Financial Thoughts, Cont'd

I had written an entry here a bit ago, scoffing at the implicit assumption in an article about the economy to the effect that the economy was sputtering because consumers were overloaded and afraid. After I wrote that, I felt a little smug, because I'm not one of them -- certainly not -- and I am not either overloaded nor afraid. Well, not very afraid. Seeing the stock market drop to 10K+ from about 10.4K was a little scary. So I think that perhaps what I was doing was whistling through the graveyard, just a bit.

Its ironic that consumers should be regarded as worthy of note in an article such as the one that I cited, because it wasn't that long ago that consumers were considered almost not worthy of notice at all. It was the titans of industry who were the people driving the economy, under the loose guidance of the government and the gentle oversight of the securities industry. The consumers were out there doing five and ten dollar investments -- equivilent to when you give your child an allowance of five dollars, and they think its a fortune.

But when the economy was stubbornly refusing to tank, about two years ago, you began to see articles suggesting that while no real financial analyst would want to rely on this as a source of continuing support -- certainly not -- it did seem that the economy was being maintained by, of all things, that same humble consumer, who was refusing to bail out of a market where all of the bright people had already left, and who was continuing to buy in an economy where clearly the smart thing to do was to hunker down and ride out the storm. And it wasn't too much longer after that when you began to see articles suggesting that it was natural and right -- in fact, to be expected -- that the consumer would be the steadfast supporter of the economy, the provider of bedrock when the winds blew and the financial mavens scurried for the tax shelters of the Bahamas and South American coffee futures. Their steadfastness, the articles suggested, was constant and unyielding, and though perhaps it was a bit naive, it was a touching naivete. The traders could smile.

So it is probably to have been expected that now, articles feel comfortable in suggesting that perhaps the weakness in the economy -- while not the fault of the lowly consumer, certainly not -- is becoming apparent because the shielding functions aren't being performed as consistantly by the consumer. And while its not their responsibility to handle the reins of the economy -- that would be the aforementioned titans and mavens -- its their currently inability or reluctance to stand up and spend, spend, spend that is demonstrating the need for adult guidance.

How long until the articles come suggesting that consumers should not pay attention to the financial pages, but just spend, spend, spend, do you suppose?