Want to freak out your kids? Check this book out from the library: scroogenomics: Why You Shouldn't Buy Presents for the Holidays. Bonus points if you do so in November or December.
The author doesn't actually suggest you make any changes in the gifts you give your young kids, but the kids don't know that. The title of the book and the picture of the crying child on the cover are enough to strike fear into children's hearts.
That was an unintended consequence of checking out the book. I saw it sitting with the new books in the library and thought it looked interesting. It wasn't until I saw the look of horror on IM's face when she skimmed over my books that I realized how it must look from her perspective.
In any case, this book looks at gift-giving from an economic perspective. The author's main point is that since gifts usually provide less satisfaction dollar-for-dollar than money we spend on ourselves, holiday gift-giving provides a net economic loss. I'm not entirely convinced, but it was interesting to see him lay out the argument.
What I did find fascinating was the comparison in holiday shopping between the United States and other countries and between the present and the recent past.
When comparing the bump in spending attributable to the December holidays (as a percentage of sales), the United States is lower than the median. Not only that, the bump's percentage has not grown since 1935. And in fact, holiday spending is a smaller share of the economy now than it was then.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Oh my goodness -- the book I've been waiting for my whole life!! I am total scrooge -- I hate birthday and Christmas gifts, even ones given TO ME (unless it's a gift card or comes with a gift receipt). I had never heard of this book but will totally have to check it out -- thanks for recommendation!
Post a Comment