Conservative Voice

Recently in a press conference, President Bush asked us to take a deep breath and keep this economic slump in perspective. I think he’s right. The economy is in bad shape, but the country is not. We have core strengths that are not going away. Economic cycles have a lot to do with psychology and shifts in momentum. So it’s important to remember what makes our country strong and why it can and will recover.

Our Resources
We have abundant natural resources. Our greatest resource is our educated, creative, hard-working people. We have the market structure in place to allow for creativity and provide rewards for taking risks and working hard. Our economic system, though weaker than usual now, is the strongest system in the world. And it is still growing. It is only “worse” because it is not growing as fast. We are still creating, producing, and buying more and better products every year, not less – even during these hard times.

Hard work
Americans have always worked hard. Unemployment is still at a historically low level, so nearly every American who wants to work has the opportunity to work. We need to remember that collectively, our hard work is what makes our country remain strong and grow. This doesn’t mean we should be just blindly clocking in each day for the boss, but rather, actively looking for ways to do our jobs better and more creatively. And not just to make our companies more competitive, but for our own personal good – for promotions, bonuses and other financial rewards. That’s the beauty of a free market with the rule of law firmly in place – there are always incentives and rewards for creative, hard work.

Savings and investment
This may be our greatest weakness now. America has forgotten the value of putting off spending now for greater wealth later. Payday check franchise growth and non-stop radio advertisements to get out of paying the credit card companies are evidences of this flawed trend in our society. The social responsibility that used to come with debt has been weakened. But hopefully society is waking up to the adverse effects of this trend. We are still smart enough to see the value of saving and creating a nest egg to get us through tough times. Like our grandparents who lived through the great depression, hard times will help us remember what it felt like when the economy is weak. As the president said, “I don’t need to tell people what to do. They are smart enough to see the signals of the free market.” That has become very apparent as fuel consumption has dropped dramatically in response to high prices. We know what we need to do to respond to the market, to force a return to equilibrium. We need to save more and spend within our means.

America will survive
We survived the great depression. We survived the oil shock in the 70s. We survived the savings and loan failures in the 80s. We survived the recession after 9/11. Remember when the Japanese were supposed to be taking over in the 80s? Now it’s the Chinese? If you’ve traveled to other countries, you can see the difference in culture, in economics, in respect for fairness, and it becomes clear why this is the greatest nation in the world. We need to remain a strong nation that values freedom and limited government intrusion into the system. If we remember the values that have always kept our economy strong and teach the next generation to work hard, to work smart, to invest in ourselves, and to leverage the great resources we have, the economy will become vibrant again and this slump will be another memory – another survival badge of honor.