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Economics101: What will we do come 2002?

© Chris Brown

Hello again everyone. I was checking my daily news report at the best news site online: http://www.foxnews.com, and I noticed something: The Stock Market sucks. Sorry to burst any bubbles, folks, but the next couple of years aren't going to be so hot, I'm afraid.

Now I'm not a pessimist by any means, and I'm not at all sure we're seeing the wrath of God quite yet, but all indicators point to some perilous times ahead. The financial decisions we Americans make over the course of the next 2-3 years could profoundly affect not only our future, but the futures of those who will follow us. In a sense it has always been this way, but in times of need it strikes us all the more clearly.

What does this have to do with entertainment or technology? Everything, believe it or not. Let me explain:

What was the single greatest contributor to the financial success of the last five years? Technology.

And what was the single greatest user of technology? Entertainment. DVD Players, Video Games, Televisions, Computers, and various other electronic devices. Everyone had to have a digital camera, or the latest computer, or that spiffy new Personal Digital Assistant.

The rise of the Internet gave consumers reason to either upgrade existing hardware in order to take advantage of the content-rich Information Superhighway, or purchase the latest and greatest technology. We wanted the best because we were driven to believe that this was necessary in order to take advantage of the latest software.

The PC and Console game market exploded in never-before-seen numbers. The Playstation became a standard in home entertainment, and Nintendo and Sega also offered their own alternatives, which many people grabbed with enthusiasm.

So what has changed? Why should I be worried?

In the coming months, and possibly years, we will find that, while technology will continue to drop in price, things like energy costs, and various other requirements of life, will most likely continue to rise. Without some relief in these areas, people will find that having money to throw at a new gaming system or personal computer will be harder and harder to do.

So the question remains: Why the slowdown in tech spending? Why are so many people losing their jobs? The answers, in my opinion, lay in the fact that there truly are no stunning new must-have technologies in the market. Why does everyone need the fastest CPU in their computer? To run the latest software. If the latest software can run on last year's CPU, why do you need this year's?