LET’S GET PERSONAL–IT’S THE ECONOMY
JACK
It’s seems that no matter how the world spins, it always comes back to the economy. Particularly today, there’s a great deal of anxiety in many quarters as to how we are to survive the bad news coming from the stock market, the real estate market and the international marketplace. The dollar is at an all-time low. There are many stories about foreign countries buying big pieces of the United States. A French manufacturer set up a large factory in Michigan, and a Japanese company bought a plastic plant in New England, ad infinitum. The real question is: What does it mean as far as our future is concerned, and what does it mean to each of us as individuals? American travelers are feeling the pinch, because the high prices abroad reflect how dramatically the dollar has cheapened. For the same reason, visitors to the United States feel that everything is on sale. Since I have lived through many different economies, from the Depression of the thirties through all the boom and bust years that followed, perhaps I have a little more insight to the various cycles. The world has become much more complicated in the past 60 years, and it is a good trick just to keep your equilibrium. It is hard to quantify how much of our problem has been caused by the war in Iraq, or if the administration’s tax policy been a plus or a minus. Now the proposal is to move immediately into another tax rebate with the intention of forcing Americans into heavier spending to put more money in circulation.
HILLARY
It’s got be hard for the average American to understand even what the rebate’s purpose is. As someone who isn’t particularly savvy when it comes to the financial world, all I can say is that filling up my tank is costing me more, as is buying food at the market, and I wonder how a few hundred dollars now is really going to help us later. I mean, isn’t that money that we would have gotten in our next tax return anyway? Why is it better for us to have more now and less later? For me, it’s confusing and it scares me to think that I won’t have the money that I need when I need it. Especially since the government isn’t telling me to save it for later. They seem to be telling me to spend it, which will somehow help the economy? I really don’t understand.
JACK
You are not alone. None of us understand it all, and all of us do not understand many parts. Certainly, higher oil prices are a huge factor, and in an indirect way we are financing terrorism by having to pay these high prices for crude oil. All economic judgments is theory built on some facts. If you ask ten economists a question, you will probably get eleven answers. The rebate is being projected because on the surface, the last time, it seemed to spike the economy. Your being confused is a general condition, and the really significant decisions that we must make as individuals are how we handle the problem. I would not even attempt to explain the macroeconomics even to my limited knowledge. I can address my individual attitude and what I think is the best way to go for all of us. There is no question about the fact that our economy is unstable. We know the market has dropped more than 200 points just in this past month, and has lost more than 10% of its value. And, of course we know that the sub-prime mortgage market has affected everybody. There are millions of people who are facing foreclosure because lenders made it so easy to borrow with escalating interest rates. My feeling is that investments should be made very carefully. On a personal level, I have tried in the past several years to be very conservative, but that could also be a factor of age. Certainly the younger you are, the more you can speculate. There are those that are concerned about the fact that we have exported jobs and now the job market has become more competitive. It becomes increasingly more necessary to improve your personal skills so that each is increasingly more important to your employer. We faced a similar situation in the 1990’s when there was a tremendous downsizing, and many people lost their jobs. Then, as now, as many people as possible should move in the direction of being entrepreneurs. I wrote a book then, which still works, called “There Is No Business l\Like Your Business”. I do believe that the strength of our economy is greatly increased by the strong efforts of entrepreneurs. This has produced some of the great companies that are thriving in any economy. In contemplating a move of this type, think first of what you really love to do and what you’re good at. In that arena, find a real need and figure out how you can fill it. The most important element is to aggressively pursue the area that is dictated by your own skills.
HILLARY
But Jack, what if your skills are so specific, like a piece in the chain of an assembly line, what do you do then?
JACK
History has proven to me that many people can do the job that they are skilled at and offer themselves for outsourcing. Instead of being an employee of a company, you can provide services to that company at a fixed price and give yourself an opportunity to expand your income. It may be frightening at first, but it beats sitting on your fanny and crying about being unemployed. Of course, it takes different applications in different types of business. Almost every company would rather pay a little extra to outsource a product or a process, rather than pay for all of the benefits that have to go to an employee. At the end of the day, if you can successfully convert your skill into something that you can sell at a specific price, you will be far more independent and probably far richer.
HILLARY
It also seems to me that instead of a tax rebate, the country might be better served by putting that money towards infrastructure like fixing roads and bridges that are in disrepair, which would create jobs and put more money into the economy.
JACK
This is a great idea, but we’ve got to get rid of some of the labels that will be put to it, like “socialism”. Some of the other suggestions that have to be worked on are investment credits, encouraging people to invest more in businesses thereby creating more jobs. Franklin D. Roosevelt used your ideas very successfully in the thirties when he created the WPA (Work Progress Administration,) and the CCC (Civil Construction Corps) that built such fabulous structures like the Hoover Dam, which is still operating successfully. There is even a reasonable theory that by supplying arms and continuing the war, we will provide a lot of jobs. So we get a wide variation in governing theories. It becomes very important that our presidential candidates explain their theories in much greater detail. Since the economy has become the key issue, it is time for the candidates to get specific. Only then will we be able to make an intelligent choice.
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