Is the main problem of our economy really based on self absorption?

Answer 1

Self absorption, yes I do.. most certainly added to the way Bush is throwing our hard earned income at this that and the other. It is all in how it is marketed... and it does keep the economy going. I think it was the Regan administration that proved to me that deficits work.

It is not a philosophy that I subscribe to ... I was raised by Depression kids and debt make me very uncomfortable. As things stand...I wonder every day if and when the whole thing starts to unravel and comes tumbling down as quick as the World Trade Center did on 9/11. But that's just me....

Answer 2

Self absorption? Do you mean self-indulgence?

Adam Smith, the eighteenth century economist who defined and promoted our system of capitalism thought that self-indulgence was good for the economy because it kept money in circulation. He also thought that laissez-faire was the best government policy (in other words, the government should keep out of the business of business).

Later, John Maynard Keynes disagreed. He didn't particularly argue against self-indulgence, but he believed that government should play a much bigger part in regulating the economy.

When Roosevelt became President during the Great Depression, he tried to resist the ideas of Keynes. However, he surrounded himself with bright, young economists like John Kenneth Galbraith, who died last year. Galbraith thought that the only way to end the depression was for the government to run up budget deficits in order to pour money into public projects, like the Tennessee Valley Authority, Civilian Conservation Corps, and Social Security.

Roosevelt reluctantly tried the Keynes-Galbraith approach, and it worked. Of course, in those days, our annual deficits and national debt were extremely small compared to today.

When Harvard economist Robert Reich joined the Clinton Administration as Secretary of Labor, his fear was that we are becoming a two-tiered society. One tier highly educated, with good occupations and professions, good income, and diversified investments. The other tier desperately poor. Little education, poor-paying jobs, living a paycheck or two away from poverty. The great middle that distinguished the U.S. from most other countries is gradually shrinking.

To an extent, I agree with all of them. In his time, Adam Smith's formula created the wealthy nations of Western Europe, North America, and Australia.

After the turn of the twentieth century, nations were in danger of being run by monopolies, and government had to pass anti-trust acts to keep any one corporation from gaining total control. So, Keynes and Galbraith were right about getting out of the depression and making the U.S. the world's greatest producer nation.

But, as automation and cybernation began to replace people in the well-paying factory jobs that didn't require much education, an economic elite emerged, and the working class became comparatively poorer and poorer.

Today, we can look at the data developed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and see that Robert Reich has good reason to be concerned. The jobs that are disappearing fastest are those of the mid-range income.

Just as the world is divided between the rich countries and the poor countries, our own nation is becoming divided between the haves and the have-nots. And, I don't think that self-indulgence has very much to do with it. (Except that the poor become poorer when they turn to credit and run up impossible debts.)

I hope that this clarifies the picture for you.

Answer 3

No, I think the main problem is government meddling in the economy. You can't flush a toilet without regulation getting involved to set the maximum gallons per flush limit. Look it up.


If you look at any messed up sector of the economy it only takes one eye and half sense to see that the greedy hand of government is at work. Messing it up.

The current health care mess is a good example. It started with the medicare program in the 60's which created a drain on the federal budget. Every time they try to fix it they've created another set of problems all without reducing the drain on the budget. The health care insurance mess was created by the fixes to the medicare problem.

Answer 4

Yeah but I also believe it is debt the dollar is very strong but its stretched sooooo thin we need to take care of some of our debt to make the dollar stronger and stop buying so much from other countries as well but thats hard we all need are playstation 2's :)

Answer 5

Certainly! We have become a nation of consumers. Our society dictates a certain amount of competiveness as well. We are all self-absorbed. Me, me, me!

Answer 6

self indulgence