January 16, 2008
“Lollipop Economics ”
Dear Friend,
I encountered a new term this week from a column written by Robert J. Samuelson. Samuelson coined the term “lollipop economics.” It describes how political candidates offer voters economic treats to attract their votes.
My sense is that far too many people practice lollipop economics in their daily lives. By this I mean we treat ourselves with impulse spending and band-aid spending. Sadly, Lollipop Economics ruins our budgets and still leaves all the problems unsolved.
A better way to organize our economic lives is to reward ourselves after we have accomplished things instead of before. It is appropriate to celebrate economic success, but it is inappropriate to reward thoughtless or ineffective economic practices.
Samuelson rightly concluded that lollipop economics “bloat government costs” and “confuses the public about the long term budget problem.” This holds true in our individual lives: poor spending habits bloat our living costs and expand our long term budget problems. I recommend we replace the temporary euphoria of consumerism with the long term good of investing.
Doc
Dr. Dave Collings
Lead Pastor
Christ Church
