When the Friday is something other than black
I grew up believing that a “black Friday” was far from a positive thing. History. Go ahead, put the term into Wiki, and back come a flood of tragic memories. War, pestilence, asteroids striking the earth and destroying the dinosaurs (I’m not sure about that last one). But we’ve changed millenia, and now, Black Friday is symbolic of hope.
Retailers and bargain hunters, rejoice! With the inclusion of a long weekend and some carefully sculpted advertisements, the bottom line is safe. Starting early tomorrow, (or yesterday, depending on the chain of stores in question) a broad spectrum of products will emerge with new price points, and the credit card industry will do a “happy dance”.
I’m not in on it. No big needs. No big windfall in the spare cash pocket. No holiday; north of the border, we’ve already given thanks. The turkey, not so much… This Friday, like most other Fridays, I’ll be in my cubicle. True, there’s always online (that’s why Cyber Monday was created), but my need list is less obvious. As for the rest of you, go ahead and spend!
The provincial government is promising another deficit budget, in large because the middle class hasn’t been spending profligately. Less tax revenue to rev up the motor of state spending (deficits budgets don’t slow the motor, but we’re not supposed to notice that little detail). Oddly, just after I learned about a website that was supposed to reveal the real value of those “on sale” items, I learned that the site had been folded into eBay, where values are far from real. Fitting, somehow.
