Take Black Friday into the Red

I've seen a bunch of news broadcasts and Facebook posts about how sick it is that retail stores are starting their Black Friday sales on Thanksgiving.  What they don't seem to get is that this trend is the perfect example of supply and demand.  You know, the whole "if you build it, they will come" thing?

The economy is in the dumps (no matter what the high-paid experts are trying to tell us), and every store is doing their part to get their piece of the pie.  They are doing what they feel they need to do to get you out of your warm and toasty bed and into the zoo-like free for all that is their big sale.  It's natural, and it's not their fault.  But who's fault is it, you ask?  Ours.

We buy into it.  We want those deals so badly that we are willing to risk life and limb (sometimes literally) to get them.  If we weren't, the stores wouldn't pay the millions in overhead to open a store and pay their employees.  So, instead of signing a petition to stop "them", I suggest that you simply stay in bed and enjoy the family and life for which you just got done giving thanks.

If you do that, the stores will get the message loud and clear in millions of dollars in lost revenue and standard overhead, and their employees will also get to stay home and keep toasty.  Take Black Friday into the red!

But, let's get serious, it isn't going to happen.  People still want their bargains and will continue to flock to the earliest sales with the biggest discounts.  I'm just hoping it gets so bad that they start the huge sales on November 1st and take the shopping out of Thanksgiving and put the thanks back into Thanksgiving.

So, Happy Thanksgiving, y'all.  I give thanks for you... and won't be competing with anyone but my pillow on Black Friday.