Spends 2 Little

OK, I get it.  We're in a recession.  Stocks are down, credit is tight, and shopping is considered as unseemly a habit as clipping your nails on the subway.  Problem is, we need some shopping to get us out of this mess!  Sure, if you make minimum wage selling shoes at Foot Locker, you shouldn't go into credit card debt for a 65" television, but extreme belt-tightening by everyone will only prolong the situation.

Tom Friedman says you should be home eating tuna fish , and no one should buy anything. This is supposedly the intelligent, and moral, choice.  Oh, it's cool if you buy a 10 kg bag of lentils from No Frills, but buying anything "frivolous" is practically sinful.  If you tell people you're going to the mall, they look at you like you said you were off to join the Manson family. But how will this help? An economy requires the exchange of goods and services, and if we all want jobs, we'd better start exchanging some cash for some goods.

Yesterday, Oprah told viewers that a great gift for a friend is a note card  telling her how you feel about her.  If Oprah were my friend and she gave me that for Christmas, it better have been pinned to a sable coat.  Jesus, if the billionaires stop shopping, we are truly screwed.

So all of you gainfully employed people out there should get your asses to the mall, and do your North American duty:  SHOP! Don't buy more than you can afford, but remember, if you choose to stick all your money in your mattress, you'll be able to lie on it all day, because your job will evaporate eventually.