Max out your credit cards
Do it for the nation.
Apparently NYC-based Damon Hemmerdinger gave away around $20,000 over President's Day to nearby denizens. The only catch, you needed to wear a sticker that reads: I Support the Economy!
While this was a privately-funded endeavor, the underlying politically-charged spendthrift message has shades of Gerald Ford's ill-fated "Whip It Now" campaign.
Will it only be a matter of time before savings is equated with financial terrorism, hording scarce capital that should immediately be spent?
See also: "Tax Rebates" are Low-Cost Payday Loans
Comments (13)
Mark
The Federal Mafia should pass a law so that anyone under the age of 65 cannot have a savings account...Punishable by 10 years in Gitmo of course for the crime of being insensitive to the needs of minorities.
Published: February 20, 2008 7:36 AM
lester
with my rebate I'm going to buy a huge plane of glass and break it. If the economy gets better, I will have disproved hazlitt and be seen as a genius.
Published: February 20, 2008 9:53 AM
Brent
"So, why write a column that says it may be this, or it may be that? Because all of us collectively have the power to either turn this period into a recession or to continue the economic growth we have had over the past seven years.
We have that power because consumer spending is the single most important sector of the economy. Together, we can keep a recession from happening. All we have to do is spend.
That is why Congress and the president are going to give each of us $600. When you get that money, it is your patriotic duty to spend it. Do not save it. Do not use it to pay down any debt. Spend it."
http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=67669
Published: February 20, 2008 11:58 AM
om
I don't get it! Why not just dispense with money altogether? This way we just walk into any store and pick up what we need. When the store runs out of stuff, products have to be produced. No money = infinite demand = infinite supply. Now on the other hand, why stop at $600? Let's pass a law that all credit cards have infinite credit - now, infinite money = infinite demand = infinite supply. Either way you look at it nirvana is within our grasp.
Published: February 20, 2008 12:58 PM
Inquisitor
Gee, if only economists could be as perceptive as that. Who knew the economic problem would be solved if only we abolished money!?
Published: February 20, 2008 1:03 PM
Useless Spectator
Hmm, I think it is the opposite of Whip Inflation Now. WIN was a program to reduce consumption, whereas this "stimulus" deal is supposed to increase consumption.
Published: February 20, 2008 2:42 PM
adam
Don't max your credit cards! Spend money that is yours, not borrowed. That will ultimately make the economy go round and not slip in to a recession. If you spend credit and go into debt, then that just makes people go bankrupt and have bad credit and hurts the economy in the long run. Spend money you have and not money on credit, that will stimulate the economy in a healthy way.
Published: February 20, 2008 3:06 PM
adam
people are saving and investing a whole lot more now instead of spending. so maybe, saving could be now seen as a bad thing, or financial terrorism if it is extreme. spending is very important to the economy.
Published: February 20, 2008 3:09 PM
raffles
ironically, excessive credit and spending were seen as tools of the commies in propaganda films.
Published: February 20, 2008 3:41 PM
Chris
I can think of an alternative meaning from the title of this article: That inflation will become so rampant in the near future that we should max out our credit cards. The tens of thousands of dollars we go into debt will become a mere pittance in that scenario.
Published: February 20, 2008 3:47 PM
Jeremy
Love the sarcasm and carefully laid arguments, like:
Let's give infinite credit to people - people will grab everything in the stores, which will stimulate production and the economy until we reach a state of nirvana.
Genius.
Published: February 21, 2008 3:18 AM
marxbites
I'm buying gold with mine as fast as I can!
Published: February 21, 2008 5:20 PM
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Published: July 8, 2008 11:38 PM