Super-Duped

“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me!” W.’s mangling of that sentiment notwithstanding, it serves the rest of us well as we strive to avoid making the same mistakes again and again. And, should we repeat a given mistake, who to blame. Sorry to break it to you, but we’ve been hoodwinked at regular intervals on different fronts for most of our lives. The most recent failure of the “Super-Committee” is but one of many and an excellent starting point, I’d say.

After the House as a whole was unable to find common ground in reducing government spending, they thought it best to form a smaller group of their peers with free rein in an attempt to rein in the cash flowing from Washington into other coffers. And the Super-Committee was thus created. Super powers? Super smart? How about supercilious? Or superficial, perhaps. No, there was nothing super about this assemblage other than the marketing that promoted the possibility of success.

On a wider political note, we’ve come to believe that a two-party democracy is in our best interests and entertaining any third party candidate will only split the vote and allow an otherwise unpalatable candidate to win. The fact is that the Republican and Democratic party’s best interests are served to our detriment. Without the third voice, the issues and resulting debates can be controlled while avoiding real world challenges and outside-the-box solutions. Regardless, the electorate continues to shun that third voice.

Black Friday has come and gone, but not without record breaking attendance and sales.  Unfortunately, it also included fist fights, gun shots, and pepper spray used by a shopper on would be opponents (other shoppers) for coveted merchandise. All due to the marketing machine determined to convince the consumer that buying early is the only way to save money and get treasured gifts before they’re gone. Salesmanship 101, in other words. And year after year, more and more folks line up days in advance. As an interesting aside: none of those encamped outside retail outlets in anticipation for Black Friday were threatened with removal by local authorities while other non-violent Occupy venues were being torn down.

Economically, banks continue to sing the song of friendship while keeping an ever-tightening grip on the money they purport to be ready to lend. Banks have never been our friend, you know, but we still seem to gravitate to the bank in our neighborhood in spite of escalating fees and reduced availability of funds. Once again, marketers cajole and coax us into losing our resolve and continuing on the same financial path.

We are creatures of habit to be sure and have proven, time and again, that we can be duped. But is there a time when we finally figure out that everything is built around marketing with a singular goal of serving the best interest of the client, not the consumer. (Yes, you and I are the consumers.) Maybe the current state of our nation may move us toward a third party’s voice in the political debate. Or maybe a resistance to buying the newest and greatest at the earliest possible moment. Or even expecting a bit more quid for the quo in patronizing a specific financial entity. If we continue to fall for the hype of “Super” or “Improved” or “Trust Us” in spite of the almost certain letdown that usually follows, we at least know whom to blame.