According to Ralph Waldo Emerson, "reliance on property" is foolish, a result of " a want of self reliance". This is in its self what Louis Beres is trying to get at in his article, "Economic Problem Number one". The question Beres is asking in the beginning is "have we sold our souls", the truth is that Americans, if given the chance would sell there own mother if they could spend more, on materialistic goods.
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Lets say the market is in great shape. People are spending and business is selling every on is happy. The countries market system is weak and if one problem occurs the market takes a dive. It swims away from the block at an intense speed and when it comes to the flip turn, swimming back to stability it dies out into depression. This could be created from a quick scare from terrorists, talk of war, or just a bad weak, month or even year. The economy is suffering so are corporate earnings, unemployment is increased, and all stocks are down. A quick boost of energy sending the market straight up, into a surplus, winning the race is what is needed. This would call for the unemployed to spend money to bring up the market, how does one spend, what one does not posses. If consumers spent money the market would be fixed. As consumers people need to be less materialistic, people need to rely less on what they hear, as a decider on weather or not the spend money.
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Another author of a related article interviewing David Mc McCullough, From the Chicago Tribune, Entitled "Don't Know Much" (Author not Identified), hits some key points of how America has its head in the wrong places. It is McCullough's opinion that America's youth remains poorly educated of the nations history. Both from schooling, mistaken about what is most important for teaching, and also from the parents at home not talking history with the youth. "We are alas raising a generation of young Americans who are, at large historically illiterate.