Let's hope those bills get paid

Here's something to think about concerning our supposedly growing (without jobs) economy.

...Americans certainly feel wealthier than they did last year at this time, and most consumer-confidence experts place a great amount of correlation in spending and job security. This flies in the face of the "jobless recovery" that we've heard so much about over the last year, as economic growth rates have not apparently been attended by a growth in jobs.

And yet, consumers spend. Certainly the burgeoning stock market has helped, as have the hundreds of billions of dollars that the cash-out refinancing spree in 2002 and early 2003 generated. But 2003 also saw a record number of American households declaring bankruptcy, and the level of consumer debt per household continues to skyrocket.

We don't know what will happen, but this strikes me as a very dangerous bet -- that a rising economy will cure the sins of overspending. It's easy to get excited by the news of a continued recovery and a stock market that rises on a daily basis, but some equanimity is perhaps prudent.

...Money spent before it is earned must always be repaid, something that is rarely discussed each time some news organization trumpets the rising consumer confidence number or spending increases.