it's a recession--drink beer! spend money!

So, they say we're in a recession. Or an economic downturn. Or a period of economic difficulty. Whatever you'd like to call it, which I think often depends on what political side of the fence you're sitting on, America is having a fit of the economic hiccups. I feel it for sure at the pump and grocery store, just like everybody else. I feel it in many places in our lifestyle. My budget is tighter. We're paying just a bit more attention to the outgoing expenses than we were before.  Now, maybe my upbringing was an anomaly, but my parents taught me that when the budget got tight, it was time to reevaluate how I spent money. The purse strings snap shut on extraneous frivolities, and it's time to make sure the bills get paid. Why then, do I see so many ridiculous advertisements and show segments aimed at prying my hard earned dollars out of my clenched fists?  Not just my hard earned cash, but encouragements to spend myself into a hole with credit, for pete's sake? In the past weeks, I have seen by far some of the most ridiculous prompts on television and in print geared at luring the American consumer back into spending again. Now, I get it that the logic goes something like this: consumers spend more, the U.S. emerges from a recession triumphant. It's a tad oversimplified for me, but it's treated like our patriotic duty to get out there and spend. Remember all of the commercials aimed at snatching up your economic stimulus check a few months back? I would hate for Uncle Sam to know we spent ours on school tuition and lawyer bills. It seems somehow un-American that we didn't spend it on a new TV or a killer wardrobe. Anyway, I kind of resent just a little, or a lot, the advertising I've seen lately that goes one step further: companies attempts to empathize with me that we're in a recession...and then suggest that I should just spend anyway on the most ridiculous things with the most ridiculous logic. Even if I can't pay my electric bill or afford my grocery tab each week.

My two favorite examples among many: I was puttering around before work last week and flipped on the television, which was still on NBC from the night before. The Today Show was on. I hate the Today Show. But, right as a I turned the TV on, one of the super cute and fluffy segment anchors bellowed, "Coming up...how to decorate on a recession budget!" This I had to see. I was curious what exactly constitutes "recession budget spending." Surely this is a scientific term, recession budget spending. Anyway, I watched the segment, somewhat appalled, as home "experts" told me how I could create a backyard utopia, complete with bricked patio, willowing curtains on a cedar canopy, outdoor fireplace and cushy furniture...even nifty things like gas lamps and extras like glass and servingware that matched the cushion design. Is this what people really need to spend money on when the budget is tight--backyard utopia? The "recession budget" portion of the segment was more like, "It would be awesome if you could recycle some curtains from your house for your outdoor paradise" (even though the curtains they used were from Pottery Barn), and "you can finance the furniture 12 months same as cash!" I was mortified that our mainstream entertainment and news (I use the term loosely) outlets continue to pressure Americans to spend money on things like this. It shows such a lack of empathy and a real disengagement from the lives of Americans that we are being encouraged to spend money on such nonsense when people can't feed their families or fill their gas tanks. Why isn't the message more like, hunker down, ride out the storm and try not spend yourself into a lifetime of debt on your credit cards? Instead, we're still bombarded with glittery images of middle class trappings and told, you can still afford it, so go ahead and spend, spend, spend!

My other favorite example makes me laugh, both in irony and just because, well...it's funny. I was driving to work this morning, and just outside of the Air Force base, I see a giant billboard with a sweaty cold six pack of Miller High Life veritably dripping off the sign, larger than life. Next to said six pack, the billboard read, in caps, "TELL THE RECESSION WHERE TO GO." Now it's just downright funny that beer companies are on the recession bandwagon for their own personal gain. Yes, yes, I've heard the statistics about increased beer sales during recessions...but seriously. I suppose you could hardly expect them not to attempt to capitalize on disillusioned American workers and families, but the message that Miller High Life can solve your financial problems or at least make your forget them makes me want to laugh. Or cry.

got money problems? You should drink!

  I don't know. Again, maybe I'm the only one insulted by the incessant message to spend, spend, spend during times of economic hardship, but I am. I can't help it. I find it incredibly insulting that companies attempt to recession empathize me as the average American right out of my money on useless products that will likely only make my financial woes worse. Perhaps this kind of skewed logic of spending without discipline is why I saw the Bush administration announce yesterday that the U.S. budget for next year will break another record in deficit spending.