The problem with Black Friday deals
This is a time of regular warnings on radio, TV and the newspapers regarding “scams” to separate people from their money. Yet, all three arms of media supplemented by every available avenue of communication available, perpetuate and encourage, in a frenzy of hype and advertising, one of the greatest scams of the 21st century, Black Friday, or as it now develops into a complete Black Week or Black Month, has one objective in mind; to get people to buy items they don’t need or want and are probably unlikely to use.
Originally associated with market crash and financial disaster, the term was slyly resurrected by slick American sales motivators, to suggest discounts large enough to herald a “black day” for sellers, while in reality it takes advantage of Thanksgiving Holiday goodwill, to get rid of surplus stock so that a new range of merchandise can be presented with a similar purpose in mind, during the following four weeks.
Initially, the sales holiday served a useful purpose. Relatively expensive goods of all sort, often in limited supply and unaffordable, were genuinely discounted enabling those who could not normally do so, purchase life enhancing product as genuine bargains.
Similarly, after Christmas and seasonal sales provided similar genuine opportunity. In the last number of decades however, things have changed dramatically as merchandise has become abundant and inexpensive, and we now find ourselves in a permanent “sales” and discounts selling arena. Indeed, it is often suggested that feverish hype and advertising, hide the fact that “black” discount is often less than what is available throughout the year.
The festive atmosphere which “black” Friday tries to generate, hides however one of the greatest economic difficulties confronting modern economics.
How to control, restrain and manage gross global overproduction which provides everything in far greater abundance than the human race can consume?
The only item in short supply for grossly overstocked global markets is customers. The human race, approaching 8 billion and assuming those who at present are deprived will one day become inclusive, is simply unable to consume all, or anywhere near all, modern technological ability can supply. The only logical solution is to restrain output to an appropriate level. But who will do it? who has the will to do it, and how?
The EEC used restraint to curtail output of Agricultural produce from the 1960’s onwards until the “smart” guys of the early 2000’s, got rid of it just at the time it should have been expanded to cover all forms of output. In the meantime, the problem, like the output, has got much bigger.
Black Friday, even extended to months or to the whole year, is not even an adequate sticking plaster. The situation is however, that if economics are to survive gross oversupply must be tackled and remedied. Otherwise the future will be very “black” for all.