The Way We Live Now: Wrong. It's funny how dumb people are some times when it comes to economics. They spend all their money. Then they're broke. Then they save all their money. Wrong move! I'm looking at you, Japan.

Just as an example to illustrate this economic principle, we're going to use Japan, as I hinted in the last sentence. Handily there is a story about them in the newspaper today that applies to just what we're discussing here. "Once Slave to Luxury, Japan Catches Thrift Bug." From slavery to buggery. They just can't win!

Why is it that they can't win over there, in Japan? It all has to do with economics, as I mentioned, if you were paying attention. Instead of going Up from Slavery, a la Booker T., the Japanesans went—where?—down from slavery! Down, to thriftiness! Wrong way, kids!

Here is where we roll out the principle itself, or "economic way to be": You have to spend money to make money. Sounds counterintuitive, right? Then you must be Japanese, or just not a rich person at this moment in time, due to economic ignorance. All you have to do is read the LA Times, a popular newspaper in America, where it says very clearly that if all you "savers" out there don't turn into "spenders" right quick, we're going to be going right down the same path as Japan, economically, which is not a good one in case you haven't picked up on that particular fact.

"But hey," I hear you whining hypothetically while motivated by economic ignorance, "isn't saving money good, since spending all our money and not saving is what got us into this mess?" You might think so as a layperson. Well here's another thing an economic layperson might think is "cool": a broken coffee maker that busts a water line and next thing you know it one community college is out $150k in repair bills thanks to a god damn coffee maker some asshole left on.

Funny? Sure. But not economic. This illustrates what's know as "The Fallacy of the Layperson." You don't know what's good for the economy. You're the type of person who would lose the "opportunity cost" of a shitload of repair bills in order to "Laugh" at a whole school getting busted up because of a stupid coffee maker. This is why we have scientists, and, thankfully, economists around. Spend your money, people. Japan is our enemy.
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