unseen on December 27, 2012 at 12:30 PM

If I see ONE more email from my employer along the lines of “stop blaming the economy”, I’m gonna be tempted to snail-mail him a spring-loaded banana cream pie.

People are shutting down their businesses and retiring prematurely and we’re get roasted for not making ridiculous sales goals…thank God I’ve been able to do as well as I have.

prices are too high, people are broke.

The FED’s QE program has driven prices up to the point where the vast majority of the avg person’s take home pay (for those that still have a job) leaving very little left over for gifts.

Reap it LibTards®.

Took a nice long walk with the wife, drank some locally-grown coffee in Old San Juan, came home to a dinner of ribs and home-made mashed potatoes.

Last year we threw a big party and had about forty people over to the house for Christmas dinner. This year we put a new business concept on ice, closed the one we had running for two years, and battened down the hatches. We’re eating mostly from Sam’s Club these days, making massive batches of freezer dinners and oatmeal.

Of course, the fiscal cliff had nothing to do with any of this. SQUIRREL!

lynncgb on December 27, 2012 at 8:38 AM

You know the answer to your own question. There was/is no recovery yet. Aren’t we getting ready to extend unemployment benefits yet again as part of the budget deal?

U.S. holiday retail sales this year were the weakest since 2008, when the nation was in a deep recession.

And when and where was there any recovery? The recession of 2008 is the same recession in 2012 . Unemployment in my state is still over 9%, the number of people receiving food stamps is higher than ever, and the disability rolls have at times outpaced job growth.
Who are these optimistic analysts that think sales should be up?

Outsourcing of assembly to China is nothing new, but Chinese fabric selection, design and tailoring over the last 5-10 years have produced the kind of boxy, see-through potato sack look as worn by the Beijing masses. Retailers have eaten their seed corn (brand identity, reputation for quality/styling, customer loyalty) and now attempt to blame a competitive marketplace and shrinking margins. Retailers are desperate to convince you that the skimpy, the threadbare and the tacky are ‘fashionable’ but most of us have worn-out screen-printed T-shirts hiding somewhere in a drawer or a closet and we aren’t all that interested in paying top dollar for more of the same.

I braved a busy upscale mall before Xmas looking for quality. I might as well have been looking for a virgin in a cathouse. I left empty-handed.

Oh and FYI the recession never ended here in the Possum Holler/Realville metroplex.

Worst retail season in four years.

Unless you’re selling guns, ammo or high capacity magazines.
Government can stimulate some economies, it just depends on what they say.

You forgot the $4M pricetag for the taxpayer since the filthy Obama family demands their annual Christmas vacation in Hawaii.

Happy Nomad on December 26, 2012 at 8:57 PM

But, but, didn’t you hear? He is coming back from his vacation early so he can… continue to say no to whatever plan the GOP suggests.
It’s a shame they had to tear him away from his lovely vacation, isn’t it?! His cape and leotards must have come back from the cleaners early.

These next 4 years are going to be miserable and many people just don’t realize what is coming over the horizon.

Subotai Bahadur

And meanwhile Obama says Merry Christmas from Hawaii with love, everyone!

Michelle sends her best regards as well!!

Sherman1864 on December 26, 2012 at 8:36 PM

You forgot the $4M pricetag for the taxpayer since the filthy Obama family demands their annual Christmas vacation in Hawaii.

We had a no-gift Christmas this year. Just stockings with fruit, candy, nuts and some small gag items. Then, a great Christmas dinner together. I smoked a brisket that was proclaimed ‘meat candy’. As we finished, it started snowing. Unusual for a Christmas Day here in East Texas.

All-in-all, a great day with family.

trigon on December 26, 2012 at 7:33 PM

Good for you! I couldn’t afford a Christmas tree this year so the kid and I decorated a palm tree and stuck it in the living room. He got one gift that was well thought out. He made me a home-made card, which will be treasured forever.

This is one of the more memorable Christmases I have had.

Key West Reader on December 26, 2012 at 8:14 PM

Same held true with the Nomad clan. A very austere Christmas. We’ve never been big spenders for Christmas but this year the focus was definitely on things other than gifts. Good meals, catching up, and fellowship were definitely more important than “stuff” under the tree. I wonder how many others have a similar experience.

Michelle sends her best regards as well!!

We had a no-gift Christmas this year. Just stockings with fruit, candy, nuts and some small gag items. Then, a great Christmas dinner together. I smoked a brisket that was proclaimed ‘meat candy’. As we finished, it started snowing. Unusual for a Christmas Day here in East Texas.

All-in-all, a great day with family.

trigon on December 26, 2012 at 7:33 PM
……………………….

Good for you! I couldn’t afford a Christmas tree this year so the kid and I decorated a palm tree and stuck it in the living room. He got one gift that was well thought out. He made me a home-made card, which will be treasured forever.

This is one of the more memorable Christmases I have had.