Lets see if I have this straight. The new iPhone, a $200 item, broke a sales record by selling 1 million units in 3 days. Now, a movie breaks opening weekend records.
Yep, the economy is in dire straights and Americans have no disposable income. Yep, I’ll continue to buy that line......
When Hollywood actually use the “number of ticket sales” as opposed to the “gross dollars of ticket sales” to determine a record, then I'll be impressed. With movie tickets increasing every year, then you will always have “records”.
I know a lot of Americans are having a tough time right now, but a lot are also able to spend on cell phones, movie tickets, eating out, etc. Until the former group outnumbers the latter group you will have a hard time convincing most Americans that we are in a recession.
A large percentage of the group that's hurting financially are always in that group, many because of decisions they've made throughout life. I'm having a tough time right now. I chose to finance a business using credit card debt. It has been tough going and I'm paying the penalty for my choice. But I am not bitter at the credit card companies, they upheld their end of the bargain, it was my end and the income that has faltered.
I am a professional freelance photographer. There are more and more of us these days as newspapers cut their photo staff to the minimum. It's always been a hard business to make a go of, and now it's even rougher. I still have faith that I'll make it work. But I really don't have $28 for a movie and some popcorn!
I am thrilled that there are so many doing well enough to push this movie, not to mention cell phone sales, to a record. My parents taught me not to resent people who have done better than you, just use them to encourage yourself to buckle down, do the job and join them for the next round! I am so thankful my parents didn't teach me to envy and resent those who do well. I had an aunt that simply could not enjoy the good fortune of others, not even her own children. Sad.
We might well be on the cusp of recession or worse, but the amount of money Americans spend on movies and cell phones certainly don't show it.
That’s exactly what I was just thinking. In Ohio, OSU football coach Jim Tressel just released his new book, The Winners Manual, this past week. He had a number of book signings and every single signing was packed. People bought thousands of books and stood in line for hours to get them signed. Yes, we are definitely in a depression.