In Back To School, It's Economics 101

CBS Evening News: More Families Say They'll Be Discount Shopping For Supplies

(CBS)  Consumers going back-to-school shopping are getting a crash course in economics. Higher gas and food prices are leaving little in their pockets for this year's school supplies, CBS News correspondent Sandra Hughes reports.

"Things that are under $5 … that's what we've been shopping for," said one mother doing back-to-school shopping.

"We filled up the cart and my mom left me alone and I went through and picked out what I could do without," her daughter, Asia, said.

According to a recent survey, 73 percent of parents say they'll be shopping at discount stores for everything from pencils and paper to clothing and electronics.

And many of the big discount chains like Target are ready with massive bargains. A five-pack of notebooks for 50 cents, a pack of crayons for 17 cents.

Experts call it "desperation discounting," part of a larger strategy.

"If a shopper buys the items that the retailer is selling at a loss than the shopper will hopefully then spend another $30 to $40 in the store on things that they make money on," said retail consultant Burt Flickinger III.

In addition to the store sales, nine states and Washington, D.C., offer sales-tax holiday shopping weekends, when parents can load up on school supplies and save on taxes.

But despite the discounts and tax breaks, there are many families who can't afford the basics this school season.

"Parents are really struggling," said Phyllis Freeman of Worldvision, which offers free backpacks stuffed with supplies to needy familieis. This year, there are more than 20,000 on the waiting list.

"School supplies may be, for many, a luxury as opposed to something that a few years ago was something that was very ordinary," she said.

And those are hard lessons to learn.

[allurfears]

SEE! The Economy is doing just GREAT after 8 years of Bush and 6 years of a Republican Congress! Things are FANTASTIC! Vote REPUBLICAN for MORE OF THIS! Hurray! ROFLMAO

[keithle1]

Didya think having kids WASN''T gonna cost you a lot of money?

Tie dem tubes after the second kid, ladies. I don''t wanna hear you''re whining.

[babooph]

No need to send them to school-carrying a CEO s bag & cutting grass ,requires no education-for hundreds of years,serfs needed no education,only religous brainwashing to accept their "status"-ah,back to the good old days!

[whitemale08]

...and you pasty-white Republican security-moms thought that "knockin'' off *********** in Iraq was going to cost you nothing! LMAO!!!! PSYCHE!!!

We tried to warn ya that "defecits don''t matter" was just a jedi mind trick but ya fell for it anyways.

Yea buddy, them junkyard dogs and them patriotism pastors like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck gotcha this time, didn''t they.

While you''re out wearing "flag pins" made from China and singing "God bless America", your "tax cuts for the rich" are being used right now to build luxury condos and resorts in Dubai.

But not all is lost, back in day when I was in school we would just tear apart our erasers to share with our siblings and break in half our pencils...hahaaa LMAO!!!!

[oneworldusa]

The government already gave most kids $300 to buy school clothes and supplies. Where did it go? Towards flat-panel TVs? Anyone who would steal money from their own children are thieves. And the parents, they got $600 each. Did no one think to save some of that for the hard times ahead?

[keithle1]

You wonder what nonsense these people are spending their money on. You''re going to go broke buying school supplies for your kids once a year? Puh-leeeze. Gimme a break.

[omega39-2009]

vote demobrat and double you taxes to pay for this idiots medical insurance premium. Democrats are quite adept at spending everyone else''''s money to save themselves from themselves.

Posted by maxify55

George Bush and the Republican controlled Congress participated in the largest expansion of Medicare since the program was created in 1965. Republicans are hardly in a position to throw stones.

[hwy71so]

The problem lies within what the school requires of each student. They''ve been known to even demand a certain brand of item.

I mean, they''re even making the kids bring their own chalk/dry erase markers!

So,

The teachers no longer...

Provide adequate books
Provide instruction
They''re not responsible for the supervision of the children
They only teach the test, not the material
They teach biased unsubstantiated material and discredit historical fact.

The school system is shot. No wonder we continue to lag behind other countries!

I thought the schools were suppose to promote progress...

[keithle1]

Teachers in urban schools often buy supplies for their classes/students because the school doesn''t have the money to do it.

You can have the fanciest school in the world with lots of modern, high-tech stuff but if the kids don''t care & are unmotivated it doesn''t really do you much good. Put the money into hiring high-quality teachers. A lot less emphasis on sports. Most countries don''t have athletic scholarships. You get into university based on your grades. Period.

Our universities are better than most of our high schools. I think that''s safe to say. That''s why the rest of the world comes here to get a degree.

[retailwoes]

Tell us something we don''t know: How much are these CBS analysts paid to analyze the price of "desperation" crayons as they seek center-stage admiration, sip Cuervo, cheat consumers, while cruising costly real estate in their Cadillac CRV''s?

[retailwoes]

Tell us something we don''t know: How much are these CBS analysts paid to analyze the price of "desperation" crayons as they seek center-stage admiration, sip Cuervo, cheat consumers, while cruising costly real estate in their Cadillac CRV''s?

[retailwoes]

Tell us something we don''t know: How much are these CBS analysts paid to analyze the price of "desperation" crayons as they seek center-stage admiration, sip Cuervo, cheat consumers, while cruising costly real estate in their Cadillac CRV''s?