The holiday season is about to come into full swing and people are still doubtful about the economy, which could mean that people may not be confident enough to spend their money on lots of gifts. The problem with not spending money is that with the economy like it is, the only way to make it better is for Americans to put money in it through buying a lot of gifts this holiday season. How can consumers be confident enough to put money into the economy when many people still aren’t sure if they’ll have a home at the end of the year, or even a job?
Admittedly, if the economic problem had been dealt with earlier than when the stock market started going down we might not be in this situation, but nothing can be done to change that now. Now people have to watch as the news stations repeatedly lament the state of the nation’s economy, and prophesize that it can only get worse before getting better. With pessimistic views like these making the top stories every night it is no wonder that many do not want to put their money into a sinking ship.
According to the headlines this will be the first holiday season that profits will decrease instead of increase. Companies, in an attempt to reverse this prediction, have started bombarding TV viewers with commercials urging them to buy the newest products.
Ads like this may have worked in the past, but this year things may be different. Instead of trying to take advantage of American consumers materialism the companies might have saved some money but not running such aggressive (and annoying) ad campaigns.
A sad side effect of the poor economy is that children brought up believing they were entitled to whatever they wanted will now have to have a rude awakening. Parents might also feel the guilt of not being able to buy the gifts their children want when on Christmas morning the kids don’t look as excited as they have in the past. It isn’t sad that children won’t be getting all the toys they want, it’s sad that children have come to expect so much.
Of course, there are families all over the world that go without buying gifts every year. The one benefit of the state of the economy this year may be that people have a greater appreciation for what they have. Instead of whining about how because of other people’s actions they won’t be able to afford that shiny new toy this year people should focus on what they have. As sappy and cliché as it may sound, the holidays are not about gifts, but about family and friends, and being thankful for what people have.
If the only thing Americans can focus on this holiday season is the fact that their stockings aren’t as full as they were in previous years then there’s a serious problem. People should look around and realize that this extreme materialism isn’t healthy. The way the economy works is through people spending money, but if people have to choose between appeasing their children’s idea of what the holidays are about and their house payment, there’s a problem.
Instead of being negative we should instead look to the positive. We don’t know for sure what will happen to the economy. It could get worse, or it could get better. Either way we’ll have to deal with the situation when it comes.