The Behrend Beacon I 4
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Common Sensinomics
By Chris Brown
copy editor
cmbs3l3@psu.edu
A recession for the U.S. economy
seems to be inevitable. Soaring energy
costs, the declining dollar value, the dry
ing up of capital for businesses, the
increasing number of bankruptcies, and
the growing number of foreclosures in
the United States add up to a long road
ahead for the economy. Congress has
stalled on a stimulus package that will
most likely end up being too little and
too late for any real effect anyways.
While the talking-heads on T.V. can't
agree on what all this means for the
future of the economy, almost all agree
we have not seen the worst of it vet.
1 was watching MTV's serial docu
mentary program True Life the other
day. This episode followed young
Americans in their early 20s who had
forgotten too far in debt and were strug
gling to pay their bills or were going
through bankruptcy. One of them had
bought a house she couldn’t afford and
expensive furniture she didn’t need.
Another was living in her parent’s
garage because she had no money. At
one point she visited her bankruptcy
lawyer to go over paperwork, and of all
things she could have had in her hand,
she had that oh-so-needed status symbol
of a Starbuck's cup. I was shocked. This
image stuck out to me more than any
thing else.
Here was a person who couldn’t make
rent, didn’t have a steady job, and was
filing bankruptcy, but she somehow
managed to scrounge up enough money
to buy a cup of over-priced, sugary, cof
fee. 1 suspect this was not an isolated
incident. This example illustrates an
important point about the state of our
economy that the numbers don't reflect:
for all practical purposes the words
‘need’ and ‘want’ are now synonyms in
American vernacular.
Today, if one person gets a new car,
all of their neighbors need one also. As
soon as the latest gadgets come out,
everyone needs to get one. Today’s
spending habits are driven more by
greed and attempts to define one’s self
worth through their material possesions.
List-maker learns how
to live spontaneously
by Aeriale Kramer
contributing writer
aakslol(S'psu.edu
Growing up, I was an avid plan
ner. From laying out my clothes
the night before so 1 already
knew what to wear the next day. to what
1 would say if the guy I had a crush on at
the time decided to ask me out. 1 had the
world in the palm of my hand.
Schedules, agendas, and lists took up a
good portion of my free time, and if they
weren’t planned, I had my own ideas of
how conversations should run, and how
situations should turn out.
It wasn’t that I was domineering, as I
was a rather quiet person, I just hap
pened to think that if I planned life out,
if I mapped every eorner, every angle,
then I would never be disappointed
A friend told me to not
write in my agenda for a
week and I just laughed.
Who were they kidding?
Everyone needed a plan;
everyone needed to
know which way their
life was heading, and
when to duck when
something was coming your way that
you weren't exactly expecting.
Then, one day, it hit me, out of the
blue, completely unexpected, complete
ly and wonderfully unpredicted. I could
n't even begin to say when I started
being spontaneous, and stopped living
life so utterly scheduled.
It suddenly felt great to go to shop
ping at the mall and randomly see a
movie instead. People think it’s such an
abstract thought to live life by an agen
da, but a few years ago, it was the only
life 1 knew, and unabashedly loved.
I gradually began to give up making
so many lists, writing down unspoken
conversations, and not planning out
everything in my agenda. 1 learned how
to live life instead of taking notes now
and promising to live later. 1 learned that
the only way to experience life is to not
think so much, not plan so much, and
most certainly not let a set schedule get
O‘PTNTOK
I’m not quite sure who so blame, the
predatory lender and savvy salesperson
or the person who spends beyond their
means. Do we blame drug dealers or the
drug addicts? Both, drug dealers and
greedy corporations, sell instant gratifi
cation that require people borrow
against their future in order to purchase.
Yesterday, retailers released figures
that showed consumer spending
dropped precipitously over the last few
months, dealing the latest blow to the
American economy. As reported by the
New York Times , consumer spending
accounts for two-thirds of economic
growth; a decline almost guarantees a
recession. I can almost hear the blame
game beginnining. Democrats will
blame Republicans, Republicans-
Democrats. Bush will blame Congress,
Congress-Bush. Current Federal
Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will
blame former Chairman Alan
Greenspan.
I think there will be enough blaming
to go around. But, I want to take my
own share of responsibility for the
decline, cause you see. I’m one of those
consumers that refuses to buy things I
don’t need or spend money 1 don’t have.
So partly the decline in consumer spend
ing is my fault; sorry.
After almost every economic reces
sion economists develop a ‘new’ theory
so past mistakes don’t repeat them
selves. After the Great Depression,
Classical economics gave way to
Keynesian macroeconomics. Stagflation
in the 1960’s gave way to Monetarism.
Declining productivity in the late 1970 s
brought Reaganomics and trickle-down
ccononmics. And the economic reces
sion of the early 1990 s led to even more
ideas on how to think about economics.
No doubt, economists will come up with
some hot-new theory to explain the les
sons learned from this most recent eco
nomic decline.
However, I think the next economic
theory will be called Common-
Sensinomics. It’s main premise: don’t
spend money you don’t have on things
you don’t need; don’t sell things people
don't need. I know, it goes against
everything we’ve been taught from
in the way of what just might happen.
Starting my car up on a rainy day, not
having a specific destination in mind,
but revving the engine up, regardless, is
now one of my specialties; I make sure
to get myself good and lost, with a cell
phone handy of course, and then just
drive. My friends now love it when I
show up in their driveway late at night,
never knowing where we’re headed, but
the fact that we’ll end up somewhere
unknown makes an evening seem that
much more exciting.
Nowadays, I might be in the middle of
last minute homework, but a knock on
my window at midnight, begging me to
come sledding is usually an offer I won’t
refuse.
To this day, I still surprise myself
quite a bit by how much I’ve changed.
Life was once a piece
of glass, ready to shat
ter apart if something
didn’t pan out the way
I’d imagined. Now, life
happens to be a big
Indiana Jones adven-
To this day ; I still
surprise myself
quite a bit by how
much I’ve
changed.
my feet mig
and I am loving every minute of it
Although spontaneous living has me
enthralled, I still pick out my clothes the
night before, and 1 might still have
expectations of what I think should hap
pen in certain situations. I’m no longer
the person that plans her life out to a tee
however, cringing when something
doesn’t pan out how it’s supposed to.
I am the person that smiles when it
rains as soon as I step outside to take the
dog for a walk, the person that laughs
when I get lost driving around at mid
night, knowing that I still have a test the
very next morning. I am the person who
lives life as it comes, not living accord
ing to a written-in agenda.
Living life with plans is not so awful;
just make sure to leave room for what
might be coming around the next comer,
or that road trip that requires no
Map Quest directions.
ture, never knowing
when the floor beneath
Memorable Super Bowl;
long winter without football
By Rachel Reeves
opinion editor
rcrsos7@psu.edu
This year’s Super Bowl was every
thing anyone could have asked
for (excepting the odd Patriot’s
fan.) The horrendously underestimated
underdog held on all through the long,
gritty game and scored on the clinching
drive. The insufferable, cocky favorite
crumbled under the pressure that they
once thrived on. And all of America cel
ebrated as perfection
was foiled and reality All of America
was graced with a little
touch of the impossi- celebrated as per-
myself was speech- fectiotl WOS failed
less for at least three an( j reality WaS
minutes after the clock
ran out. No one bitterly graced with a little
proclaimed the r ~
Patriot’s automatic win tOUCh Oj the impOS
more insistently than I sible
had. No one was more ’
sure of the outcome
than I had been. But I watched the
Giants eat my words. As beautiful as
Tom Brady admittedly is, watching him
get sacked immediately and repeatedly
was even better.
Best of all, I got sweet justification as
a Green Bay fan. Not only can I not
begrudge a team that took out the unde
feated, but I can stand losing to a team
that the Brady-Belichick superpower
lost to as well. And it was so nice to see
the Lombardi trophy go back to an NFC
team once again.
But the Super Bowl is over, and I’m
staring down the barrel of seven long
months without any football in it. Some
people count the Pro Bowl as actual
football, but if Favre is not in a Green
bay Packer’s jersey it’s only half a sport.
I think the world needs...
Super Tuesday parties. America has Super Bowl parties. Chips
and dip and beer, and all of your friends sitting on the couch
placing bets and enjoying the best commercials of the year.
Oscar parties are also popular. It’s usually a good excuse to put
on the prom dress that you’re madly in love with but have only
worn once and make elaborate snack foods with your friends.
Well, why not Super Tuesday parties? Everyone could dress up
like their favorite candidates,which would admittedly be for
most people dress shoes with dress slacks, a white shirt with the
sleeves rolled up and a red tie. Maybe yellow depending on your
skin tone. And, of course, the odd coral pantsuit.
Appetizers could be served while the votes start coming in and
the talking heads begin to gear up. Conversation could fill in the
gaps between the candidate’s speeches. Guests could place bets
to thier hearts’ desire, or take a shot each time thier favorite
candidate wins a state. Best of all, instead of an annual event,
you have four whole years to plan the next extravganza.
A SUPER
TUESDAY ■£
n PARTY! "
Friday, February 8, 2008
I personally, watch the competitions
before the game, and watch on Sunday
to catch my last glimpse of football and
sunlight.
Last weekend was a chilling preview
of the winter ahead. I did homework, I
called a friend or two, 1 watched TV
movies. I shamefully admit to succumb
ing to figure skating for a few moments
before I could pull together some
strength and turn off the TV. I know that
I used to occupy my time on Sunday
afternoons before football season start
ed, but I can’t remember
how. Maybe I really did
sit and stare at the blank
television, longing for
football, until bedtime.
March Madness is
coming on quickly, and
that is one redeeming
prospect. Although the
squeak of sneakers on
the basketball court is
not the same as of hel-
mets and pads crunching
in a head-on collision, it
will hold me over until spring comes.
There is tennis and golf soon, which is
pleasant to do homework and nap to.
While we’re at it, there is always the
cooking channel and infomercials. I
could master the subtle differences
between NFL and Arena football, maybe
even support a local indooor team. I
could expand my reading, or learn
Italian, or quantum physics. 1 could
learn how to build a time machine and
go back to August when preseason
starts.
No. Nothing 1 can think of is going to
fill that football-shaped hole in my
heart. So I’ll just have to wait and dream
until the next football season. Who
knows, maybe Green Bay will go all the
way next year...
As a true conservative President
I will deal with the immigration
pro Worn, confirms cutting taxes i
and pursue the terrorists wherever
they may be!
And to honor the legacy
of the great Ronald
CONTRIBi
:artoon by frank weltner
lUTED C.