We've done it to ourselves

Retailers usher in post-Xmas business By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO, AP Business Writer NEW YORK - With the 2007 run-up to Christmas boosted by a last-minute sales surge, retailers are putting an extra emphasis on after-Christmas discounts, hoping bargain shoppers and gift-card splurgers can enrich stores' holidays. (YahooNews)

No, you will not find me among those who are out arm wrestling for bargains this time of year. I do not want the leftovers, the scratched and dented or the open box specials. I want to cut my spending, reduce my overhead and make sure I have money to put gas in my car and food on my table. I want to make sure my credit card debt does not resemble the federal deficit and I want to make sure I have money for real emergencies like trees falling, broken bones and other unavoidable things that tend to pop up.

This commercialism is really beginning to bug me. As a nation, the United States is in way over our head, from the federal government down to the last tax payer and eventually, someone is going to start collecting. The housing foreclosures are just the beginning of a very long, very steep slide. The local budgets are going to feel it first, which will result in fewer services (fire and police) but will eventually start impacting other sectors of the economy. Reports are already showing that businesses are starting to adopt a bunker mentality going into the first quarter, maintaining or lowering staffing levels, not raising them. Get ready, it is going to be a very bumpy ride.