Randall on the Road

A challenge to YOU*:

1. Start talking positively about things. If someone asks you your opinion about the economy, tell them it’s up to us–me, you, them–to change it. Then CHANGE it! One dollar at a time.
   
2. Spend some money–buy a vacation or a new coat or even a grande latte at your favorite coffee shop.
   
3. Challenge 10 friends (and your entire Twitter / Facebook list) to do the same.
4. And do it again tomorrow, and the next day, and the next.
5. Let’s use social networking to turn attitudes around! Much of the economy is based on emotions, and fear does nothing to help.
   

I was almost overwhelmed with frustration when reading the front page story of my local newspaper today: “After all the bad news, there’s more bad news.”

A simple question: when will economists—and business/economy journalists—start providing suggestions on how individuals can turn the sinking economy around.

This may be an oversimplification, but it seems to me the minute one U.S. mega-bank failed, the whole world put their wallets away and decided to wait for somebody else (governments, apparently) to spend first. Governments can only do so much. And isn’t it us who are funding them. That eventually brings it back to each individual, no?

Personally, with every dollar I spend these days (and I’m trying very hard to not participate in the recession), I say to myself, “this money helps keep the economy moving. I’m doing my part to turn the ship around.”

Note: While I realize those who have already lost jobs are in desperate circumstances, the majority of North Americans still have our incomes. Only by jolting the economy–and that means spending–can jobs be re-created for everyone.

*I’m no economist or expert, just a guy who’s reasonably smart, and who is fed up with the media’s daily dose of doom. Common sense says it’s up to you and me to turn it around. Join me in trying it?