It”™s a seismic economic shift when regular visits to the mall suddenly devolve into more interest in a discussion group preoccupied with the benefits of reusing plastic bags. To roam the Internet is to know that the age of frugality has arrived. To be sure, not everyone is ready for it, in spite of the fact that New Yorkers are hosting Depression parties, sporting peasant skirts and baseball caps. “The Grapes of Wrath” is big in NetFlix rentals.
The U.S. economy is falling off a peak of 72 percent dependence on consumer spending. This sudden break in the shopping binge should hardly have been a surprise to policymakers given that the public has been spending 103 percent of its income, not a sustainable trend. Nonetheless there is considerable confusion among these policymakers as to how to maintain stability in the face of the sudden desire on the part of the public to save money. Possibly inspired by Benjamin Franklin”™s principle that a penny saved is a penny earned, it is now clear that the penny saved is also the penny not spent. According to the Wall Street Journal (Jan. 6, 2009) those pennies need to be spent to “prop up the economy.”
“Prop up” suggests the economy is not on solid ground and needs to reinstitute the same unstable system that caused the current collapse just to keep it going ”“ that is, spending more money than we have. Someone needs to wake up and point out that we need to build a far more stable foundation for the economy, one that does not need to be propped up, nor depends on deficit spending to survive.
Enter ”˜The Arts”™
For those who still think arts programs should always be the first to be cut from school programs (the better to fund a new football field) a look at the billions of dollars brought into communities through support of the arts should be instructive. The numbers are more than impressive. Art in its many forms brings in $25 billion a year in economic activity in New York state alone. Nationally, the nonprofit arts and culture industry returns $166 billion in economic activity annually. Furthermore, the arts industry generates nearly $30 billion in revenue to local, state and federal coffers every year. Meanwhile government only contributes $4 billion annually to support arts and culture programs resulting in a spectacular 7:1 return on investment. In this roller-coaster economy this is not an investment to cut back on.
But there are other significant contributions that can be attributed to the presence of an active and visible arts influence in the community. As suggested in the last column a community that considers the arts essential to its life will be the community that attracts economic development. More young people, essential to a growing economy, will perceive it as having life after dark. As the arts flourish, so will creativity and innovation ”“ the fuel that drives the global economy.
Close to home
In a frugal society the emphasis is on what is close to home. Interestingly this lines up with the need to relocalize because of the insecurity of our energy supplies and the need to reduce our carbon footprint. The growth of farmers markets is an example of this trend. The reemphasis on the community also lines up with the need to keep on supporting the local arts and culture entities, especially in hard times. As the Depression Era illustrated vividly ”“ during hard economic times it is the arts that bring light to the life of the community. In a consumer society the community seems less important but in the age of frugality it assumes a dominant role.
Depression talk is everywhere. The WSJ says in the Weekend Journal (Jan. 09, 2009) “Hollywood kept hope alive for the Depression Era.” “Slumdog Millionaire” is a current example of that capability.
Another approach ”“ “Your Money or Your Life” by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez, a book that was on the Best Seller list in 1992, is enjoying a huge renaissance in the current economic climate. For the business community to get a handle on just where the public is headed it might make good bed-time reading. Just a thought.
Surviving the Future explores a wide range of subjects to assist businesses in adapting to a new energy age. Maureen Morgan, a transit advocate, is on the board of Federated Conservationists of Westchester. Reach her at mmmorgan10@optonline.net.
