The benefits of our bad economy

December 4, 2008 by 20 Comments

Every cloud has a silver lining, including our economic woes. Consider these facts:

(1)Couples are staying together because they can’t afford to get a divorce.

(2) Gasoline prices, which we were so bent out of shape about a few months ago, are plummeting.

(3) Housing prices plummet, making homes more affordable for young families.

(4) Lower interest rates have sparked a surge in mortgage refinancing, which means more money in monthly budgets.

Can you think of any other good things to come out of this? (Answers may be either serious or whimsical.)

Filed Under: Economics 20 Comments
About Gene Veith

Professor of Literature at Patrick Henry College, the Director of the Cranach Institute at Concordia Theological Seminary, a columnist for World Magazine and TableTalk, and the author of 18 books on different facets of Christianity & Culture.

  • http://chaz-lehmann@yahoo.com Pr. Lehmann

    I think it was a great time to get married. When the people’s finances are tight, the pastor’s finances follow. Jen and I are learning to live within our means, responsibly. When some of our debt is paid off and our available money per month increases, we will have already established good spending habits that will serve us throughout our marriage.

  • Mary

    Sales have been great on necessary things & there is cheaper rent. What more can a student ask for? Plus everyone I know is looking forward to a simpler Christmas, relieving a good portion of buying pressure.

  • Kirk

    Yesterday, I went out for about 45 minutes hunting for a narrow, winding road through the woods to drive on. When I found an acceptable one, I drove it 4 times. I haven’t experienced this simple joy simple joy in almost 2 years, what with having to be so conscious of how much fuel is costing me. Thinking about it, though, my little trip was wasteful. So, that may be negative of cheap goods and the recession. Oh well, it was so worth it!

  • http://www.blogger.com/profile/01763924682909630509 Orianna Laun

    Maybe this will help parents teach their children economic responsibility. As Pastor Lehmann said, “. . .live within our means, responsibly.”
    Maybe it will also reduce the entitlement parents cultivate in children when parents try to give their children everything the children clamor for instead of teaching that sometimes one has to say no.

  • http://geochristian.wordpress.com Kevin N

    Being unemployed gives me more time with my family.

  • http://theoldadam.wordpress.com/ Steve Martin

    Maybe will people will quit putting all their eggs in one basket and look outside this world for true comfort.

    Maybe this is the best thing that could happen to this country.

    Maybe some will ‘hear’ the gospel now that the ‘law’ is doing a number on them.

  • The Jones

    It makes it more difficult to create massive spending programs, so while the government may be spending billions and billions of dollars on bailouts, it will be that much more difficult to create nationalized healthcare, nationalized college tuition grants (with super-expanded pell grants, etc.), higher C.A.F.E. standards, and whatever else the future democratic white house and congress wants to do.

    And about gas prices, yeah. I think it’s great! Gas is $1.54 where I am. I say we should have an economic crisis every year!

  • Josie

    More young men and women are finding that enlisting or reenlisting in the military isn’t such a bad thing after all.

  • http://www.bikebubba.blogspot.com Bike Bubba

    People are skipping eating out and learning to cook. All kinds of benefits, from family life to health, from that one.

  • Steven

    My 1994 Volkswagen, which was looking pretty dingy, now appears quite prudent.

  • Kirk

    @8 I hear the the French Foreign Legion’s recruitment numbers are way up in Western Europe.

  • http://gpiper.org/katiesbeer Theresa K.

    Benefits I have seen:

    Low gas prices – More day trips to visit people on weekends. We drove 3 hours north to Duluth last Saturday and walked the shore of Lake Superior. We wouldn’t have even considered that last year. This Sunday, we head south to Mankato to visit our daughter at BLC.

    Prices on everything are lower, from clothing to food. And yes, I’m cooking at home more.

    Businesses are doing a better job of keeping in touch with their regular clients, so as not to lose what they already have.

  • Manxman

    The slowdown in illegal immigration caused by the crappy economy will mean less Latino Democrat voters in the next round of elections.

  • Kirk

    @13 Funny thing, Latinos are conservative yet the vote democrat because the Republicans hate them more. Maybe there’s a simple solution…

  • Manxman

    Kirk

    They vote for the Donks because the Donks use government to give them stuff. Latinos are only selectively conservative.

  • CRB

    What I’m wondering is, when will the economy get so bad that people will come back to church, especially those folks whose names are on church rosters but never attend?!

  • The Jones

    Manxman,

    Give them what? I don’t know what you’re talking about. While Hispanics covers a very wide swath of ethnic groups and social categories, they are by and large hard-working, self-sufficient, socially conservative, family oriented, pull yourself up by your own bootstraps type of people.

    Are you saying they want handouts? If greencards, the opportunity to find their own employment, and generally “not getting deported” are handouts, then yeah, Latinos are quite the welfare type. Heck, I might even be a welfare type.

  • kerner

    I’ll give you this, Manxman, you have hit on something. The only effective way to get rid of immigrants is to torpedo the economy. Ruin our free market economy, and nobody wants to come here. Maybe we should raise taxes, too. That’ll show the furriners.

    Of course, if we ever get back to a free market economy again, people all over the world will want in again. Kind of puts you on the horns of a dilemma, I guess. But, I know which direction I want to take.

  • Bob E

    Not at all humorous but perhaps the bad economy might give us a chance to contemplate how things might be different today if there hadn’t been 48,589,993 abortions in the last 35 years. Think of what life would be like with that many more consumers, workers contributing to the retirement plans of their elders, entrepreneurs starting more businesses, more taxpayers for those politicians who like that, etc. I wonder if our economy is being trashed by a God-informed set of conditions bent on retribution for America’s greed and violence against the unborn.

  • LAJ

    Theresa K., will you be able to go to the Christmas service at Bethany? I hear it’s very good as usual. I may be there Sunday.


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