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Thinking this morning about the differences between economic value and market value because let me tell you what, some idiots shell out way to much dough for certain goods and services.
This pandemic has highlighted some of our more glaring issues as irrational consumers. Everyone complains of the economic hits sustained, but many continue to operate as if that weren’t the case.
Take an affluent person for example. Are they still paying for their yard work to be done? @PBurkes recently reported pool installations are on the rise. I’m willing to bet savvy providers of these services are bumping prices to capitalize on increased demand.
What about a less affluent person? Well, @JoshDulaney recently interviewed a pawn shop owner who has seen an influx of customers wielding $1,200 stimulus checks looking for video games. Sound rational in times of economic downturn?
In both cases I can’t believe the hundreds, or thousands, of dollars people spend on things, especially if they haven’t budgeted ahead of time for such an item or were failing to scale back with loss of work in a time like this.
We love spending money, and as Americans we have a lot of it to spend. Our economic forces behave funny in times like this, but at a micro level some people just can’t stop. They’ll pay a lot of money they may not actually be able to afford just to have their luxuries.
It’s also funny to watch as the wealthier, generally more conservative folks get frustrated by the irresponsible use of stimulus checks as they view it as a poor use of their tax money, the same money they would otherwise use on expensive and non-essential niceties.
Bottom line is I’m fascinated by it all. I hope folks who spend big money in strange things can both afford it and appreciate the privileges they have to do so. Those who can’t afford as much, I hope they use any extra assistance responsibly in these tough times.
