As if it’s not bad enough that the government is a fan of deficit spending, the holiday season urges us to continue along the same failing path. Russ Roberts sums it up quite nicely. Shopping, and spending money frivolously is neither your patriotic duty, nor the key to maximizing your personal happiness.

Personally, I visited BestBuy when I rolled out of bed at 1pm on Friday. I was itching to make an impulse buy, a digital camera probably in the $150-200 range. I wasn’t in the store for 3 minutes before I began feeling claustrophobic. There were hands like Vishnu, everywhere, grabbing, pawing everything in sight. I was constantly being cut off, not by other patrons, but by store employees, who seeming had nothing to do but say “excuse me,” step in front of me, come to an immediate stop, and begin scratching their proverbial … well, you get the picture.

But I didn’t make it out without dropping $50 on CDs. In hindsight, yeah, I really didn’t need that camera. Just give me some more time with my new Cash CD and my guitar.