All I Want for Xmas is 5 Million Tons of GarbageTommi Avicolli-Meccabyline‚ Dec. 17‚ 2007Xmas is all about spending. Forget Baby Jesus in his cold manger bed, or those overworked sweatshop elves in the North Pole. When all is said and done, Xmas in America is about one thing and one thing only: Cold hard dollars and cents, the kind that people shell out to show someone how much they love them or to make themselves feel as if they are getting “in the holiday spirit.” Last year, Americans spent an average of $910 on gifts, which was down from $1,004 in 2004. This year, surveys show that shoppers plan to spend about $859 on presents, though that number could turn out to be much higher when the season is over and the analysts pull out their calculators to prove that our economy is healthy and wealthy but certainly not wise. |