The Goofproof Blog - Business Booster

An interesting side effect of this awful economic mess we are in is the way people in the media describe it.  Everyone has been pussy-footing around the words “Recession” and “Depression” as if they were rattlesnakes in the bush.  Indeed they are just as dangerous if not worse.  Recessions come and go - we have survived many apparently - so that word is more frequently used and is not quite so scary.  But the mismatch between what many people are experiencing and the word is becoming more visible every day. The word is suffering a “credibility gap.”

In the last few days, I’ve heard a third descriptor, which may be the most accurate.  Recession and Depressions are nouns, meaning they are “persons,”  places,” or  ”things.”  We can rule out persons, which leaves places and things.  They certainly are  places in our psychological space; places where we feel vaguely disjointed, out of kilter, not our usual confident, full speed ahead selves. The word Depression is the most subject to denial because in our minds it is preceded by “the great.” Very few alive today really remember those years but we remember our parents’ and grandparents’ tales of woe and almost everyone has seen the stark unbelievable (in America) photographs.  Also the word describes a very real and dangerous mental illness.  No wonder we want to avoid it  if  possible.

The third, which to me is the most accurate, is “the great deleveraging.”  Now that seems to meet the problem head on and embodies the idea of a solution.  First,  it brings the words, “the great” into the forefront of consciousness, partially defusing the negative connotation. And “to lever” or “to delever” are verbs emodying action. The leverage that  supposedly caused it all was the irresponsible and easy dispensing of credit.  So is the solution  the sudden and almost complete cutting off of  that credit?  Hardly. We are beginning to see the unpleasant results of  that action. 

The dictionary provides three simple descriptions of leverage: 1) the see-saw, 2) the wheel barrow and 3) the forearm.  All three have the simple components of pivot, load, and effort.  In all of them, successful operation depends upon the pivot remaining between the load and the effort; achieving and maintaining balance between the two.  When the load becomes too heavy for the effort to balance it, the system fails.  The load overcomes the effort and the amount of effort required to reinstate balance becomes larger and larger as the load grows heavier. 

Thought of  in these overly simplistic terms it is easy to see that  applied to the current economic situation,  time becomes a most important factor.  The longer it takes to reestablish balance the heavier the load becomes.  “Stimulus” money (effort) is supposed to be available to decrease the load (the disfunctional economy.)  Where and how is it being dispensed?   

In my opinion, the most imortant possible benefactors must be small businesses, who have always maintained the balance between effort (production of goods and services employing people) and load (the consumer’s ability to pay fort those goods and services.) 
Are you getting your share of the “stimulus” (effort?)

If you don’t see something, say something! (And describe it accurately!)

Meanwhile, brush up your credibility in the simnplest way - let people know who you are by taking advantage of  Sol21’s offer of 20% off through July on all branding products, from Logo to Website.