One of the best times of the year
to move the economy forward is the Christmas shopping season, which
traditionally starts the day after Thanksgiving, the day known as Black Friday,
as it is when many retailers make their profits for the year. The real economic
problem we see is consumer confidence - the more political pundits talk about a
recession which has not been proven yet, the more consumers and businesses will
tighten up their spending, thus creating a self-fulfilled prophecy.
To boost consumer confidence, the nation needs to
first give consumers something to be happy about, thus increasing demand for
goods, thus facilitating manufacturing and more retail sales. The best way to
re-start this cycle is not via throwing money at the people who created the
problem in the first place, but rather by getting consumers to want to spend
more money and feel good about it. While economists agree that personal debt is
not a good thing, the fact is that people will use their credit cards to
purchase Christmas gifts and rack up debt. Making people feel good about using
those credit cards would, therefore, be help the economy. In the process,
credit card companies and banks will make more money because happy consumers
spend more.
Boycott Watch would therefore like to
see a joint program between credit card issuers to lower interest rates for the
all purchases made between Thanksgiving Day and January 5th. Such a campaign
would make consumers feel better about their Christmas purchases, thus build
consumer confidence. |
| |
|
|
| Advertisement: |
 |
|
|
