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Suncoast Pasco News

Holiday Worrying

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THE SUNCOAST NEWS

Published: November 24, 2007

Yesterday, according to the modern vernacular, was Black Friday – the busiest shopping day of the year. If, as that name implies, trying to make a major dent in holiday shopping on the day after Thanksgiving is such a nightmare, we wonder why so many people do it.

At this time of the year the headlines are full of nervous speculation about how much money people are planning to spend on gifts for the various holidays that will pop up between now and the beginning of the New Year. The fate of the nation supposedly rests on the results of this year-end retail activity. Usually, either the outlook is gloomy and in the end people spend more than expected or the prediction is people are planning to spend like crazy and the final sales figures fall short.

The conventional wisdom probably is that nationwide the 2007 shopping season won't be great because people are worried about the soaring prices of fossil fuels, the looming crisis in the subprime mortgage market, the falling value of the dollar and the political uncertainty heading into 2008. Things in Florida could be even worse, given the worries about rising property taxes and homeowner insurance rates.

Or maybe the Gloomy Gus crowd will be wrong and people will spend about the same amount they usually do. Regardless, life will go on – trust us.

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