Consumers, Confidence & the Economy: What You Can Do to Help

We individual consumers should, as a community, take steps to support and strengthen the U.S. and global economy. People’s confidence and our actions resulting from it are an important factor in rescuing and rebuilding the economy.

Yes, we need to be cautious about spending and should save money during this economic time, but we need to balance that with continuing to buying products and services to fuel the economy and keep the markets running. In today’s world, our jobs in various sectors are deeply interrelated in ways we don’t realize.

For example, if we stop eating at restaurants or shopping at stores, the restaurant and shops’ employees would lose jobs. The restaurants and shops would in turn stop spending money on advertising, resulting in job losses in the advertising sector. The suppliers to the restaurants and shops would also suffer. Sooner than we realize, it would come back and hit us. It is within our power as a community to save the situation.

We need to keep doing our part in the economy, supporting the businesses around us, so that they are able to keep supporting us.

Optimism and confidence are essential to human success. I urge you to consider doing some of the following each day:

• When you talk with your friends about the economic situation, talk about how you as an individual and community can do to help instead of talking about doom and gloom.
• Replace pessimism and fear with practical optimism and confidence. Value what you do have: Remember there are people in parts of this world to whom survival literally means keeping their families and themselves alive.
• Buy something. Avail of a service. This is a good time to get good deals on products and services.
• If you are in a position of influence in your organization, encourage your company to not lay off employees. Suggest alternatives to putting people out of work. Across the board pay reductions are far better for the economy than people losing jobs.
• Go online to learn about the current situation and the proposals out there to fix it. Urge your elected officials to take action on the proposals you believe would help.
• Share this or a similar message of your own with other people.