This post is inspired by an old story which I read somewhere few years back. I recapitulated it because of the most frequently used term
R-E-C-E-S-S-I-O-N.
This story is about a man who once upon a time was selling burgers by the roadside. He was illiterate, so he never read newspapers. He was hard of hearing, so he never listened to the radio. His eyes were weak, so he never watched television. But enthusiastically, he sold lots of burgers.
He was smart enough to offer some attractive schemes to increase his sales. His sales and profit went up. He ordered more a more raw material and buns and sold more. He recruited more supporting staff to serve more customers. He started offering home deliveries. Eventually he got himself a bigger and better stove. As his business was growing, the son, who had recently graduated from college, joined his father.
Then something strange happened, son asked, “Dad, aren’t you aware of the great recession that is coming our way?” The father replied, “No, but tell me about it.” The son said, “The international situation is terrible. The domestic situation is even worse. We should be prepared for the coming bad times.”
The man thought that since his son had been to college, read the papers, listened to the radio and watched TV. He ought to know and his advice should not be taken lightly.
So the next day onwards, the father cut down the his raw material order and buns, took down the colourful signboard, removed all the special schemes he was offering to the customers and was no longer as enthusiastic. He reduced his staff strength by giving layoffs. Very soon, fewer and fewer people bothered to stop at his Hotdog stand. And his sales started coming down rapidly and so did the profit.
The father said to his son, “Son, you were right”. “We are in the middle of a recession and crisis. I am glad you warned me ahead of time.”
It’s all in your head, we actually fuel this recession much more than we think.
This one is a very opt post. One of the rival companies in my field of work is doing exactly the same. The guys working their are s*^t scared these days as they never know when the axe will fall upon them. True, this is all in our head!!
yes and no.. meaning that in some ways yes, curbing consumption and having a pessimistic outlook does contribute to a recession.. but the recession is not something that can be wished away either.. it is real.. though it impacts different people differently..