I Don't Get It

This excerpt from an op-ed by Micheal Kinsley in the NYT perfectly articulates the mixed message we are getting from "experts" in the media who tell us how to manage our money and care for our nation's economy. Am I the only one who's confused?

So should I buy that coffee maker (or insert whatever gizmo you may be looking at in a store) to stimulate the economy? Or should I save the money in order to “grow” the economy and provide for my own old age? I can’t do both.

This is the dilemma that 30 years of Reaganomics (the real Reaganomics — keeping the economy overstimulated with huge deficits and irresponsible consumer borrowing — not the fantasy Reaganomics of government run like a family and tax cuts that pay for themselves) has left us with. So what do we do? The nearest thing to an actual plan seems to be something like this: stimulate first, to avert various short-term disasters, and then — at some signal from the Treasury Department — turn around and start saving like mad, to avert various long-term disasters. In other words, we need to get back our consumer confidence, and then lose it again.

We hear about the horrendous credit card spending and other debt that is consuming the paychecks of many working people. In the next breath, we hear that banks are being urged to "free up" consumer lending.

Huh?

I guess my economic policy ignorance is showing, cuz I don't get it. And, by the way, thanks, Reaganomics.

This is my precious grandchild, Phoebe Josephine Savvas, born July 31, 2008. The first leader of our country whose name she'll articulate will be President Obama's. Life is beautiful!