Farhad is a salesman at a shop selling watches…
Rasheed runs a tailoring shop in Salmiya…
Christina is working as an Export Assistant for a Shipping company…
Myrah is working as the Asst. HR Manager in a company with a promising future…
They do not know each other. They are busy, leading their respective lives and addressing their respective concerns. They do not know that their lives are, however, intricately connected with each other.
Myrah had planned to buy a watch for her husband, on his birthday in June. Today, she wonders if she ought to spend a substantial amount on the gift. ‘After all, things are not looking up in Kuwait, as everybody says… Who knows what will happen in the next couple of months’, she wonders to herself.
Christina was planning to hold a grand party on the occasion of the first Holy Communion of her daughter, next month. Her friends and colleagues are, however, advising her to be cautious about spending huge amounts in such uncertain times.
Little do Myrah or Christina realise that their decisions will have an impact on the lives and employment of Rasheed and Farhad. If Myrah does not buy a watch, Farhad’s clientele is affected. And, if Christina decides to forego the party—a large number of people, including Rasheed’s livelihood will be affected.
If A does not send his child for tuition to B, the latter’s income is reduced… B will then make fewer purchases from the supermarket which will affect C’s job at the supermarket… C will not take his children out for a dinner on the weekend, which will affect D’s job at the restaurant… With a lot of such reduced spending, the economy thus slows down.
This is how an economy usually slides gradually into Depression. There are surely quite a few genuine economic concerns staring at almost all the countries, all over the globe. The reasons vary for each country and the volume of concerns vary too. However, when an atmosphere of gloom descends, and people start shrinking from spending even modestly, the gloom thickens and the pace of sliding down hastens.
This is not to encourage mindless spending or to exhort consumerism. However, there is this general sombre mood that is spreading in Kuwait, which will hasten the actual slowdown in the economy faster than required. People who are earning reasonably well, and have no reason to panic, are adopting an uncalled-for attitude:
Why get the house painted?
Why buy a new carpet for the house?
Why invest money in buying new furniture?
After all, who knows for how long we shall live here…
Why buy new clothes here in Kuwait for the festival season?
This year, let us manage with what we have… Let us see whether the economy shows signs of recovery in the near future..
Recessions, in many countries in the past, have been known to be primarily caused by a fall in aggregate demand. The other two important causes are falling consumer confidence and delaying spending on the part of buyers. After all, it is we who collectively constitute the economy and it is our behaviour which will play a role in deciding the volume of trade and trends in the price structure of the economy. Gloomy outlook will be infectious and spread further gloom.
If going on a spending spree and not saving for the rainy days is extreme behaviour, then saving every penny that we can and even curtailing the expenditure on essentials is also an extreme behaviour. If consumers keep talking and reiterating that the economy is bad and there might be a collapse or a serious downturn, they are less likely to spend money. Although, consumer confidence is psychological, it will eventually have a real and negative impact on the economy.
Except for a miniscule minority, all of us who reside here are sincere and hard-working folks from the middle and the lower middle class… All around us, there are people from different nations who have come here to earn and save… They have their dreams and aspirations. Ultimately, our lives are connected with each other… It is we, who shall collectively determine if the atmosphere of uncertainty and gloom strengthens or weakens… And, it is not just the middle class whose future hangs in balance. Even the established business houses could be soon packing away their businesses and hundreds of employees thus losing jobs, if we unnecessarily curtail spending and behave as if a downturn is imminent.
The next occasion that arises when you must decide whether to spend or not, remember that there are many lives and jobs that depend on your decision.