|
OK, So Where Is All the Spending Coming From
by James Glaser December 15, 2010 
We hear from the media that spending is up this Christmas season, but who is doing the spending? This from the Bureau of Labor Statistics:
So, with 15 million out of work, and many more millions underemployed, who is doing all the buying the media is telling us about? Do you think it is true, or do you think it is a media sales hype? Could it be that the media want sales to appear higher, and that the stores are fudging their numbers to make it look that way? You know with the reported higher sales pushing people to get out there and buy with any credit they have been saving, store advertising goes up. Advertising is the life blood of all forms of media. Conspiracy theory? Yeah, I guess you could say that. You could say that, if you trust our media and our corporations to only give us the truth. However, if you think big business will do anything to increase profits, and you believe the same about our media, then this scenario could very well be true. Another explanation could be that the people still working got fed up with worrying about tomorrow, and they decided after two years of being frugal, they are going out to spend this year. Maybe they have to. Their kids can't keep wearing that same winter coat, or they need new work clothes, and this is the season with sales. Computers get old fast, and all those new gadgets are pretty enticing. Americans have been addicted to buying for decades, and it is hard to quit buying cold turkey without making a slip now and then. So, maybe a lot of people decided enough is enough, I'm spending this year. Who knows the real reason for the current up tick in sales. It might be the invented sales pitch of the industry, or it might be the frustration of the public. Either way, it could put a few more people to work or more likely, send more people into heavier debt. |
BACK to the 2010 Politics Columns.