17 // OPINION (NATIONAL)

 It shouldn't come as a surprise that the busiest day of the year for most retail chains is Black Friday, a corporate holiday signified by its discounted prices and frantic customers.

This holiday has been a tradition since 1869, when it was originally used to describe an American financial crisis caused by a lack of gold. It only gained the customs we associate with it now sometime in the 1950s. The day marked when companies expected their revenue to venture from the "red" (a net loss of money)" to the "black" (a profit); thus, the name "Black Friday" was made.

(Image of a Rural King Black Friday ad. I would link to the original ad, but I'm not getting paid, am I?)

As reported by the Cable News Network (CNN), this Black Friday saw an increase of retail sales by nearly 4% from last year's report. However, economists claim this percentage is slightly exaggerated due to recent inflation. 

Economist and Pinpoint Press writer Rick Newman estimates that the 3% inflation rise makes the first statistic closer to an approximately 1% increase, having this to say regarding the sudden change:

"We have [a] 3% inflation," Newman says. "So maybe [the 4.1% increase in spending] is a real increase of just 1% or so, which is not that much of an increase. The story of the economy right now is it’s a bifurcated economy. If you’re lucky enough to own stocks and own a home, you’re part of the upper [class]… you’re going to be comfortable spending a fair amount of money this year."

Consumer concern about retail price has risen as well, not only because of said inflation but because of President Trump's tampering of U.S. tariffs. This is on top of the increasing prices of heating and produced goods. Furthermore, the administration's recent modification of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has left buyers more cognizant of spending than ever.

(Map of which states has the most SNAP Benefits recipients)

I define a corporate holiday as a holiday that only exists for the sake of profit. Corporate holidays can include days such as Valentine's Day, Halloween, Cyber Monday, and more. An argument could be made that corporations capitalize on the more cultural and religious holidays like Thanksgiving or Christmas, what with how much goes into spending money on decorations, produce, and gifts on those two days alone. And I would be inclined to agree, but categorizing them as "corporate holidays" felt disingenuous.

American commercialism and materialism has been the driving force of our consumerism for decades, with our obsession of buying bigger, better, sleeker, and newer items only now beginning to dwindle — and it wasn't even of our volition. The rejection of these fads (commercialism, materialism, consumerism, etc.) would benefit Americans mentally, but that would only be a palliative fix to the economic crisis we're currently facing.

Unless any changes are made on a national/federal/economical/whatever level, the trajectory of our fiscal issues will only worsen. Of course, this is a matter of the American people.

- C. Thomas Bailey