Is It A Good Or Bad Thing That So Many Companies Are Going Out Of Business?
What exactly will 2009 bring us in terms of businesses closing down for good? Estimates are that hundreds of large, name brand businesses will go under in 2009 due to the economy – which while sad for the workers is not necessarily a bad thing. We have consumed ourselves right into this mess, and with people starting to buy what they need rather than what they want, many of these stores are seeing their customer base disappear. Shopping had become a national religion for too many people and stores took advantage of that fact by duplicating themselves on every street corner…only to find their customer base disappear this year. We should have known that this level of consumption could not be sustained forever, but not too many business owners thought long term or of anything other than profit; they expanded into every nook and cranny expecting to continue to reap the rewards of the “American Way” of shopping our way into the poorhouse. After all, Americans carry $2.56 trillion in consumer debt, with the average household’s credit card debt amounting to $8,565! Well, it’s over for many businesses already as of the end of 2008:
