I am mystified about the economic direction of our country. Despite the optimism in the stock market there really is no new direction for the nation’s economy. It may be accurately reported that net income of many companies has increased but it was mostly the result of reduced labor costs and reductions in inventory. Cash for Clunkers was a great idea for clearing dealer lots but who will buy a car now that the program has ended?
With credit card interest rates up and with far fewer offers from the banks for new credit card accounts there has been an obvious reduction in card usage. Most of us are burdened with too much credit card debt to buy very many new things. After all we consumers had a total outstanding bill of almost $1 trillion. The reduced card use is a good thing for the individual but bad for an economy that relies on consumer spending.
The $768 billon stimulus bill was a great idea to jump start the economy. The problem is that only $89 billion has actually been paid out. That is about 12% of the allocated money. This is particularly maddening to me when I see streets that need resurfacing all over my city. Other projects are talked about but there has been no action.
We are left with actions by private enterprise to invigorate the economy. The wealthy are too happy to care and the rest of us really are praying.
We need more than prayer and hope. The world is changing faster than ever before. Other nations have economies that are far better managed than ours. Even our next door neighbor, Canada, is more successfully managed than the United States. China and India are both reported to having seen a turn around in their economies. Unless there is an inspired government that isn’t involved in political infighting or industries that quickly step up to the table, and that means within the next 12 months, the United States will follow Japan into a longer downward financial spiral.
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