The World According to Opa

I’ve been formulating this theory for awhile, an overarching theory. It suggests that economies are all like wheels. Some are small, some are large. Some are more perfectly round, balanced and well-greased/maintained. Others, not so much. They all roll, with varying degrees of efficiency, until they develop serious problems and slowdown. Ours, the economic wheel of the United States, has stood the test of time. But, due to constant wear, it’s had to have its tire’s retread replaced/updated a few times. Every once in awhile, it has ceased to roll forward, stopped making progress, and has rolled backward. These times are called recessions. But economic wheels, unless and until they are condemned to the junk yard, never stop rolling, even when they are undergoing repairs, they keep on rolling.

Among economic wheels of relatively equal size, the most efficient are well balanced, the weight/wealth within is distributed such that there is minimal wobble when the wheel increases velocity. In the real world, this velocity is the exchange of money. When velocity increases, progress or productivity increases. The wheel rolls faster. But when too much weight/wealth is concentrated inequitably, the resulting wobble forces the velocity to slow down. That, in my considered opinion, is the condition in which we find our economic wheel these days. Big as our wheel is, and in the real world there is none bigger, wobble has reduced the relative velocity so much that our wheel’s progress/productivity can no longer exceed/offset the cost of fuel/money. We’ve been running on credit, accumulating a vast amount debt. This reduces the purchasing power of our fuel/money which begets less mileage.

It’s time for maintenance, people! We have to get our wheel’s tire retread or replaced with new, ie., replaced/updated economic policy. Once this is accomplished, hopefully, we can rebalance the wheel. It will take a qualified/empowered repairman to do this. In the real world, this repairman is government. The wheel cannot repair itself.