Economy Rebounding? Not According to the Great Black Friday Bust: Inflation Pushes the Black Friday .3% Increase

The mainstream media continues to push the talking point the economy is on the rebound. For Americans who are still looking for work and dealing with signs of inflation, the economy isn't rebounding. It barely has a pulse. As Black Friday drew near, stories of the improving economy continued to headline stories everywhere. Based on the the Black Friday bust last week, which I heard many friends claim shopping was actually pleasant, the economy isn't improving.

Shopper Traks reports just a .3% increase from 2009's Black Friday. The Wall Street Journal reports, "Black Friday sales rose only slightly from a year ago even though more shoppers visited stores, retail traffic monitor ShopperTrak said Saturday, setting the stage for another uncertain holiday season for retailers. Sales increased 0.3% to $10.7 billion, according to ShopperTrak, which installs monitoring devices in stores to gauge traffic. Traffic rose by 2.2%, ShopperTrak said."

When you consider that inflation is now a factor in the American economy, which has driven up costs over the last few months thanks to the devaluing of the dollar, in reality the .3% increase is misleading. When you consider inflation, people bought less on Friday.

"The reality is we have a deal-driven consumer in 2010," Mr. Martin said in a release. "The American shopper has adapted to the economic climate over the last couple of years and is possibly spending more wisely as the holiday season begins."