ralper

I think there is a lot of truth in what Murphy has said. In addition, I think the retailers (both brick & mortar and online) have done the same thing that the auto manufacturers did years ago. People have gotten used to the fact that the prices will come down the closer we get to Christmas, and as a result, I think, people are more willing than ever to wait for the last minute to shop.

Much of what Bill says is also true. We are probably the wrong audience to question about this. Most of us are established and live in nice areas. We, for the most part haven't felt the recession nearly so much as others. The towns that Bill mentions in New Jersey are poor, and have been poor for quite some time. Some of it is political, and I won't go there, but some of it has to do with the general decrease in manufacturing in America. New Jersey was, in the past much more than a bedroom for New York (and Philadelphia) and the Jersey Shore. Going back 50 or 75 years ago you'd find manufacturing in most of the cities. Patterson was the silk capital of the world, Union City and Jersey City filled with apparel manufacturing (as well as other industries) as was Trenton. Camden was home to Campbells Soups and a host of other manufacturing companies. Camden, at one time was so filled with industry that it actually supported Cherry Hill. Today it's just the opposite. As manufacturing has declined across America New Jersey has been hit very hard. Today New Jersey is ranked 47th in new job creation.

New job creation is another area to consider. While there has been quite a bit of new job creation in America, the jobs that have been created are significantly lower paying than those that have been lost. As a result, I think there is less disposable income to be spent.

Finally, I think that perception has an awful lot to do with why sales were down over Thanksgiving weekend. Whereas we are hearing that the economy is improving, I don't think people in general are seeing evidence enough to convince them that its true. I think the perception is that things are still very tough, and if the economy is really improving, it's only improving for rich people.

I think, in general, people are very worried about the future and as a result aren't quite ready to spend the way the analysts expected them to.

dlq04

I question how much "thought" people really give to the future when it comes to spending. Necessity drives most spending and each person defines that to their own situation with little, if any, thought to the economy in general.

paS2K

I'm not religious, but I say God Bless You! Noted that no one else has yet been interested in your comments

TODAY is Giving Tuesday, by the way. Go to www.habitatphiladelphia.org if anyone has a few bucks to spare. Maybe I should find and /bump/ my "pay it forward" thread from a few years ago...

boltonblue

I think a lot of the black friday numbers being down is do to shmearing of sales over a longer period than just friday,
folks were open Thursday, they were holding sales all of the week before.

RMurphy

I'm pretty sure he's not doing it for the pat on the back or the kudos of anyone else.

Thanks for the attempt at laying the guilt-trip on though, Jerry.

S2KRAY

I'm pretty sure he's not doing it for the pat on the back or the kudos of anyone else.

Thanks for the attempt at laying the guilt-trip on though, Jerry.
[/quote]Not looking for a pat on the back or any other atta boy's. Just saying that this year I will do more to try to help the less fortunate among us. You don't have to be religious to help your fellow man or woman but a little compassion goes a long way.

RMurphy

I don't think anyone here thought you were.

paS2K

Here's what happened with our Habitat organization in Philly c/o GIVING#TUESDAY. A few of us board members (not me) posted a REAL $20,000 one-for-one "match" challenge. By mid-afternoon, over $23,000 had been raised in almost 200 online donations from $25 to $1,500; total raised with almost no work = over $43,000. The total may be higher by now. This is about ONE THIRD of the cost to Habitat to provide a new home with a no-interest mortgage for a low income family.

A lot of people are feeling fortunate in their position and giving back a little. Anyone who looked at the broadcast news today probably heard an item about the success of the effort nationally, with hundreds of non-profits getting on board.

ralper

Jerry,

You couldn't be more wrong if you tried. I'd be willing to bet you that everyone in this thread read the comments. And I'd be willing to bet everyone in this thread is charitable. Some give their time, some give their money and some give both.

Charity and charitable giving for me is a very personal thing. I don't need to tell anyone about my charitable giving nor do I need for anyone to acknowledge my giving. For me it is enough just to know that I've given. My satisfaction comes from my own knowledge that I've helped, not from anyone else patting me on the back or telling me how good I am.

I think many people feel that way, and that is why there were no comments, not because nobody was interested.

ralper

An interesting article about Black Friday sales.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/money/...are/ar-BBgfoGq