Halloween costumes made in China fill three Brand Boulevard retail spaces. One of these formerly housed the Salvation Army Thrift Store and now features items like the Freddy Krueger glove, priced at $54.99. Painted on the walls, and visible above the skeleton bodysuits, vampire masks and witches’ costumes, are the former tenant’s mottos: “Changing the World, One Life at a Time,” “Shouldering the Needs of Others,” and “Christianity in Action.”
An LA Times story reports Halloween sales in the region are better than expected, although it didn’t quote any Glendale store operators. I’ve visited all three downtown shops, shaken my head at several sale reps, and watched as people walked in and out of the stores. Only on a Saturday did I see a line at a cash register. This is truly discretionary spending.
How do sales of Halloween costumes and decorations help Glendale? The answer is a list of temporary financial benefits: the city gets sales tax revenue; local landlords receive short-term rents for otherwise empty spaces; and store staffs earn short-term wages. Arguing for any other benefit would be difficult: there is little positive value in cheap disposable costumes, plastic gravestones, or synthetic spider webs.
If I broaden the question to consider how such sales help our nation’s economy, finding answers is more complicated (although I’ll venture some ideas here).
Why are we importing these items from China and distributing them here? (Businesses are creating demand where no need exists: the genius of American marketing.)
Who profits? (Entertainment companies who license the rights to copyrighted characters; Chinese factory owners; exporters; distributors; and retail organizations.)
What must those Chinese factory workers think of us? (I don’t want to speculate on this, but it can’t be good.)
Is it better if they make this useless stuff, or if workers here make it? (Probably better for us if it is made in China – factories are closing as demand slacks off in the United States for toys and other discretionary purchases like these.) Pasadena Star News readers considered this question a few weeks ago when responding to Frank Girardot’s piece on products made in China.
For several years leading up to October 2008, our economy has depended on the sale of debt, real estate, and more debt. Halloween costumes don’t look scary in comparison. Retail businesses don’t aspire to the Salvation Army’s goals. But our society won’t thrive as long as we depend in any way on sales of useless (and I imagine non-biodegradable) junk to increase tax revenues and provide jobs.
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