If you’ve watched local news lately, you’ve probably seen a well-coiffed newscaster in a mall warning you that consumers — that is, you — aren’t spending enough this holiday season. Even before the Dow went down, these segments were holiday evergreens. Americans have never bought enough for their loved ones during Christmas, and without seasonal plasma TVs, the economy could implode! And now that the economy is imploding, I’m going to blame the plasma TVs. Do you remember this article about McMansions in 2002? We shouldn’t be living with more toilets than we can remember, and I believe this foreclosure/stock/bond/everything crisis is an exaggerated reaction to the exaggerated lifestyle some people enjoyed during the mid-aughts. Right now, I’m in Palm Desert, which is near Palm Springs. In the hotel, there’s a book of stuff to do in the area, with a section called “Shopping Nirvana.” I suppose that’s not exactly an oxymoron because in the shopping district, you are not for want of places where you can get things you want.