The news is full of talk about an approaching recession. I don't trust
George W. Bush's motivations for worrying out loud about it; my guess is
that secretly most of the country's leading Republicans would like
nothing better than to have a recession this year, since it would
provide an excuse for a big income tax cut, which would benefit
principally the rich. But he may be right. If the economy goes sour
for a few years, it may not be good for families like ours from a purely
financial point of view, but here is the bright side. From lots of
other meaningful points of view, a bad economy is good for middle-class
American families. Too much stuff, too much luxury, too much work at
the office, too little work at home: these are the things that are
really bad for families like ours, and they result from good economies,
not bad ones.
