FDR’s Failed Attempt To Convince You To Spend, Baby, Spend
Here is an interesting little historical fact that I did not know. Apparently, back in the day where the Great
Depression was in full swing and our good buddy Franklin Roosevelt was leading the country, he had a novel idea to move Thanksgiving up a week to encourage greater holiday spending.
This is from a recent blog post…(The writer of this blog post is the great-grandson of Lew Hahn.)
“Enter Lew Hahn, general manager of the National Retail Dry Goods Association. He suggested that the date of Thanksgiving be moved forward to help boost retail sales. In late October 1939, Roosevelt announced that Thanksgiving would be on November 23 rather than November 30. National outcry ensued, and Thanksgiving was christened with the name Franksgiving (after Roosevelt’s first name). Alf Landon, Roosevelt’s opponent in the preceding election, compared Roosevelt’s actions to Hitler’s:
If the change has any merit at all, more time should have been taken working it out… instead of springing it upon an unprepared country with the omnipotence of a Hitler.”
I just wonder how many politicians actually know this little fact of Great Depression history. I would bet this is just the kind of thing that might be on the docket next year at this time if we continue down the path we are.
Black Friday is upon us and experts are predicting this to be one of the worst shopping seasons in history. The consumer may have just fallen off a cliff and is not coming back. Donny Deustch said it best recently, “I think the consumer has stared into the abyss and saw nothing. Consumption in our country will most likely be dead for quite some time.”
In any event, Franksgiving is a novel idea. It was typical, however, of our great President, FDR. He tried tinkering around with our Constitution many times - be it the Supreme Court or Presidential Term Limits. He was a hoot!!!
