Black Friday: Do Merchants Expect Too Much From The Average Consumer?

I was leafing through the news today and came across a couple of articles on Black Friday. The articles were talking about how the sales looked more hopeful than last year, but if we were ever going to climb out of this economic crunch consumers had to start spending more, and spending it on items other than necessity.

At first, I was a little amused at such an outlook. While I know that the American economy is based on a spending economy not a producing one, I simply couldn’t understand how any one who had seen the unemployment rates could expect consumers to buy more, and buy anything at all other than basic necessities.

Just what are we suppose to buying those flat screened televisions, and X boxes with? Are we suppose to mortgage our homes? Opps! I almost forgot, we’ve already done that and now many more people are living on the streets or declaring bankruptcy.

Are we suppose to rob a bank? Can’t do that either as all the money for bank bailouts went for CEO bonuses. Do the store managers really have no idea how poor the average consumer is these days?

Then it struck me. The manages being quoted were from places like Walmart. Where were the managers of Saks? Of the stores lining Rodeo Drive? Why aren’t they suggesting that their consumers spend more? Why is it always left to the “little people” to bail out everyone else?

The truth is that we are in a bind, and us so called “average Joes” knew it long before the rest of the country. However, we also know that the solution to the problem does not and can’t rest on us spending more, especially when we don’t have it. The solution lies, in turning this country from a spending nation into a producing one.

When our government and our businesses start using good American ingenuity to start making products again then and only then will our economy really begin to recover. When the American worker can once again take pride in a job well done, and when business owners begin to hire and reward their good and faithful workers, then the economy will start to grow.

When we stop giving money to businesses that have mismanaged themselves to death and start offering start up money to new businesses with vision and the desire to succeed we may make some head way.

Until then, don’t even suggest that on a 25 hour a week, minimum wage job, that any consume should spend money on luxury items, when they can’t feed their children. Don’t tell the average American that America’s financial future is our hands, because those hands are too busy being used to scrape out a living.

Whatever, you do try and remember that for some families black Friday is not about turning a profit but about trying to find the money to turn their electric back on.