Goldman Sachs employees are being told "to avoid making big-ticket, high-profile purchases," reports The New York Post. HTWW understands CEO Lloyd Blankenship's worries about a conspicuous consumption public relations disaster, but this is he wrong move right now. The U.S. economy needs more consumer spending, not less! Pay attention to the news Lloyd -- the latest figures from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, released Tuesday, show that, after an upward blip fueled by stimulus payments in May, personal income took a big hit in June, falling by 1.3 percent, the worst month-to-month performance in four years.
Recent weeks have seen a more convincing cluster of economic green shoots than at any other period since the financial crisis began, but the new data on income and spending are an unwelcome reminder of how fragile any future recovery will be. The downward pressure on income is directly tied to continuing job losses. Although early estimates suggest that the July job loss figures may be the least horrible witnessed so far in 2009, even the optimists are expecting another 300,000 more jobs gone. The ongoing carnage will continue to encourage Americans to save, especially if they digest depressing stories such as the one penned by the New York Times' Michael Luo this morning, which informs us that "income losses for workers who are let go in a recession can persist for as long as two decades."
So suck it up Goldman employees! Stiffen your lip and ignore the slings and arrows of outraged vampire-squid haters. Go out there and buy a new yacht. Splurge at the priciest restaurant you can find. Get a tricked out Caddy and wear as much gold as you can wrap around your wrists. We need you now, like never before.
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