I have been thinking about this entire "shopping" thing just recently, in fact I spoke to my mother about it this weekend. When exactly did "shopping" become a hobby as opposed to a necessity? As far as I know the pioneers of old did not leave their ranches and go into town for the express purpose of "browsing" no they went to the feed store or whatever to buy something they specifically needed. So why did "shopping" become a hobby? At what point in history did people stop shopping for things they needed and start "shopping" as a pastime? I mean think about it, you get up in the morning and think "I'm going to go shopping today" for what purpose? You have a wardrobe full of clothes, you have more shoes than any person could wear in a year, you have a freezer full of food, a fridge full of food, cupboards full of food and yet, despite all that, you feel the need to go out "shopping". It is strange that the entire US economy has now tied itself into that notion with the "stimulus" checks which are going to go out which they are hoping will encourage people to go out "shopping" for things they neither need nor want. The majority of Americans have all the clothes they could ever need, they have housing, they have food, they have cellphones, they have TVs, they have cars, they have things that people in third world countries could ever dream about owning and yet weekend after weekend Americans go out in droves and go out "shopping" for stuff they do not need nor, in the end, do they really want (any thrift store buyer will tell you that). What is going on here?