Black Friday

Once again our suffering economy has 'pushed the clock' to get the public to shop early for the Christmas season. That the retailers are successful is only because we consumers are cooperative. Not all of us, naturally, but enough to make it seem worth the while of big stores to open at all kinds of odd hours, all determined to get the cream of the spending glut that inflicts the nation at this time of year. Anyone who knows me will already know that I will not be part of the shopping mob. Just out of principle if for no other reason. I just don't like hustle & bustle crowds, a personal taste that obviously is consider "strange" by a lot of folks, judging from what I hear on the news.

The facts are this. The largest, most competitive retail stores are desperate to sale a lot of products today, not next week, but today! How have they gotten themselves into such a state, that this one day greatly determines whether or not they will make a profit this calender year? Is something to be amazed at. We might even say "alarmed" about. What kind of economy have we created that depends on "over consumption", to the point that if Americans do not spend more money than they have, our whole economic system will go down the drain? Something, besides home mortgages, is upside-down!

Now I know a lot of my friends and relatives are participating in the great American tradition of shopping today on "Black Friday". My observation is not meant to be critical of 'shoppers', nor of capitalism, but rather to think reasonably about our nations economic future, if our great retailers are so over extended that they cannot expect to make any profits until the last 5 or 6 weeks of the year, this cannot be considered as a 'healthy economic system', but rather "fragile".  Nor can it be healthy for an economy to "depend" on credit for a "healthy business" to operate. I mean the "credit" of the 'consumer'. When all of our retail industry is counting on the public to go into debt for Christmas shopping, it would seem to me we are walking frayed tight-rope.

How vulnerable has our economy become? What if there is a large scale terroist attack at this season? Or even a cyber attack that "scrambles" the major retailers or banking computer networks? Does this mean our national retail companies are so delicate that they would quickly be driven into bankruptcy if suddenly consumers cut back on their purchases during Black Friday or throughout the Christmas shopping season?  I would suspect many of them are close to the edge as it is.

Here is a "common man's" opinion. From our top government officials, to our corporate heads, all the way down to the shopper on the street, we have lost our collective minds! Just as many people knew that the housing boom of 'recent collaspe' could not possibly continue, we ought to know that an economy built on a foundation of debt is always just one step from a major collaspe.

But cheer up, there is an answer to our economic vulnerability. But it will not start at the top of the food chain with government or big business. It must start at the very root of our economic system and that is with we the people, better know to retailers as consumers. If millions of Americans decide to give up the "debt addiction" and bring our personal finances back to solid ground, our whole nation will benefit, in the long term. It won't be so good for some of the more fragile retailers who are counting on us to keep their boat afloat by our personal debt, but as a nation, we will be better off with fewer companies that are healthy than a million big corporations existing on a thread. Let them go out of business and companies who do their job right will fill up the gap for the real demand.

I don't think it can be disputed that debt is necessary for business and individuals for certain big ticket items like homes, autos and such. How else can normal people finance such items? But those who keep records of such things tell us that our debt is far beyond "reasonable" and credit card debt it totally out of control for far too much of our poplulation.

Soon we will be in a new year. If you are make New Year's Resolutions, another questionable habit of Americans :), I would suggest, for your own peace of mind and the welfare of our country, you can't go wrong, if you to pay down your debt as much as possible. There is nothing we can do to help our economy more than by exercising some common sense restraint, when it comes to spending money that we don't have. It is a sure thing that our government is "not" going to cut their "overspending", after all, next year is an election year. The "powers that be", who have already ran the piggy bank dry, will not stop borrowing money to pacify all the "voters" who are screaming for more government "assistance", as long as they control the printing presses or can get "someone", even our enemies, to loan them money to keep themselves in office.

If on the other hand, you have money that you can spend without putting your personal economics in question, GO SHOPPING!

Happy Black Friday to all.