Economic Recovery? Not So Fast!

I had a healthy dose of billable work this week. Just when I started to believe that maybe, just maybe, the economy was starting to turn the corner, I read an article in the Opinions section of the New York Times, discussing the still dismal state of the global economy, how certain European nations (e.g., Germany) are trying to argue their way out of a badly-needed stimulus, and the many countries that are threatening to renege on G-20 pledges to preserve free trade. What a bummer! We really need to think of a way to bring our zombie banks back to solvency and calm consumer jitters without bankrupting the country and making problems worse. Any ideas (other than creative accounting)?

Another article in the New York Times talks about the wealthy residents of the Upper East Side cutting down on conspicuous consumption and enacting a kind of neighborhood protectionism by only patronizing businesses in the UES. It makes sense to me to dine at the restaurants in your own neighborhood to make sure they don't go out of business (and turn into abandoned storefronts, thereby decreasing your property values). However, spending $500 to $600 now (and $1,800 to $2,400 pre-recession) on a DOLLHOUSE makes absolutely zero sense to me. When I was a child, I had a few (I could count them on one hand) Barbie dolls, that cost around $15 each, and I was quite happy with them being homeless. When maximum unemployment benefits in New York are $430/week, who would spend $500 on a dollhouse?! "We're homeless, but at least our child's Barbie isn't!"