Interesting article on the economics of Christmas that my friend Kirk sent to me….
It’s worth a read and a thought…
From Yahoo News:
Close your eyes and imagine a totally make-believe world where families just like yours have a long wish list. But in this fantasy universe, they spend the whole year not buying what they want. Rather than spread their purchases evenly, they wait until the last six weeks of the calender to do half of their shopping. They accumulate unwieldy towers of goods from overstuffed malls in a graceless display that involves rushing into an electronics aisle, shoving aside a small mother, and excavating a cardboard box, like a vulture swooping over a crowded carcass. Half of the purchases are gifted to friends and family in a show of love, but a great deal of the recipients hate their presents, anyway. It doesn’t work out much better for the stores, who encourage this sordid behavior by slashing prices at the same time that they have to hire additional workers to clean up the mess. What civilized society would ever go through with this parade of indignities year after year?
Ours, naturally! So, Merry Christmas.
Lost in the 21st Century 