookie jar.

It's the pretense of this alleged media "debate" that is disturbing. Do any of these people really believe that spending the surplus is an issue?

I repeat, my own simplistic take on the American economy is that it's driven almost totally by consumer confidence and consumer spending. I was therefore heartened to learn recently that consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of our total economic activity. (Anything I can find to suggest I might be right about something is even better than shortcake, actually.)

And now, even as we write this column, the Consumer Conference Board is releasing new figures on its Consumer Confidence Index. Contrary to the July report, which showed an increase, August's shows a slight decline in consumer confidence, down to 114.3 from 116.3.

The decline is pegged to job losses throughout the nation, according to Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board's Consumer Research Center. The punchline of course is that job losses, apart from actually taking dollars out of the consumer sector, can erode consumer confidence to discourage further spending.

On the other side of the coin, the Conference Board's index of consumer expectations actually rose in August, from 92.9 to 93.3. A good sign, to be sure.

In sum, it appears the American consumer, as far as reading the economy, has a far better grip on the reality of our times than the people we're seeing on TV. Or maybe they're just more honest about it.

Re: this section: we were hoping for more space to tell you about independent business folk and their doings in the realm we call "Small Business," but the chips fell toward a smaller section.

The phrase "small business" is always self-contradictory. There's nothing small about people placing their livelihoods, and indeed their very fates, into starting up and running their own enterprises. They do it with varying degrees of risk, too, financed by family money or family credit, SBA or other government-backed loans, or bank credit. Some even do it with their own savings, sometimes their life savings. (Those, I think, are bravest of all, though some would substitute "foolhardy.")

We asked Christine Ballew-Gonzales to tell us about her home "small business" in this issue because from long experience we believe there to be no braver undertaking than to seek a living as a free-lance writer.

We also have a feature on Linda Bower, writer, thinker, and consultant extraordinaire who in addition to her international business is forging a life on a Rogersville farm.

By the way, one old saying went into file 13 this summer the one that goes "If you don't like the weather in the Ozarks, wait 10 minutes."

Ten minutes came and went. We waited. Holy sauna, did we wait.

Congratulations to all who survived this summer on the planet Venus. Let's hope that now, following the traditional Labor Day pillaging of our wallets at the gas tanks and attendant festivities, we move on into a kinder, gentler fall.

Thanks for joining us this issue.