To: letters@nytimes.com
Re: Some (free) advice for the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Date: Sat, 28 June 2003 |
Dear Sir/Madam, If the
Federal Reserve Bank of
Boston wants to
"learn why Americans
save too little [and]
acquire too much expensive
debt" they should
have asked me: it is
mainly because the media
are full of role models
who are rich, with
corresponding lifestyles.
In their vain attempts to
emulate them, average
Americans (and many
Europeans) are left with
little money to save, and
many run up debts into the
bargain (Calculating
the Irrational in
Economics, June 28, 2003). The real
problem, however, which
most economists simply
ignore, is that our
economy is based and
dependent more on man's
animal than human nature,
with people (following
their animal nature) struggling
to get as large a slice of
the cake as possible,
which is then held up as a
measure of their success.
And with most people wanting
an ever larger slice, the
cake has to keep on
growing, only on a planet
with limited resources and
carrying capacity
(Spaceship Earth), and a
population heading towards
7-9 billion, such
development is
non-sustainable and must
lead to disaster. |