Consumer spending drives 70 percent of the American economy. In such an economy, the individual must spend continually and lustily lest the economy fall into recession.But what's good for the economy isn't necessarily good for the individual. Right now the individual sees a 10 percent unemployment rate and fears he may be the next to be laid off. So he begins to save his money, reining in his spending. And as consumption ebbs, businesses fail, unemployment rises.The conflict between the interests of the individual and the interests of the economy is not an indication of some fundamental flaw in capitalism, but of a need for rebalance: Things have gotten out of whack. Too much of the economy is made up of products and services that simply aren't essential. When hard times come, such enterprises are especially vulnerable to going out of business. Folks discover that their town, like mine, really doesn't need stores like Saks Fifth Avenue, Gucci, and The Sharper Image.In a recession, the...(Read Full Article)