The following reprents postings in OUTSIDE THE BELTWAY, a moderate conservative forum. The issue arose when Martin Feldstein criticized the stimulus spackage for allowing individuals to squirrel away $500.00. [Edited for continuance].

The problem with the current consumer driven approach is that we are feeding the money towards the end of its velocity probably to be shipped abroad and thus continuing the unbalances that are one of the roots of the current problem. Savings on the other hand places the money in the early cycle of transactional movement and thus stabilizes currency (banks) and does stir investment. This is not to say one or another is right or wrong- the key is to find right balance- the current consumer driven society, probably in its last legs, is wasting assets by sheer expenditure of crap (for lack of a better word) created by short term goals. A post consumerist society would improve the standard of living by improving quality. Instead of purchasing disposable goods that last 1-2 years- with a little more effort we can have to same goods but better produced lasting twice/three times as long-this goes to PCs, light bulbs, automobiles and toasters- not to mention edibles-medication, etc. The better (surviving) companies strategized long term-so should consumers. Part of the problem is that instant gratification is easy to market and sales is what we do best in an open society; but these approaches affect us all in the long term- tactics (sales gimmicks) such as teaser rates merely serve to push back a much needed balance. The bottom line is that the economy has been due for a substantial contraction and the issue really is whether we have a soft landing or a crash.

Can one advocate 90-99% consumer driven GDP? Consumption is not good or bad per se. It is the type of consumption that is affecting the economy. The numbers show an imbalance seen nowhere else, in part because of the twin deficits. The point is that we can consume and maintain our standard of living, but it is going to require a different approach; the current approach is deteriorating our quality of life as evidenced by the fact that a majority of Americans have not seen earning growth in thirty years. We live in an unsustainable economy. Does one  honestly believe a society can go on forever with $720 yearly bill trade deficits (to be sure- that's an absolute number- in real economic terms-the number is 5% and that is what should be considered). As long as GDP growth is sub par to trade deficits it will be economically necessary (meaning it WILL happen) to suffer a contraction down the line.

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If you live in Washington, DC, you've probably noticed IKEA advertisements like these in Metro stations:

(photos via Animal)

Obviously, the content of the message should be familiar. Barack Obama's campaign theme of "change" turned out to be a great way to sell a politician, and it looks like it might be a good way to sell furniture as well.

IKEA's design is a spot-on ripoff in other way besides content. They use the same font (the famous "Gotham"), the same block lettering, the same justified paragraph style, the same simple layout, the same stylized images. Just about the only thing different is the color scheme.

I noticed this advertisement for Pepsi in the Metro yesterday:

(photo via The Truth According To Mark)

Not only is the slogan familiar, but that "O" in hope looks awfully like Obama's "O" logo.

The fact that Pepsi and IKEA are using these designs to sell furniture and soda is a testament to Obama's visionary graphic design during the campaign. Clearly someone on Madison Avenue thinks the imagery that inspired a nation to vote for Obama will also inspire a nation to empty their wallets. Given the other choices Obama had for his logo and design aesthetic (a fascinating look at the rejected logo concepts is here), he chose wisely.

Obama showed us the power of good design this cycle. His website was (and still is) the prettiest I've ever seen, and one of the most easy to use. There's no question its design helped power the campaign. Still, it's a bit tawdry to see these concepts, once used to promote a noble cause, used to push consumer junk. As Lance Steagall pointed out pertaining to the current popularity of Che Guevara, powerful imagery is co-opted to sell merchandise, watering down the message into a cultural touchstone with little meaning:

All this has little to do with Che Ernesto Guevara the man. His face is no longer his own; since his death it's become a vehicle behind which you advance whatever unrelated cause you're keen on. It's been co-opted by leftist culture, prostituted by Hollywood, clothing manufacturers, hip-hop artists, wealthy suburbanites; his image is the hammer and sickle, the stars and stripes, the crescent and star, the Mickey Mouse of revolutionary Disneyland©. He has become the hypothetical, undemanding revolution whose membership does not even require an understanding of his mixed legacy. Much the way some Christians profess faith in Jesus, slap a bumper sticker on the car, fill a pew every seventh day, and feel no obligation to mirror Jesus' self-sacrifice, utter disdain for materiality, or devotion to his fellow man, YOU TOO can become revolutionary. Just slap the official symbol on your person, parade yourself in conspicuous places, and retire to watch [insert inane comedy here] when your feet get tired.

Perhaps nothing represents this phenomenon better than this t-shirt, which you can actually purchase (ironically, of course):

It would be unfortunate for Obama's powerful imagery to go the same route, keeping its appeal but losing its power to actually change this country for the better.

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Happy Holidays everyone!  Sorry I haven't blogged in a bit, but I've been extremely ill and well the holiday-related madness.  Anyways, if it pleases the court, I'd like to talk about the latter.  Yes, despite several outpatient surgeries and other things I tried to trudge through that oh-so-Christmas event known as shopping.  Ok, I only went out three times, but that was enough for me.  Frankly, I am beginning to believe they should change the name of Christmas to Consumermas.  There was nothing I could find meriting all the hassle at the stores.  Especially didn't feel like contributing more funds to China in the form of some plastic trinket.  Seriously, is this what the holidays are all about now?

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I almost pity poor John McCain.  Almost.  How did he end up with this 'crap job'?  It has fallen upon him to fight the last battle of slaveholders and plantation owners.  I expect this bile from Rush Limbaugh, Newt Gingrich, Dick Cheney and any of the rest that fall into the 'angry white patriarch' model that is interchangeable with KKK grand wizard or plantation owner.

The thinly veiled race baiting of the GOP that has been in force since Richard Nixon's 'Southern strategy' is no longer thinly veiled at all.  For a generation, the GOP was able to reliably manipulate themselves into power by scaring white voters about the danger to them from 'the other'.  They have expanded the cast of dangerous people to include gays, Latinos, (always) women and Muslims.

(Cross posted at The National Gadfly

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The recent upheaval of the world economic markets has been as confusing as it has been severe.  Massive amounts of money, debt and uncertainty flood the markets and the lives of us all.  People turn to "experts" from many fields such as economics, finance, politics, defense, sociology and others.  We want to know how this happened and how it will end.  The problem is that these experts are not much help.  As Chris Hedges describes in his brilliant post, The Idiots Who Rule America, the experts are a product of the broken system and can no more fix it that a flat tire can change itself.

Since the experts have yet to prove themselves useful, I have decided to look elsewhere for answers.  I went to the people that know nothing about economics.  People like you and me.  I went to the water cooler at my office, in the break room and interviewed people there. I asked about the economy, where it was going and how we got here.  The answers were candid and unlike the double-speak or canned responses we hear over and over again.

(Cross posted at The National Gadfly)

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