Mind Bender
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I am the consumer. I recently had the good fortune to receive a cash infusion
from the karma gods. With it, I carefully and immediately paid off all my
credit card and line of credit debt. I closed one of the cards, keeping only the
one with the low interest rate. I am giving up my Platinum American Express
card. I'm willing to sell my prized red Volvo convertible at a loss just to get
the loan off my books. I am trying to sell a home I bought last year before it
was built, as well as the home I live in now. What remaining investment I have
is in a money market fund. This year, for the first time, I have bought no new
fall clothing, and only one pair of new shoes.

You are the consumer. You are sending me your resume and contacting me through
mutual acquaintances because you think I know something or someone that you do
not. You were laid off by a failed dot-com or offered early retirement from your
job of twenty years. You are writing me from other cities to network regarding
technology opportunities in Phoenix. You are starting a business with a weak
concept, just to keep yourself engaged. You are making low-ball offers on my
house. You won't buy my red Volvo convertible at the reserve price on Ebay. You
are in front of me in the long line at Costco. You are listening to a talk show
about what it's like to occupy a foreign country, moderated by a writer who has
interviewed American military who served in occupied Japan and Germany. You have
both hands on the ends of your belt, pulling it in.

He is the consumer. He is testifying before a Congressional committee, telling
them that as chairman of the company's board, he talked to the CEO every day --
but allowed him the autonomy to run the company as he saw fit. He never attended
the management team meetings. He is offering to give back tens of millions to
the employees whose 401(k) plans were destroyed. He's always thought of himself
as a nice guy, and he sure doesn't want to go to jail. He didn't mean for any of
this to happen. His wife is watching their assets disappear and wondering who
this guy is that she married.

We are the consumer. We are the content for endless panels called "what if the
consumer stops spending?" on the news channels. We are offered 0% loans on cars
and the lowest mortgage rates in 30 years. Unable to avoid such good deals, we
refinance our homes and trade in our cars. We don't visit retail stores, and we
no longer buy things with designer logos on them. We don't want to admit we're
afraid, but we're trying to cut back, cut down, cut out.

We know it is a moment to make only the best decisions, and we try to think
carefully about what we should do. We create scenarios in our heads: "What if a
terrorist attacks again?" "What if I get laid off?" "What if we go to war
against Iraq?" We make plans for all these eventualities. All the while we are
watching CNBC and the programs about consumer spending. Even if we have money to
spend, we don't want to be the last consumer out there roaming around a
department store, so we cut back just to be in step.

We have just heard that it will be a short shopping season before Christmas, and
probably an unsuccessful one. Good. We have our excuses. We don't have to go
out there and brave the crowds, trying to get gifts for everyone on our list.
Justifiably, in a period of belt-tightening we can cut the list down and wait
for markdowns. We can cancel the company's Christmas Party: we never liked it
anyway.

We're in a world we haven't experienced before. Even the pundits say so.

But every day of life is a day we haven't experienced before. Why are we so
frightened? America has no debtor's prisons. The bankruptcy law changes are
stalled in Congress, taking a back seat to homeland security. Interest rates
are low. There has never been a better time to spend. And by not spending, we
are furthering the economy�s downward spiral.

There. I've done it. I've convinced myself. I will be sitting down to make a
shopping list. After all, I don't even have to make the first payments on
anything until after the first of the year. I am the consumer. I rule!