ZERO COST TO YOU
When Dr. Frisky Walker pulled up into our backyard one
evening to show my father his new Pontiac station wagon, my
father was duly impressed. "How much did it cost you, Frisky?"
my father asked. "Well, Rollo," Frisky answered. "It didn't cost
me anything." Through further questioning, my father elic
ited the information that Frisky had traded his old car on the
new Pontiac and the monthly payments were the same, so it
was not costing him any more by the month, even though, of
course, he had a big, new loan to pay off. As Frisky's taillights
receded, my father shook his head. Once he made it through
the Depression and the War buying used cars from people he
knew, he prided himself on buying a new Ford every three years
for cash. It just didn't occur to him to borrow money to buy an
automobile. Frisky represented the future that day in our back
yard, a future my father would never know.
My father represented the past in which people made do
with what they had until they could afford to do better. He
lived in a small town that was dependent on the surrounding
farming country, and they had all been through hard times.
Farmers got credit against their crops for seed and fertilizer,
and if the mule got sick, the vet would treat it for collards or
quail, if necessary. Same with the doctor. There wasn't much
cash in the economy, and less credit. That's why my father was
so nonplussed at the idea that somebody could just go to the
bank and borrow the money
to buy a new car, especially
when the one he had still
worked perfectly well.
All the current discus
sion and debate about
the economy hinges on
consumer confidence; every
body seems to agree that the way to get this country moving
again is for people to be willing to borrow and spend and for
banks to be willing to finance them. Of course, jobs are the
prerequisite, but the role of jobs is to give people the confi
dence to buy the big-ticket items. The assumption all around is !
that we will not become prosperous again until our people are
willing and able to buy stuff. That's exactly the opposite idea
from what kept our grandparents (your great-grandparents)
going. They could make it if they saved and went without. We
can make it if we borrow and spend, and if we do, our economy
can make it.
Of course, the role of government in getting our economy
moving is the dividing line in figuring out what to do. In the
attempt to end the Depression, the government stepped in
with programs designed to increase jobs and programs to curb
the economic abuses that had contributed to the Depression.
Those programs had mixed results, and those that have not
been abolished are under attack today. Opponents of govern
ment intervention in the economy say that only the ach nt of
World War II ended the Depression.
Of course WWII was a government operation all the way.
The government took over the economy. All our industries were
running at full capacity. The demand for workers was so strong
that women went to work in the factories. We had strictly lim
ited consumption. No new cars were manufactured. Food, gaso
line and other necessities were rationed. Our industries were
running around the clock at full employment. Everybody was
making money, but there was not much to spend it on. People
were forced to save their money. By the end of the war, people
had money, and they were ready to consume. That period of
doing without and our new wealth made us the most prosper
ous nation on Earth, and the trick has been how to keep that
boom going once the demand was met. That's why everybody
keeps up the pressure to consume, rather than rethinking the
economy and basing it on demand for necessities and their
production.
That pent-up demand carried us through the post-war years
and all the way to Vietnam. Since then, our wars have been
catered, with the effects hidden from us, the costs not showing
up in the budget or in public discourse. Listen to politicians
decrying the cost of government and blaming Social Security
and Medicare. How often do they mention our three wars that
are burning through billions every minute? Meanwhile, they
make us believe that if we would all just buy new Pontiacs,
everythinq would be fine, and it wouldn't cost us anything.
Pete McCommons editor©flagpole com
We can make it if
we borrow and spend,
and if we do, our
economy can make it.
THIS WEEK’S ISSUE:
[MEWS (is FEATURES
City Dope 4
Athens News and Views
The river district feasibility study is complete Is anyone paying attention?
Cobbloviate 6
“Was” May Look Just Like “Is,” But It Isn’t
How Georgia's new immigration law is like the old Black Codes and how it’s not
Apnn
EVE1MT
The Reader 7
Stupid and Contagious
Taking Punk to the Masses is a definite keeper for anyone who loves the bands of the Pacific Northwest.
Film Notebook 11
News of Athens' Cinema Scene
Cme s Summer Classic Movie Series continues July 22 with Ernst tubitsch's Cluny Brown
COVER DESIGN by Kelly Ruberto
featuring a painting by Lamar Dodd on
display at the Georgia Museum of Art
GMUSO©
Threats & Promises 12
Music News and Gossip
Songwriting classes for kids' New music from Viking Progress! Secret Record Swap' And more...
Mixtape Wars 13
Musical Essence: NeSmith vs. Condescending
Jason NeSmith (Casper & the Cookies) and Don Condescending (The Shut-Ups) go head to head.
CITY DOPE 4
CITY PAGES 5
CAPITOL IMPACT 6
COBBLOVIATE 6
THE READER 7
THEATRE NOTES 8
i ART NOTES 9
MOVIE DOPE 10
FILM N0TFB00K 11
THREATS & PROMISES 12
I
MIXTAPE WARS 13
SLOPFEST 14
CAMP AMPED 15
THE CALENDAR' 16
BULLETIN BOARD 20
ART AROUND TOWN 21
COMICS 22
REALITY CHECK 23
CLASSIFIEDS ^ 24
EVERYDAY PEOPLE. .*? 27
i* WEM M
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ISSUE NUMBER 28
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