She says, "Only twice since 1965, despite half a dozen recessions, have Americans spent less in a year than the previous one" (Palmer 1). This statement gives the reader a basis of the article will pertain to. The writer does this to set the tone and an understanding of the argument. Palmer gives a negative tone when speaking about the economy, which lets the reader know she does not agree with the past financial issues. Also, the reader gets the understanding that the article will have something to do with the overspending and bad economy. .
To support her research, Palmer uses testimonies from other experts such as Merrill Lynch's economist David Rosenberg. Rosenberg is in agreement with Palmer's argument that Americans need to bring their wants and needs into realignment which will take many years of frugality (Palmer 2). Frugality is the act of not being wasteful, and in this case, spending money on needs and not overspending. Frugality is what Palmer and others feel needs to be used by Americans. She also uses the testimonies from senior director of consumer economics at Moody's Econonmy.com, Scott Hoyt, and personal finance guru, David Bach, who also support Palmer's argument. The writer uses these diverse sources from many economists in order to provide the reader with solid evidence for the point she is trying to get across and the validation that other experts agree with her argument. She then provides her own judgment of actual economic events by suggesting that "a sharp slow down, record high gas prices, high consumer debt levels, a plunging real estate marker, and the growing green movement all seem to be conspiring to dethrone King Consumer and transform the economy and the American way of life for years to come" (Palmer 1). By using this statement, she identifies all the problems that the economy is having and that Americans have to face which show the reader that she has considered all of these aspects.