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PAGE 4A - THE COMMERCE (GA) NEWS, WEDNESDAY. FEBRUARY 11, 2009
mion
Editorial Views
For A Real Recovery,
Cut Personal Spending
Amid the talk of an $800 billion "economic
stimulus package," reductions in consumer
spending and consumer confidence and the
need to reverse those trends, one can get the
impression that the key to economic recovery
is to revert to spending patterns of the imme
diate past.
Certainly no economist or politician and
few retailers or manufacturers dare advise the
American public to reduce spending, increase
savings and avoid debt, because the economy
we long for was based on exactly the opposite.
The emergence of a public intent on living
within its means, let alone saving a few dol
lars, would prolong the recession.
Yet that is exactly what needs to happen for
the long-term good of the nation, and it must
happen in both the public and the private
sectors.
Thrift goes against public policy, where the
economy is the American god. Economic
interests trump national security, morality,
the welfare of our children and the health of
the planet. Even in the midst of an economic
collapse caused by excessive spending and
easy credit, public policy is to restore the
flawed economy rather than to learn from
its failure. That policy dooms us to repeating
this agony, but probably on a much larger
scale.
A growing amount of the American debt is
financed by foreigners; the ongoing bailout
proposals will increase that substantially. We
send billions of dollars to import fuel, much
of it going to regimes that are anti-American.
China may be a poor nation, but the United
States borrows the savings of its poor to fund
our excesses, giving China undue influence
over our foreign policy and over our domes
tic security.
The solution begins in every household in
America. It starts with people who pay down
their debt, put money into savings and live
in moderation. One household at a time,
Americans can regain control of their financ
es and create a stable, sustainable economy.
Their savings will finance new growth as
banks gain capital to lend to consumers for
big-ticket items from cars to houses and to
businesses that adapt to the changing econo
my. Their prudence will build economic secu
rity for themselves and the country.
Such an occurrence will prolong the reces
sion, but it will also assure that when recov
ery comes it is real. And while focusing on the
individual's economic welfare may be por
trayed as all but unpatriotic, any long-lasting
recovery must start at the bottom. Instead
of looking to the government to bail out the
public, the public must lead the government
out of economic chaos. The challenge is
substantial, but the alternative is a complete
financial and social collapse, the consequenc
es of which are unimaginable.
Editorials, unless otherwise noted, are written
by Mark Beardsley. He can be reached at mark@
mainstreetnews. com
Policy On Letters To The Editor
The Commerce News reserves space on its opinion
page for readers to express their views on current
issues. The News welcomes comments in response
to events in the news and to editorials or columns
expressing opinions.
Send letters to: Letters to the Editor, The Commerce
News, P.O. Box 459, Commerce, GA 30529, or email
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Letters must be signed and have a phone number
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to the public.
The Commerce News
ESTABLISHED IN 1875
USPS 125-320
1672 South Broad Street
Commerce, Georgia 30529
MIKE BUFFINGTON Co-Publisher
SCOTT BUFFINGTON Co-Publisher
MARK BEARDSLEY..Editor/General Manager
JUSTIN POOLE Sports Editor
TERESA MARSHALL Office Manager
MERRILL BAGWELL Cartoonist
THE COMMERCE NEWS is the legal organ
of the city of Commerce and is published
every Wednesday by MainStreet Newspapers
Inc. Periodical postage paid at Jefferson, Georgia
30549.
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COMMERCE NEWS. P.O. Box 908, Jefferson. GA.
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Blaming others for our mistakes is very immature.
After all, we elected them.
This Week, The Bell Tolled
After a week of
creeping around
huddled in jackets
with hoods, and so
swathed in scarves that
I probably looked like
a potential terrorist, I
stepped out the door
this morning dressed
for the worst (from
sheer habit), and
voila! — the worm had
not only turned, but had been eaten
by a broad-breasted robin. Spring had
somehow sneaked in while I slept.
Daffodils were blooming in my yard,
and boy did I feel silly in my terror
ist garb now that the temperature had
gone up by 50 degrees.
So it was with spring bursting onto
the scene that I learned of Vincent
Eterno's death the other day, and there
went the spring, from my step and
from my heart.
A lot of people knew Vince. He was
the 'V' in J&V Locksmith, with a store
and office on Central Avenue, across
from Common Road Bakery — but
when I first met him, the 'J' in J&V
was still around. This was Vince's dad,
Joseph Eterno; the two of them were
in business together. I never figured
out which was smarter. Both men were
savvy enough to do something they
loved, and although the library has
some fairly complicated lock situa
tions (fire doors, one-way locks, etc.),
I never threw anything at those two
that they couldn't solve or correct or
improve.
Vince moved the business to the
Central Avenue location just in time
to rescue me one morning when I
couldn't get my car key to turn in
the ignition switch.
He not only fixed the
problem — he also
showed me what to
do if it ever recurred.
Then he refused to let
me pay him! "I didn't
do anything!" he said.
"I didn't cut you any
keys. Don't worry," he
added. "You'll need
me again sometime."
And so I did. Over the years, he
fixed the locks on the library's out
door book drops, upgraded locks
that had worn out, performed major
surgery on one of our fire doors, and
provided additional non-duplicating
keys. I called him knowing that he
would arrive promptly, work expertly,
charge reasonably (or not at all — he
frequently donated his services to the
library), and leave quickly. I also knew
that we could trust him completely. I
appreciated his expertise and his lively
intelligence, and the way he seemed to
find life amusing.
John Donne famously said in one
of his poems, "Any man's death
diminishes me," and I've always had
reservations about that. I know what
he meant; I just think the world was
a smaller and simpler place back in
the 1500s. But Vince's death — even
though I really hardly knew him — is
like a light going out; it takes some
of the shine from the world. The idea
that this quick, kind, and funny man
with the snapping brown eyes won't
be among us now is hard to absorb.
Good-bye, Vince — and thanks!
Susan Harper is director of the
Commerce Public Library. She lives in
Commerce.
A Few
Facts t A
Lot Of
Gossip 2
BY SUSAN HARPER
Happy Valentine’s Day
What do you give
the woman you love
for Valentine's Day?
I've thought about the
normal things: flow
ers, cards, candy, din
ners for two, couples'
massages, jewelry,
teddy bears, salon
services, clothing and
the list goes on and on
and on. But each year,
what should be one of
the most intimately cherished celebra
tions between couples develops into
a race to secure a reservation at an
overpriced restaurant and tickets to a
movie that neither of you truly care to
see.
Returning to my original question,
I remain unable to select the perfect
gift. While I understand that another
year of life and love is in itself a gift,
part of my genetic makeup won't
allow me to go without presenting
my wife with something that demon
strates the love and appreciation I feel
for her.
Looking for an original gift idea is
difficult. Jim Croce stole my idea of
saying I love you in a song. So Becca,
before you laugh out loud and cover
your face in embarrassment, I prom
ise I'm not going to show up at the
Primary School to sing you a song,
but if I did, what kind of song would
it be? Could I somehow mimic the
sultry soulfulness of A1 Green? Could
I paint as clear a pic
ture of lovers bliss as
Marvin Gaye? I doubt
it. I may be able to
parody one or the
other. I may be able
coerce your students
into singing with me.
I may even be able to
play a love song over
the school's intercom
system, with your
principal's permission
of course, before I show up in your
room with flowers and candy.
All of these ideas and more enter
my mind each February as this week
end's holiday draws closer. So, what
do I get? How do I express my love? I
guess I'll have to step out of my com
fort zone and tell you I love you in
front of the thousands of readers who
glance at these pages each week. Here
goes...
I love you when you wake up on my
side of the bed, I love you when you
care so much about your students at
school, I love you when you selflessly
give up your free time to help your
grandparents.
I love you when you put your
freezing-cold feet on me, I love you
when you ask me to share the couch
and "cuddle," I love you when you tell
me the dinner I prepared tastes good.
I love you when you let me vent and
Please Turn to Page 5A
Viewpoints
In
Rotation
BY HASCO CRAVER
It’s
Gospel
According
To Mark
BY MARK BEARDSLEY
The Recovery
Won’t Look
Like The Past
You don't have to look far to
find grim economic news. Nor
to read somebody's scenario for
when the "recovery" will come.
Optimists say it could begin in
late fall, pessimists, well, bad
times may never end.
I just wonder what it will look
like.
When stocks are doing well
and suddenly the market falls
one day, analysts like to say
the market "corrected" for
overvalued stocks. I think this
recession is a "correction" for
decades of consumer spending.
Maybe an over-correction.
No matter how you approach
the economic crisis, the con
clusion is that Americans were
over-spending. We bought
not just houses and SUVs, but
across the board we lived above
our means — like the federal
government — spending money
we didn't have.
When the house of cards
collapsed, spending habits
changed. I read that Americans,
fearful of losing jobs, are actu
ally saving three percent of
their income now. With fewer
people working and the rest
holding onto their money, of
course spending is down, so
more layoffs come and the cycle
deepens.
When it eventually settles
I'm not sure we'll recognize
it because the new economy
will feature a lot less consumer
spending. We'll buy smaller
houses (and fewer, because folks
will have to put money down
and will find credit tighter), and
smaller vehicles because they're
more efficient. Post-recession
Americans won't feel a need to
replace computers, cell phones
and Blackberries every time a
new model comes out, and the
$4 specialized coffee drink will
be a treat, not a daily purchase.
Some people will still live
beyond their means, but
enough of us will be prudent
that consumer spending is not
likely to return to 2006 levels
without significant inflation.
We will not "recover" to the
kind of economy we once had.
Sorting this out will be dif
ficult and will take time.
Government at all levels will
have to adjust to less income.
We see how painful this is for
the General Assembly, local
school boards and many cities
and counties this year. It's not
going to end with the current
fiscal year. They'll have to adapt
— and we'll adapt with them.
Discretionary spending — that
not essential to living — drives
the economy. For too long,
we've defined our "wants" as
our "needs" and spent accord
ingly. All of that money circu
lated created a false prosperity,
now exposed.
Our recovery will take place,
but we should neither expect
it nor want it to reach 2006-07
levels, because if it does we will
not have learned anything. The
Great Depression taught our
parents and grandparents to live
within their means. We must
learn the same lesson.
Mark Beardsley is editor of The
Commerce News. He can be reached
at mark@mainstreetnews.com