Business

US CONSUMERS HAVE FINALLY CAUGHT UP WITH THE JONESES

CALLING all sociologists! Calling all sociologists!

Today is the much-publicized mega-shopping extravaganza called Black Friday. And if you look closely you might begin seeing a brand new human phenomenon that I call “Cutting Back Like The Joneses.”

You remember The Joneses.

In good times they are the people who live down the block, who owned more than you do and created that unscratchable itch of envy.

But what happens when the neighbors are cutting back and, in a sense, it has become cooler to suffer and under-indulge than it is to have anything you could possibly want?

Yesterday – as your belly is probably still telling you – was Thanksgiving. That’s a time when we are supposed to be grateful for everything we have.

But Black Friday is the official start of shopping season, although the experts are predicting that most people this year will have their acquisition gene stifled a bit.

People who study this sort of thing believe consumers will be tentative this year because they are hearing so much bad news about layoffs, stock-market losses and hard times. But, the vast majority of the US adult population is still employed, gas prices have declined sharply and retailers are so worried about sales that everything except their sister is on sale.

So, from a purely dollars and cents perspective, it’s really a good time to buy – if you have the dough and don’t get caught up Cutting Back Like The Joneses.

“There will probably be people who spend less if they see other people spend less,” says New York Univer sity Prof. Jacob Ja coby, one of the country’s leading experts on con sumers. “Part of it might be guilt.” Jacoby, like many others, thinks playing it financially conservative right now isn’t such a bad idea – no matter what the reason. john.crudele@nypost.com