$$ Money $$

March 5, 2009

“Survivor: United States”?

Posted: 10:30 AM ET

Program Note: Make sure to check out the next CNN Money Summit on Friday, March 6 at 11 p.m. ET.

Ali Velshi
CNN Chief Business Correspondent

The TV show “Survivor” picks a new location every year. Gabon, Micronesia and China have been the last three. Considering the state of the economy, maybe next season should be “Survivor: United States”?

Americans are scared about their economic future, and with good reason. Right now more than 11 million people are out of work, and the unemployment rate is fast approaching a dismal 8 percent. Even those who are lucky enough to be employed are nervous about their job security and future prospects.

And what do nervous consumers do? They spend frugally, hoarding the rest of their cash for dark days ahead. They avoid making major purchases, like cars or homes- both of which are seeing their values nose-dive. That in turn hits businesses, which then need to cut costs themselves, which usually leads to…you guessed it: more job cuts!

And so the self-reinforcing cycle continues, over and over, and the U.S. economy spirals down, down, down.

Perhaps we aren’t totally forsaken. After all the president, Congress, and the Federal Reserve are working overtime trying to turn the economy around, churning out fix-it plans left and right. There’s the bank bailout plan, the stimulus plan, the mortgage plan, the bank and credit program, and the billions upon billions of dollars each of those entails.

Can the government really get us out there buying again through pure force of will (and legislation)? And can these huge recovery programs actually have any effect on your mortgage, your retirement savings, or- perhaps most importantly- your job?

We’ll examine these issues on the CNN Money Summit. Send us your questions and tune in for answers on Friday, March 6 at 11 p.m. ET.