From Mish’s:
Thanksgiving came early this year. It was yesterday, Thursday October 29, 2009. The reason we know this is the after Thanksgiving shopfest known as Black Friday started today.
No doubt some of you who forgot to stuff yourselves with turkey and pumpkin pie yesterday are demanding proof of this occurrence. I can certainly oblige.
Please consider
Sears Starts Black Friday NOW! Promotion Today
Every week between now and Black Friday, Sears.com will have several doorbusters from their Black Friday ad available only for just a few hours. This week’s sale runs from 5pm this afternoon until noon tomorrow (central time). Here are the doorbusters available this week:
Its a desperation move – an attempt to just get people in to the stores by any means possible in hopes that the total sales from now until December 25th won’t be a complete disaster. I think they will be – check around with your friends and family and see if you know anyone who is planning on a major spending spree this Christmas. Me, personally: I don’t know anyone who is. Those who are out of work will, naturally, spend as little as they can; those who have work are at least somewhat concerned about job losses and/or pay cuts. Its just not the time to spend like there’s no tomorrow…and even if you were planning on charging up the credit cards, you’ll find that the major credit card issuers are dropping credit lines and raising interest rates.
As I’ve said since Obama got in to office – his plans and programs might allow us to tap dance around disaster for some time. It might put the brakes on the slide. It might burnish the numbers on this or that. But the fundamental problem remains – our dollar has lost 99% of its value since approximately 1913; we’re in debt up to our eyeballs; the banks are largely insolvent; our assets are still way over-valued; our manufacturing, farming and mining base is way too small; our government has many tens of trillions of dollars of unfunded mandates. This cannot be sustained.
Only balancing the budget, lowering taxes (which means some very, very large budget cuts will be necessary – without in any way adversely affecting national defense, law enforcement or the elderly on social security) and getting ourselves back to work making, mining and growing things will get us out of this mess. We’re broke – we have to admit it, pay off our debts and get back to work.
There’s no other way – play the fantasy of Obama and the bankers, and it’ll just get worse and worse…and harder and harder to get out of.
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