While for many, the holiday season is a time of joy, for some it is filled with frustrations over gift-buying for friends and family, David Kyle Johnson, author of The Myths that Stole Christmas, argues that the common wisdom that Christmas is good for the economy is wrong and that seasonal spending actually makes the economy worse by inflating the credit bubble and generating wasteful spending. He suggests it would be better – and more ‘American’ – for people to save or invest their money to encourage economic growth instead.
Many of us harbor secret frustrations with the holiday season. Most common is the obligation to buy gifts. It looms over us like the sword of Damocles. We dread the inevitable shopping fiasco and despise Black Friday. We hate not knowing what to get, or buying for people who already have more than they need. One of my students this year said she’ll get $25 from her boss, but in turn be expected to pitch in $20 for a gift to her boss – which amounts to a nice New York City vacation for the boss and five dollars for each employee. Merry Christmas indeed!
It’s no secret that people are frustrated with the commercialization of Christmas. October Christmas ads? Christmas music in stores before Thanksgiving? And by December (to quote Jon Stewart) in every store it “looks like Santa’s balls exploded!” Can’t we dial it back a notch—at the least, reduce our gift giving obligation?
“No,” we immediately tell ourselves. “Our economy depends on Christmas spending.” It boosts production. It creates jobs. It increases the GDP. As Sarah Palin puts it in Good Tidings and Great Joy “Christmas helps to employ millions of people and props up our entire retail economy.” (p. 86) As frustrating as the Christmas spending obligation is, it’s all worth it because of its economic benefits.
Read more here
