Spend, Baby, Spend —or We're Sunk

Our massive economy will remain stuck until hoarders open their wallets and "roll the dice" once again, Daniel Gross writes in Newsweek. Investors and consumers alike must regain their "penchant for gain and risk... some of the essence of what makes us American." Until that caffeinated, delirious plunge into the capitalist rabbit hole entices us, our thrift will make "everyone poorer."

It's a great time for innovation, Gross argues: Government incentives are funding green startups and hundreds of US billionaires are rich enough to invest—as the Rockefellers did during the Depression. For further incentive, consider the world: “Until America emerges from its bunker, the global economy—facing its first year of contraction since World War II—is likely to remain moribund,” Gross writes.
(More recession stories.)