The Conservative Cave
Current Events => General Discussion => Topic started by: bijou on December 24, 2011, 07:01:42 AM
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Buying a gift may spread holiday cheer, but it also spreads something else: Global wealth destruction.
Joel Waldfogel calls holiday gift-giving "the subversion of the usual way that economic activity works."
You can tell Waldfogel isn't from the North Pole. But believe it or not, he lives close enough. He is the Frederick R. Kappel Professor of Applied Economics at the University of Minnesota.
He is also a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, the official arbiter of when recessions begin and end. And he is the author of "Scroogenomics: Why You Shouldn't Buy Presents for the Holidays," published in 2009.
Waldfogel has been debunking the yuletide myth of economic prosperity for a long time. In 1993, he wrote a paper called "The Deadweight Loss Of Christmas," spelling out the widespread economic damage caused by the commercialized holiday.
Earlier this week, Waldfogel was at it again in a webcast for members of the media that was sponsored by the National Science Foundation. Here is just some of his math:
Americans spend $70 billion on holiday gift-giving, according to Waldfogel's estimates. Around the world, that figure doubles to about $140 billion.
Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/2011/12/23/scrooge-economist-says-gift-giving-is-stupid/#ixzz1hSNUX62x
Missing the point big time. :whatever:
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He must be an athiest, to not understand the reason for the season of gift giving.
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He must be an athiest, to not understand the reason for the season of gift giving.
He's a college professor, so that would figure. Serious lefty, most likely.
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Fox takes forever to load through my ISP and connection, because of all its bells, whistles, and other assorted wastes of code, so I'm not going to go to the link. But essentially what he says would only be true if you assumed all the gifts were immediately discarded by their recipients, adn had ho residual economic value to them. He would have a much sounder argument (But still a 'Totally not getting it' one) if he just addressed special holiday meals and parties. Many gifts I've received over the years are still around and useful, from my first .22 (Being used by my #3 son to hunt squirrels this year) to various tools (Power and otherwise), to books I never would have found or been able to justify buying for myself.
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He's a college professor, so that would figure. Serious lefty, most likely.
Sounds like a salvo fire in the War on Christmas. Buy presents for loved ones is bad for the economy? Really?!
cut 70 Billion out of yearly spending and see how the economy crashes
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Missing the point big time. :whatever:
As the scriptures say: But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David an economic stimulus has been born to you."
Unless my translation is faulty.