Rich folks should shop till they drop - DEMAND AND SUPPLY

Nothing could be worse for the world economies than for people everywhere to decide at the same time that they should keep their money under a mattress for a rainy day. That guarantees the arrival of that much feared and expected rainy day. The whole thing distresses me because it goes against the grain of what I had been taught since I was a child about being judicious in spending one’s money.

Now, every publication on the subject blames the thrifty Japanese common man for the woeful economic developments in the land of the rising sun. While in reality, Japan’s economic problems have their roots in the corruption of its banking system and its close ties with the ruling elite, the fact that the ordinary Japanese is so kuripot is also now part of the problem.

But who could blame the Japanese common man? He and the missus have delayed expenses and saved their nest egg in a postal savings bank account precisely because they are afraid of the uncertain future. This is why even with interest rates at zero, the Japanese consumers is still not biting.

Lucky for the world, the American consumers have no such qualms about spending beyond their means. They did hesitate for a while, but when the Federal Reserve Board started to lower interest rates, they moved right back. Using their credit cards, the American consumers have the ultimate weapon against a recession.

The New York Times reported over the weekend that the "American consumers’ confidence about the economy bounced in March, snapping three months of sharp falls." A report Friday raised some hopes that deepening pessimism may have hit a bottom. The Times quoted a Nomura Securities analyst saying that "people still don’t feel very good but what they do believe, evidently, is that lower interest rates are a cushion."

Actually, analysts told the Times that "the latest snapshot of consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of all economic activity, suggested that the economy continues to be sluggish but hasn’t fallen into recession." That should make us breathe a little easier. Dependent as we are on the health of the American economy, every little bit of good news should give us hope.

But even as the reports do not "carry the implication of a collapsing consumer," merchants deeply discounted merchandise in January to lure shoppers into stores and malls. The Times reports that retail sales over the past several months have been lackluster. Last week, the Times reports that the biggest retailers reported generally disappointing sales for February.

Back here, I don’t see busy sales clerks in the big shopping malls. Even the midnight madness at Galleria last Friday didn’t tie up traffic as badly as before. That’s because people don’t have that much money to spend, I guess.

It has now become the civic duty of those in the upper class, specially those with dollar incomes, to spend madly so as to keep the economy afloat. Or they should contribute generously to the campaign coffers of politicians so they can buy votes. Nothing like vote buying as a means of giving the common man some buying power that is good for the economy.

Now I see why in the Marcos years, they periodically used rumor mongers to induce panic buying that cleaned out supermarket shelves. And yes, Marcos also pumped primed the economy by buying votes. That Marcos is a real genius, it turns out.

Weird husband

By now, everyone with an e-mail address in this town must have received his or her nth forward of an e-mail detailing the sordid experience of a local singing group, hired to entertain top corporate guests of Citibank at the official residence of Citibank’s country head in Forbes Park. That was terrible. And weird.

I would have thought that Citibank went to the trouble of training spouses of the senior officers they send overseas. That the spouse in question is a husband who supposedly just stays at home makes it a little unusual. But not that unusual for a country with a lady Chief Executive and a First Husband who spends his time banging hammers on pornographic CDs.

The dinner in question was in honor of the Ayala Group executives. I had attended a previous one held in honor of the Lopez Group executives. I thought it was a great evening that clearly accomplished its goal of establishing good relations with an important client group. I thought Cathy Weir, the top Citibank executive who heads local operations was a fantastic person.

If her husband did what the e-mail said he did, Cathy should hire back the magician who performed the evening of the Lopez Group party. He should be able to make her husband vanish whenever she has important guests.

A spouse like that may bring her career to a screeching halt. Lucky for her, they have divorce in America, if things get worse. Citibank has invested a lot on its image here for almost a century. The bank cannot afford something like this. This bad experience could also have an adverse impact on future women high fliers like Cathy. The bank could hesitate to give them the top job for fear that husband (or lover) might be a bum.

Actually, she owes us an explanation or a denial if the report is untrue. As a Citibank client, the thought that the husband of the country head treats my fellow Filipinos like dirt weighs heavy on my continuing relationship with the bank.

Or maybe, ask her husband to take some lessons from our very own First Husband. At worst, he and Mike could run those CDs on the machine and spend time watching some dirty pictures before they smash them to bits for the good of the community. That’s a better way of letting off aggressive feelings bottled up all day while Cathy works for the greater glory of Citibank.

No wonder career women now talk of using a sperm bank when they get that itch to be a mother. It is a lot less trouble and entails no risk you will end up with a bum. Not all guys have what it takes to be a Denis Thatcher, it seems.

Surprise

Dr. Ernie E sent this one for today.

A minister was asked to inform a man with a heart condition that he had just inherited a million dollars. Everyone was afraid the shock would give him a heart attack.

So the minister went to the man’s house and said, "Joe, what would you do if you inherited a million dollars?"

Without hesitation Joe said, "Well, pastor, I think I would give all of it to the church."

At which the pastor fell over dead.

(Boo Chanco’s e-mail address at [email protected])