Getting Back to Basics

Behind the headlines about banks and bailouts are the doings of the ordinary people who are most affected by tight money. Cutting back is a rock that ripples throughout the pond, and the ripples are beginning to make the news.

Thrift stores doing well and worrying

A New York Times article about boom times for thrift stores reveals that while more people are shopping at thrifts, the new frugality is also a problem. “…the same economic woes that are sending buyers their way are causing donors to hand over fewer items, so that many stores are running low on inventory.” Long-time thrift store patrons probably never imagined a day when their favorite shopping spots might run out of stock. But thrift stores depend on donations, and when too many people have second thoughts about giving away perfectly good clothing, the shelves and racks are going to empty out.

Where do the clothes go if they’re not going to the Salvation Army, Goodwill, and other thrifts? They’re either staying in the closet a bit longer, or replenishing thin wallets when they’re sold on eBay and Craigslist. Don’t wait too long to do your thrift store Christmas shopping.

What’s the matter with kids today?

Instead of putting beans in their ears, they’re more likely to have their fingers in their ears, refusing to listen to parents say “no” to their requests for the latest toys or most popular brands of clothes. According to another New York Times article , the more affluent the family, the bigger the shock when teens find that they’re included in the family retrenching.

Most teens have little concept of where their family’s money comes from, or where it goes. They just know that they can usually have whatever they ask for. Worst of all, most of them have never worked and don’t know how to manage the money they’re given or the credit and debit cards they’ve been using so freely.

The family dramas are tough on both parents and children, and the battles are going on all over the country. Welcome to the real world, kids.

On the road

Finally, we learn that the sky-high cost of gas last summer had benefits and costs. According to MarketWatch , Americans drove 15 billion fewer miles in August than they did in August of 2007. And now that prices have dropped, they’re still hopping onto public transportation in record numbers. That’s a huge savings in gasoline consumption, and it probably reduced air pollution in urban areas, but there’s also a downside. Highway and bridge projects depend on gasoline taxes, and when people are driving less, there’s less income for those projects. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters says that’s a problem, but she’s also aware that gas taxes aren’t necessarily to best way to fund anything. ” ‘We pay for transit the same way we pay for road and bridge projects — with federal gas taxes,’ she said. ‘Relying on the gas tax is like relying on cardboard to keep the rain out — the longer you use it the less it works.’ “

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