Over consumption

You ever wonder how the United States could have a negative personal savings rate? The reason may be that whatever little we do save throughout the year we blow on holiday shopping in November and December.

In an article about shopping during last week's Black Friday, one shopper remarked that “in the past she would ‘spend thousands of dollars on Black Friday’ - even withdrawing money from her retirement account.”

Another shopper on Black Friday justified her shopping spree on the recession. "The fact that the economy is down has actually led me to spend a little more this holiday season, because there are so many good sales out there today," said Owolagi, a nurse, who spent more than $1,000 at three retailers by 8:30 a.m.

Another explained her credit card purchases, "I am paying a lot with credit cards, and I'm hoping the banks go out of business and I won't have to pay them back.”

That was not from “The Onion” and those are genuine comments from real people, despite sounding like a outrageous parody of lazy, debt-ridden Americans. Some people are hopeless.

And we overeat, too. Several interesting studies have shown how we underestimate the calories of diet foods, trans-fat free foods, and meals from restaurants that are marketed as health-concious places with more diet-friendly fare. The result of this miscalcuation is that we eat more of supposedly healthier options and in the end consume even more calories.