Christmas in July

There's something really offensive about encouraging people to make unnecessary purchases in the midst of the Great Recession. In California 12.4% of our fellows don't have jobs. Many more face wage and/or hour reductions, furloughs, and other attacks on their income. While retailers are in the business of parting people from their money, they seem to be unaware that their sales in the early years of the New Millennium were dependent on credit--and the credit has dried up. People are just not in need of Christmas presents in July, and may not be in need of them in December. In fact, those who have money may think it's a bit unseemly to be buying when so many of our friends and neighbors are having a hard time.