I’m sitting here in the parking lot of the Poughkeepsie Galleria waiting for my wife to come out of Macy’s. We’ve been shopping all over for the better part of the day and, an armload of opinions to the contrary, it does not appear to me that we are in, “the worst financial shape since the depression.”
Here are some observations:
Malls: packed.
Stores: packed.
Parking lots: packed.
Restaurants: busy.
Theater: packed.
I know, mentally, that there is some sort of financial crisis. I know that many of the people haunting these businesses may not be spending money, or that they’re only looking for bargains, but people are shopping. They are spending some money It may not be as MUCH money as retailers are used to, but I do not see anything nearly as dire as is being stated from on high.
Is there a complete disconnect on the part of consumers? Or is a darker picture being painted than reality actually dictates?
