Forgotten Wisdom: Save, Don’t Spend

אוצר נחמד ושמן בנוה חכם וכסיל אדם יבלענו

  • Proverbs 21:20

To paraphrase, the fool spends away his savings, eats up his pantry.

To the mind (?) of a modern economist (huh?) spending is what drives the economy (how?). To dignify this “idea” with a title – as the modern loves doing, we call this “demand-side economics”. It doesn’t need to make sense, as long as there’s an intellectual label attached. If it still doesn’t impress, add capitalization.

Anyway… Scripture seems to disagree; see above.

Why, oh why, are Torah scholars so statist? Why do we accept the state’s official excuses for its economic decrees at face value?