That’s the message I hear every holiday season, subliminally at least, beginning with the day after Thanksgiving when the media begins to report on retailers’ sales and the chances for a successful (for them) fourth quarter.
Will shoppers turn out and buy stuff in sufficient quantities to keep the economy afloat?
Or will they pay heed to all the cautionary tales of a slowing economy, falling dollar and possible foreign calamities and save their money for coming hard times.
The media likes to hype all that stuff on a regular basis too, you know.
It seems we can’t catch a break. Spend all our dough, and then what happens if there’s a Middle East crisis and gasoline costs more than a diamond at Tiffany’s?
Or take the frugal route and give only sensible, moderately priced gifts, (or maybe nothing but a thoughtful card to those who already have everything), and risk plunging the economy into a recession.
I can’t remember a recent holiday season when this basic story line has not been used in after Thanksgiving business reporting.
Will they turn out or won’t they?
It’s gotten darn hard to know what my duty is anymore.
So I think I’ll write my own story line. It goes like this.
Things are never as good as they seem.
And, of course, things are never as bad as they seem.
If you’ve got some cash and feel like spending it on family and friends, by all means go ahead.
If your budget is a little tight, cut back a tad and spend time rather than money with those you care about.
The economy will survive.
All this business reporting is really more infotainment than anything else anyway.
Yeah, I’ll spend a little money this year, but as always, it’s likely to be on Christmas Eve, when all us procrastinators emerge from our lethargy and descend on the emporiums to scrape up the leftovers.
I just hope there’s something left.
