Yesterday, the new Gov. office of David Paterson (you know, the guy who has not yet been caught with a hooker) announced that New York has officially begun its recession. While the rest of the country is questionable (some claim we are, some claim we are not, some claim "I had nothing to do with it, I was with my girlfriend at the movies at the time"), NYC is apparently hitting the recession field.
BUT, I question the statement from the Gov. office only because NYC Budget Director Laura Anglin said that the best thing for us New Yorkers to do to stop this recession is to use our tax stimulus checks to go SHOPPING!
Really? Last time I checked, if you are going broke, you should be saving money. Now I know there is analysts and professionals and people with pages and pages of statistics who will tell you why it is better to put your money into the economy, but common sense tells me that if my eggs are about to hit $6 and my milk is about to hit $6....then I am better off saving that money and spending it on things I need (like food, bills, rent) instead of buying the new GTA IV or the new "Biggest Loser Workout: Now For Little Losers You Call Your Kids". Anglin actually said that people should use the nice $300, $600 or $1200 they will get this month from the government to make "new purchases" rather than paying off bills or savings.
Gee, you are telling me this economy is going down the toilet and into the East River, and instead of saving my money for a rainy day or getting myself out of that debt that has almost put me on the street, I should use the money I get to buy a new Banana Republic pants for $400?
I may not work for the NY Budget Office, but I will tell you all "DON'T SPEND THAT MONEY ON USLESS CRAP!" Don't buy that PS3 you wanted or the Plasma. Don't buy that Louie V. Bag you saw at Saks 5th Ave. Don't buy those 3 rare 1912 stamps with the beard of Lincoln upside down thinking that they will be worth $5 more 20 years from now. SAVE YOUR MONEY!
Fuck what Laura says. She works for the government and I am sure she makes good money that she isn't worried about shortage of rice at her house. Buy yourself a small little thing (like a new CD or some new headphones) and then put the rest toward a rainy day. Times will get harder, be ready.
As for Laura Anglin, I would love to see a list of the things she buys with her check. Too bad nobody is selling common sense. She sure can use some.
3 comments:
You have just highlighted the "free rider" problem in ethics and political philosophy.
It would be better, for everyone, if everyone went shopping. But, it would be better, for you, if you saved instead of shopped, with little or no harmful effect on anyone else. So, even if everyone else is shopping, why shouldn't you go right ahead and benefit from both everyone spending and your own personal saving?
Why not indeed. And the only answer is the boring "well, if everyone did it" blah blah blah. And it's not much of an answer, either, because you can be pretty sure that not everyone is going to save instead of spend, so you seem to be able to get the best of both worlds.
Just don't encourage anyone else to do it.
:}
I can see the need to save this money. A lot of people are already in a desperate situation. However, we aren't (YET) because we live within our means. So we are going to spend our money. Or most of it anyway. I think everyone has to decide for themselves if they need to pay off their car with it so they can afford more groceries every month, or if they need to get the roof fixed on their home (which in my opinion is SPENDING the money) or if they want to buy a boat. I think most people would spend the money on needed items like food, clothes, diapers, what have you. Several large retailers are offering a ten percent bonus if you turn your check into a gift card at their store. If you know you are going to spend that much in groceries over the next X number of months, then it's a fabulous bonus! Anyway, I am sure I could talk about this all day, but I'll spare you!
I won't be getting this money..I'm a Canuck. But if I was getting it, I'd spend it.
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