Judging from tales about the rise and fall of empires, there is always a point when things are going so well that the emperors doubt that anything could ever go wrong. "Thrift," warned Nero’s adviser Seneca, "comes too late when you find it at the bottom of your purse. " In the Old World, nations grew fat and then lazy, until they collapsed under their own weight. But that was not to be our story. American greatness—the vision of the founders, the courage of the pioneers, the industry of the nation builders—reflected a mighty faith in the power of sacrifice as a muscle that made young nations strong. Banks were like gyms for the soul: the first savings banks in Boston and New York were organized as charities, where "bumble journeymen" could exercise good judgment, store their money and not be tempted to waste it on drink. Architect Louis Sullivan carved the word THRIFT over the door of his "jewel box" bank nearly a century ago, for it was private virtue that made public prosperity possible. That virtue died with the baby boom, but it had been ailing ever since the Depression, argues cultural historian David Tucker in the Decline of Thrift in America. That crisis, he writes, invited economists to recast thrift as "the contemptible vice which threw sand in the gears of our consumer economy. " A White House report in 1931 urged parents to let children pick out their own clothes and furniture, thereby creating in the child "a sense of personal as well as family pride in ownership, and eventually teaching him that his personality can be expressed through things. " Somewhere along the way, thrift did not just stop being a value; it became a folly. Saving was for suckers; you’d miss the ride, die leaving money on the table when you could have lived it up. There are no pockets in a shroud, as the saying goes. We once saved about 15% of our income. By the roaring 80s the rate was 4%; now we’re in negative numbers. Bob Hope liked to joke that "a bank is a place that will lend you money if you can prove that you don’t need it. " But that too changed as easy credit bloomed and usury became another of those vices that had somehow lost its juice. The average American has nine credit cards with a total $17, 000 balance. We borrow against our houses and pensions to live in a way that dares us to actually grow old. "Never invest in any idea you can’t illustrate with a crayon. " Fidelity mastermind Peter Lynch advised, but we embraced all kinds of investments about which we understood nothing except the hollow promise that they would never fail. When the economy began to swoon we kept spending, effectively sending ourselves rebate checks from accounts already way overdrawn, as if it would make us feel better to buy a new TV and charge it to our kids. George W. Bush has never been reluctant to frame policy debates in moral terms, targeting an "axis of evil", casting tax cuts as the removal of unfair burdens on hardworking people, calling tariff reduction a moral imperative. But thrift is one virtue he never invokes, and a restoration of restraint is a strain of conservatism he seldom promotes. In fact, it was after the most tragic day in modern U.S. history, when Bush urged people who wanted to help to go shopping, that profligacy officially replaced prudence as a patriotic duty. There’s no way to tell during this cun’ent distress whether we’re repenting or just retrenching. Thriftstore sales are up. Cats are shrinking. P. Diddy retired his private jet to save on gas. In hard times, people often rediscover the peace that prudence brings, when you try to spend a little less than you have because tomorrow might be worse. But that feels almost un-American; we’re optimists by nature, and we’ve been living large for so long that solvency feels like a sacrifice. It will take some sustained character education—and leadership—to understand that morning in America is more likely to come again if we prepare for midnight. The author is likely to agree that
A. thrift should be blamed for the Depression.
B. children should develop a sense of ownership.
C. people should be careful in spending.
D. it is not wise to make investment.
Background InformationBusiness communication is used to promote a product, service, or organization; relay information within the business: or deal with legal and similar issues. It is also a means of relaying between a supply chain, for example, the consumer and manufacturer. At its most basic level, the purpose of communication in the workplace is to provide employees with the information they need to do their jobs. Business communication encompasses a variety of topics, including Marketing, Branding, Customer relations, Consumer behavior, Advertising, Public relations, Corporate communication, Community engagement, Research & Measurement, Reputation management, Interpersonal communication, Employee engagement, Online communication, and Event management. It is closely related to the fields of professional communication and technical communication. Business is conducted through various channels of communication, including the Internet, Print(Publications), Radio, Television, Ambient media, Outdoor, and Word of mouth. Midnight Apps Had Failed A small little application called Cha-Ching, developed by Midnight Apps, was offering licenses for its next version in the Macheist bundle. Users would be invited to beta test the next version of Cha-Ching if they bought the bundle and all was glorious. Unfortunately, what happened was a complete failure of Midnight App’s communication strategy for the application. It really starts with this thread on the Macheist forums. While the developer did respond in this forum, you can sense the frustration stemming from a lack of progress updates from the developers. In fact, in the thread where people are wondering where the beta application is, the conversation starts to turn against the company. The conversation gets so heated, that users begin recommending other applications. One forum poster takes a stab at Midnight Apps by recommending Moneywell: the reason given-- "developers are committed". The commentator "rookie" even goes so far as to say "So I take it, we’ve given up on ever seeing Cha-Ching 2.0" This hostility then pours out to their own forum where people post threads like this one. Midnight Apps had failed to meet their promise of a beta, and then failed to communicate why. The users were revolting, but they weren’t just angry, they started recommending other products. So why did many of the forum users recommend Moneywell What was the difference Communication is the only way The answer was quite simple.Kevin Hoctor, the developer of Moneywell, is a master of support and communication. You can take one quick glance at nearly every single post on the Moneywell user forums and see that Kevin is involved in nearly every one. This approach constrains his time and his resources, but the man is still able to release builds and fixes. While Moneywell is not updated weekly, his customers feel confident in their software choice. This is what lead disenchanted Cha-Ching users to point others in his direction, and his communication efforts explain one of the modem tenants of good business and why Midnight Apps created a mess for themselves. Steady communication builds steady/loyal customers Communication, and a steady channel of communication, is what turns a good company into a fantastic company. It is one of the key tenants of modem web applications, where the principle concept is "ask the users" . People feel more invested in their software, their design and their website if they are constantly reminded of your awareness of them. There are always exceptions to the communication rule, and there are instances of constant user feedback ruining communication. However, most websites, software, and pretty much any consumer/business relationship benefits from having a steady stream of updates. It builds consumer trust and lets the user know their co-existence with your product is valid. There is a happy ending to this story The great news is that Midnight Apps realized their stream of non-communication was not worth the productivity time it gave them. They could generate more users and carve out more interest in their application by opening themselves up and talking about what happened. They even asked "How are we doing" to extremely positive reviews after their communication efforts increased 100-fold. This goodwill has spread to their business and applications, as Cha-Ching for iPhone is an excellent application. Constant communication, even if you feel like you have nothing to say, makes everyone feel involved in the process. Don’t waste it just saying hello, or talking about the weather, but explain what you’re doing and what’s happening. Don’t wait for the juicy update, give micro-updates. People will always want to know more about what’s coming, but a taste of what’s happening now will appease them. It doesn’t take a lot of effort to send out a weekly email, but its reward is almost 1 000%. So, get on with it.Exercises enchant