by Sam Weaver

Created on: February 21, 2009

Americans buying things they don't need with money they don't have on credit they cannot afford will no longer fuel the global economy. The longer the world holds onto this model of mindless consumerism, the longer and deeper this economic downturn will be. The Obama administration is applying band-aids to a bleeding artery. No matter how much money we throw at the problems of our current economic engine, it won't change the reality that we have gotten as much as we can out of the model of spending the vast majority of a products cost on marketing and shipping, and giving the vast majority of profits to Wall Street to speculate on which company's or sector's hype will fuel a big market movement that can be leveraged and multiplied.

I would love to be able to give the people in government or Wall Street the six word answer that they need to make this go away. However, neither Washington or Wall Street will be the ones who solve this problem. Everyday Americans were seduced by Hollywood marketers to get on the bandwagon of buying things they didn't need and couldn't afford, and the way out of this mess is to have these same Americans to just say no. Unfortunately, saying no will not fix our economy and if all we do is to just say no, then we are headed toward the deflationary spiral that will lead to depression and despair.

So, in addition to saying no to all of the acts that make up mindless consumerism, each one of us needs to find a way to produce a good or service that provides value to others at a price that they can afford. And then we need to start producing. Each of us needs to ask ourselves: Am I spending my money on something that I truly need or am I spending my money on something that an advertisement has convnced me that my life will not be comeplete without it? The next step in controlling our purchases is to look at what we are supporting with the money we spend. Are we supporting Wall Street or are we supporting our neighbors? Are we supporting people who will in turn support us with their purchases?

This will shrink demand. Many of the jobs that we are used to working at, will disappear. Those who are positioned to leave the cubicle and supply their neighbors with services and products they need will be the winners in the recovery. We're human. This economic growth will once again fuel an engine for growth and corporations, Wall Street and global economies will flourish. For it to be more sustainable than what we have, we need to not be fooled by the illusion of desire created by Hollywood and products and services that deliver us excellent food, a comfortable place to live and leisure time to pursue the passion that each person has.

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