Economic denial
I’ve said many times that I am no economist. I admit it. But I do think that I am a man with a fair amount of common sense. And from…
I've said many times that I am no economist. I admit it. But I do think that I am a man with a fair amount of common sense. And from where I sit, it does not seem like it should take more than a "fair amount of common sense" to see that, where our economic situation is concerned, some action is needed and fast.
The other night I was watching the news and there were these guys (Senators actually) with these charts showing how a trillion dollars would make a pile so big or how it would circle the earth so many times or reach to the moon and back and at the same time they were saying how the proposed economic stimulus package was just a bunch of spending. And it hit me that these guys are in complete denial. For one thing, this trillion dollars (or almost) is needed because that is the size of the mess it is needed to clean up. Face it. We have a BIG problem here and it is going to take a BIG fix.
As to the spending part ... well isn't that what an "economic stimulus" is? You put money in circulation right? You get people working and making some money and then they spend it and that stimulates the economy ... no? So why it is it so shocking that the package contains so many million for park maintenance and so much for alternative energy research and so forth. Isn't that the idea? People are fixing sprinklers and maintaining equipment and they need stuff so they use the money to buy what they need and so on? I realize this is a simplistic way to look at it but essentially it makes sense to me.
Handing everyone a few hundred dollars in the form of a tax cut or a "rebate" at a time when federal, state and local governments are strapped to the wall financially does not.
We are going to have to realize that "business as usual" is not going to get us out of this mess. It is literally "the end of the world as we know it" and the sooner we get this into our heads and get out of this state of denial, the better. This may not seem like it has anything to do with woodworking but in the sense that we are in the business of woodworking, it has everything to do with woodworking. If I am missing something here, feel free to point it out.
D.D.
David DeCristoforo possesses an extensive resume as designer/maker of fine furniture, high-end cabinetry and architectural woodwork. His experience in professional woodworking spans a period of 35 years. For the past 20 years David DeCristoforo Design has been located in Woodland, California. During this time David's shop has ranged in scope from a "full on" cabinet production shop with as many as 15 employees to a small fine furniture and custom millwork shop, working with his son, David RBJ, a highly skilled maker in his own right.
