The “New”
The New Economy. The New Frugality. The New Normal. Fallout from the recent Great Recession is intense and it has lasted a long time now. Worker production is up, incomes are flat (at best) and everyone is still on pins and needles. Government seems at a loss about how to proceed, and the unemployment rate won’t budge. Many pundits, economists, and even elected officials suggest that we could be entering into a new way of life that is fundamentally different from the boom times of the 90s and early 2000s. Here are a couple of recent perspectives on “new”:
One of the books that got me interested in personal finance and business in general was “The New Frugality” by Chris Farrell. He takes a hard line that America’s hyper-consuming ways have changed and will stay changed for the foreseeable future. He lays out strategies and perspectives on saving, spending, and meeting the demands of the “new” economy. It is definitely worth a read.
On the other hand, pundits like Catherine Rampell warn against such definitive statements. In this recent blog post she presents a historical perspective on “new” thinking. She points out that economists have predicted fundamental shifts in American economic timbre before, but old habits always return to the fore. She concedes that conditions are likely to stay dire for a few years, but get this: bear with me now… take a deep breath… repeat after me… a few years is not forever.
