The Website of Dr. Mark Goulston

There is no credit cruch. Therefore throwing credit at the current problem will not fix it.

Furthermore it is like using a band aid to stop a hemorrhage.

The real problem is a credibility crunch in both the mindset and the behavior of the American consumer.

If I had credit to extend I would not give it to Americans at this time for three reasons:

1. Americans lie about nearly anything to get what they want. They will pad their resumes, qualifications for college applications or offer lame excuses for doing the wrong thing or failing to do the right thing at work. They will stretch the truth or deny it to get elected. They’ll even do just to get sex for a one nighter. Just like you can’t be a little pregnant, you can’t be a little bit of a liar. Also why would a creditor believe that someone seeking credit would not lie to get it, when the creditor has lied to amass the money it has to offer people loans? There is very little transparency in American life.
2. Americans engage in ill informed spending compounded by poor judgment. They spend as a way to cope with anxiety, boredom, fear, greed and jealousy. We are seen by the world as a bastion of impulsive, compulsive spending. Even George W. Bush told us to spend and shop after 9/11. What a missed opportunity that was. He should have implored us to develop ourselves from the inside out to make us competitive in the world and even happy with ourselves.
3. Americans are immature and see happiness as a goal as opposed to realizing that it is a result of well lived life. They are not curious. They don’t like to think, set goals, plan or even read. And even when they do set goals and a plan for achieving them, they don’t have the discipline to follow through especially when it is no longer fun. Would you give money to someone who has no goal, no plan and no discipline for sticking to it? What would be the chance of their paying you back if the above is true?

Ironically, the rest of the world is not immune from our folly. When the conspicuous consumption of Americans stalls to a halt, they are not going to buy foreign made cars, electronics, clothing, etc.

Maybe the way out of this would be for those countries that make so much money exporting to America to subsidize our immaturity.

I think a better solution would be for us to develop the necessary mindset, skill sets, and capabilities to compete in the world. First, a mindset of selflessness, cooperation, collaboration and transparency not just in times of crisis, but as we do business as usual; second, a skill set of embracing, enjoying and being competent in math and science to be a leader in technology; finally, an enhanced technology, transportation and cultural infrastructure to increase our capabilities instead of the finger pointing, excuse making and ignorant blaming we engage in now.

Let’s confront the real problem and not confuse a credit crunch with a credibility crunch. Let’s replace compulsive impulsivity with goal setting, planning, strategies, tactics and most important, the discipline to commit and remain committed to them.

John Lennon and Paul McCartney once wrote about “fixing a hole where the rain gets in.” For too long, Americans have been “filling a hole where the pain gets in” with spending. Maybe it’s time to “fix that hole” by developing ourselves to become who we need to become to accomplish what we are capable of accomplishing.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 9th, 2008 at 5:20 pm and is filed under Usable Insights. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.