If it ain't broke...

An old buddy of mine, let's call him Raul the fork truck driver, has an expression that is especially relevant to these troubled economic times. "If it ain't broke, break it." This sounds a bit counter intuitive and I know the connection is not immediate here, but trust me, you're gonna get this. The economy is dependent on the flow of money, products and services. When things spiral downhill, people buy less products and services. Companies cut costs, people lose jobs. People then can buy even less products and services. And so on. To prevent and get out of death spirals like this, something needs to stimulate the economy. One approach is to throw some money and see how much it will spin the wheels. Sort of like push-starting an old diesel car. Pop the clutch and the engine may kick in. Another way to look at it is to stimulate the "demand" side. Yep. hard to do with broke, scared, or stingy people. "Break it." In this case, break the comfort people have battening down the hatches. Give them a reason not to want something, but to need it. No, I'm not talking about a stupid TV converter. No one needs to see commercial-laden programming like the Tyra Banks show. But how can we convince people they need to buy something? Certainly not by getting nerdy spokespeople to lecture us on how we can save the planet. Tell people their DOG will die if they don't go buy some doggie health food right away. Tell them they will get a serious illness if they don't immediately go to their local bar and have a few drinks. Tell them their kids will become parent abusers if they don't immediately enroll them in gymnastics, swimming, or whatever. It's broke. Now go fix it. That'll get the money flowing. Rock out.