Is It Over?

Black Friday (and whatever you want to call Thursday other than Thanksgiving) are now past for another year. Time for the war on Christmas to begin.

(Removing tongue from cheek.)

What a load of baloney!

I think Pope Francis is on to something important about our culture. We are materialistic; our financial health is based on buying more than we did last year so profits go higher this year than they did last year. And if the sales don't increase, well, just raise the price before you discount it so the new, cheaper price is the same as last year's old regular price.

Make sense?

Yes, I agree that growth is important- stagnation of anything, including economies, can be harmful. But when the push for more and more overcomes common sense and the importance of saving and planning, perhaps it has gone too far.

Unrestricted growth, unplanned and unmanaged growth, is what happens in our bodies when cancer occurs.

I have a hunch there is a parallel there.

No, I am not Scrooge. I have this addiction to the newer and better, too. I am in many ways an early adopter. I keep reading the Best Buy ads for what I want next in computer tech, smart TVs and camera accessories. But then I think of all those "newest and best" that I have bought over the years that are now long gone into trash and landfills.

Sure they were worth it and with some exceptions (leisure suits, for example) are not regretted. I am simply thinking about a little restraint, not the rush to madness we see every year on Black Friday. Governmental management is not the answer, but somehow to get to a point where we as a nation are able to make sensible judgements about our finances and futures without making or materialistic addiction so visible.