Go Shopping!
In the immediate aftermath of 9-11, I remember then president George Bush, when visiting the site of what was once the twin towers in New York City, grabbed the bull horn from a fireman and, among the words of comfort, encouraged the country to “go shopping”. He knew full well that Osama Bin Laden had not hidden the fact that, to bring down the United States, our soft underbelly was our economy.
Since we unpegged from the gold standard during the Nixon administration and turned from being the number one creditor nation to the number one consumer nation, our economy depended on our penchant for “things”. If we were to stop spending en masse, the economy would contract too quickly, leading to all kinds of monetary problems.
Two things come to mind: First, it was September and we were about to enter the most important time of the year for the economy: Christmas. This season accounts for about 70% of the year’s economy. Second, one of the most significant facts about the choice of the Twin Towers being brought down was that it represented the financial center of our country. These two facts were not lost on the president when he told us to go shopping. He knew full well the consequences if we were to stay home and stop spending.
So, how’s that doing?
In today’s link, we find that, one year ago (and seven years after 9-11) our deficit was a staggering $459 billion. As the government continues to “prop” up the financial sector of the country, we have now seen that deficit balloon to $1.4 trillion a mere one year later!
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/10/07/budget-deficit-hit-record-billion/
As usual, the Obama administration is quick to point out that they “inherited” this problem, and I would agree. It has not escaped many that this whole economic crisis was not helped by the Bush administration’s $700 billion “stimulus package” passed just before his leaving office, then followed by another $800 billion enacted by the Obama administration in February of this year. Throwing money at the problem in the name of bailouts, etc., with nothing to show for it but a bunch of IOU’s is not helping, obviously. So, even though I would agree that the Obama administration has inherited this financial quagmire, is what they are doing helping or hurting?
Oh, and by the way, did I mention that gold is over $1,050 per ounce, the dollar has lost between 20% and 30% of its purchase power, oil is over $70 per barrel and unemployment is approaching 10%?
The last time this happened (under Jimmy Carter’s watch) we saw double digit unemployment, inflation and interest rates. Last time I looked, only interest rates remain low and, by all accounts, that cannot remain so. But what the hey! Go Shopping!!
So, has Osama’s plan to destroy America by destroying our economy eight years ago finally bearing fruit by trumping Obama’s drumbeat of echoing Bush’s rallying cry to go shopping?
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