What has happened to holidays?

Everyone who knows me knows that I am a avid shopper.  I love a bargain.  I love to browse stores.  I shop all year around.   On vacation I enjoy shopping new stores and new venues.

With that introduction, I state my unequivocal opposition to the early shopping on Thanksgiving Evening.   We have so few holidays to spend with friends and family.  

Now we have the additional pressure that people have to leave by 5 pm to get to Store A, B, C to get the special.

It may be that there are some genuine great buys.  I have explored the Black Friday deals online which have been going on all week (and even before this week).   I see no great deals on anything I want.  

One technology store has deals on everything but its most desirable item.  Most of the other sales I have seen are the same as the continuing cycle of sales.  There are so many sales.  I rarely go into a store without a store coupon.  I rarely shop online without a "deal."

The fervor of Black Friday (now beginning Thursday night) is an adventure that may become a tradition, but it is eroding the tradition of Thanksgiving.

That is not surprising.  As the ties of family erode in our society, there are more opportunities to "do one's thing."  Shopping on a national holiday is only part of a larger trend to break down societal ties in favor of economic gain.

A Tragedy of Our Society

Everyone knows we have the world's highest productivity in agriculture and possibly the cheapest food in the world (as a percentage of total expenses).  

Be that as it may, we increasingly hear about the hunger in our country.   I give generously to food shelves and to agencies that feed the homeless and the helpless, both in cash and in food donations.  But, I wonder why increasingly the solicitations I receive all relate to food distribution.  

Are we creating a permanent dependency?  

Are people learning that they don't have to spend for food, but can spend for other things? I am not talking about the homeless, the abandoned, and others who are in a pitiful situation.

I grew up in a modest home.  We were poor, but we always had food.  We did not have a car or many other luxuries.   One part of me wonders about the values of people who do not feed their children breakfast but have many other "luxuries."

Schools have had to take over feeding many children.  Churches and social services are collecting and distributing food endlessly.
I will continue to participate, but I will also question the values of our society.

Walletless Society?

My latest issue of Businessweek posits that we are moving toward a walletless society.   We may be moving toward a cashless society, but a walletless one?   I wonder.

The number of cards and IDs we have is growing.  I have two cards to go to Barnes and Noble.  As of yesterday, I have two cards to go to Kohl's.  And they want me to add an app.  There are few places I go where I do not have to have an ID.  Even restaurant loyalty cards.  For some of these one can use a phone number, instead of the card, but the card is there.

Yes, we can add another app to our phones or ipads or tablets.   There is a limit to how many apps one can put on the phone unless one wants to buy a 128 gb phone and flip through pages of apps to find the right one.  Each source assumes theirs is the primary app. you will use.  
I have a 64 gb Ipad, and it slows down when too many apps are open.   Most people do not close off the open apps.  
Since my Ipad also has my granddaughter's games (MANY of them -- perhaps 200 despite my efforts to reduce them), it demonstrates well what a phone or iPad can bear.   I have two apps for Target, about 3 or 4 for Amazon, several for Apple and its related sites.   And so on.

ApplePay and similar vehicles designed to make us walletless are new.   We do not know how secure they are.   The hackers are no doubt studying hard on how they can beat the system.

Although my friends know me as an early adapter, this is one trend where I will proceed slowly   As someone whose credit cards have been hacked about four times in the past six years (3 different credit cards),  I am reluctant to try a means where I have even less control.

My wallet is getting thicker, not thinner.  I don't anticipate giving it up anytime soon.  In fact, I frequently go through the wallet removing those credit cards for stores.   Yesterday I visited two stores where I infrequently go.  Those special cards are already out of the wallet and put away.

I see our cards growing, not shrinking, because of loyalty programs and their rewards.