I see headlines and articles discussing how consumer spending is driving, or of late, possibly slowing, the economy. But if not for people buying non-essential products and services, what else would drive the economy? Everyone needs food, shelter, and clothing. Many need cars, depending on their location. But I take it that spending on necessities is not enough, especially non-consumable or long lasting things like houses and cars.
In: Economics
In a country as wealthy as the US, it’s hard to imagine anything else as the primary driver of the economy. But in other countries or times it might be:
* Business investment
* exports (think about poor countries that have lots of manufacturing that we buy)
* government spending (such as North Korea with its massive military)
We have all of these, of course, but what if we had more of them, or people had less money? You might see a much heavier emphasis on exports or dependence on government spending for example.
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