So with a new president in office for an hour, I thought an
appropriate stop at lunch would be to check out some sales and pump a
few dimes into the struggling economy.
With only a few minutes on my way to pick up a sandwich, I decided
that my 4-year-old daughter might deserve a superhero action figure
to go with the Batman, Joker and Superman figures she's gotten
recently. So I duck into Toys R Us to see what sales might tempt me,
but I can't find anything I want for a price I want to pay. A couple
items had my interest; however, they didn't have price tags (only
clearance stickers) so I bypassed them.
One of them, a telescope/microscope combo package might have made it
into my car, but it didn't have a price. My daughter has pressed for
a telescope, but as she is only 4, I'm not interested in ponying up
too much for that.
So my shopping trip ended up with nothing but a quick exit and fast
lunch. I had heard a radio report recently about the economy with
some wondering if enough people have enough stuff, a sure symptom of
an economy that will not grow.
That means trouble for all, but especially for advertisers and those
who rely on advertising. Newspapers have taken a beating, with last
year one of the worst as high debt loads brought on by acquisitions
being met with fast-declining ad sales. Now, few newspapers are being
sold even though numerous companies are trying to move them as their
stock prices are sinking and sinking fast.
Retailers are the next group to hurt and that will damage media
bottom lines. While I've seen some of those nice 70 percent off sales
on clothing at various stores, I had hoped for massive discounts at
Toys R Us, hence the search for a telescope.
But what if everyone had everything they needed?
At least more of us would have time to watch daytime cable news.