Comments on: Stein: We Should Be Buying Stuff Like Mad

Instead Of Saving Money This Holiday Season, Spend To Kick-Start The Economy

[wardoglrs]

You know what Ben you really shouldn''t be in this line of work. Your confusing people with your Dumb Downed economics Just remember one thing Ben the Money that your speaking of is counterfeit it has no value that''s why the world is pulling away from the dollar and that''s why America is going to look like a 3rd world country and a poor rating for trust. And trust is everything

[wardoglrs]

Ben your not seeing the picture:
For those of us who still have our jobs, who still have a few nickels to rub together, we should be buying like mad.

Why so the government can take it too and give it illegally to the banks? Whats the point Ben?

And why are you pushing people to spend that''s what got us into this mess Mostly bad credit.

Ben speaks from a Keynesian Economics point of view which is a "fractured system banking" Ounce you look it up then you will understand whats really going on behind your backs

[hitoyou11]

Things are "NOT" going get "BETTER" under Obama Osama. He will steal from all of us. More so then BUSH

[hitoyou11]

Everything buy cars. Do not buy a car from the big 3. They are made by the low UAW.

[catlady1412]

Ben Stein''s idea is not entirely wrong, we should do some spending on any USA-made products we can get and eating out, especially in locally-owned restaurants. However, Ben''s overall conservative stance is soooooo over anymore that nobody is going to listen to him. He is not the person to deliver this message. Perhaps his former sidekick Jimmy Kimmel would be a better choice?

[jd2408]

Come on America, spend all the money you can because China is hurting and Corporate America is closing the outsourced jobs that they sent there. Don''t worry about your next meal or losing your home. JUST SPEND.

[lloydbest1]

"The richest 5% own 55% of America''''s wealth. That translates to about 28 Trillion dollars." Posted by LloydBest1 at 04:31 PM : Dec 22, 2008

In case anyone wonders wher I got those figures; here''s the source:
"Currents and Undercurrents: Changes in Distribution of Wealth, 1989-2004"; a report from the Federal Reserve Board. That same report estimates the top 5% of us own about $2.4 million in net assets (as of 2004). Since the recent economic hit also affected many of the wealthy, I dumbed that figure down to a little under $2 million..
Multiply that by the 15 or so million who qualify as top 5 percenters and we get 28 or a little more trillions.

[lloydbest1]

"...We should spend AFTER we seize the assets..." Posted by noloyalisti at 02:38 PM : Dec 22, 2008

Hmmmm. Not a bad idea, that. The overly wealthy would be doing the service that Ben suggests all of us do.
No one really has any idea where all this money our leaders have earmarked is coming from. Nor is there any real assurance it will ever get paid back..
A moments digression, if you please. I firmly believe that once one has acquired a level of material well being sufficiently beyond that of basic need, any additional fruits of one''s labor now belong to the common good. I am not alone.
There is a history of advocacy for wealth distribution that goes back several thousand years. In fact, both Jesus and Mohammed have harped repeatedly on the issue of giving away one''s wealth to have any chance of finding favor with God.
Indeed I don''t go anywhere near as far as either one of them did. I think the rich can (and should!) remain relatively rich. But having said that there is also no justification for nine, ten, or eleven digit private fortunes in the face of the financial peril we face today, either.
Those who have that level of ability can help out a lot by donating a small percentage of their asset base; it needn''t be much. The richest 5% own 55% of America''s wealth. That translates to about 28 Trillion dollars. Giving up just 10% of that haul will yield a little under 3 Trillion and, IF SPENT WISELY, would give America a tremendous start on our economic comeback.

[noloyalisti]

Sorry Stein, the terrorists already won. In fact we elected them for pResident and vice-pResident and for Congress. We should spend AFTER we seize the assets of those who made our on the commons. Like Stein and many corporate CEOs. These are the people who are part of the problem. Let''s make them part of the solution.

[divitius]

It was Stein and his corporatist neocon ilk that put us in this mess in the first place. Hey Ben, gimme some money and I''ll spend it! Jerk.