The Price of a New Pair of Sneakers .... Really?

There is a new sneaker about to be released in the name of Lebron James. The price of these sneakers is going to be somewhere in the neighborhood of $315.00. These new sneakers will be released by Nike sometime soon, and I am sure there are many young men anxiously waiting to stand in line for the opportunity to buy a pair of these sneakers. I think about the many parents out there that are going to be harassed by their children to get a pair of these sneakers. I shudder to think about what my parents would have said to me if I would have asked them to buy me a pair of $315.00 sneakers. I probably would not still be here to talk about it, and if I was lucky enough to convince them to buy me a pair, I probably would not have Christmas or birthday presents for the rest of my childhood. I remember having to beg my mother for a pair of Pro-Keds back in the day, and I wore knock offs for a long time before I moved up to a real pair of Pro-Keds. Those Pro-Keds were about $10.00 - $15.00, and that was expensive back then. I understand that the world has changed, and everything is so much more expensive nowadays, but really, isn’t this a bit ridiculous? We have high unemployment, people losing their homes to foreclosure and the poverty level is rising, so I ask why would Lebron James come out with a sneaker that costs $315.00? The people these sneakers will be marketed to are the people that can least afford them.

We all make choices in life, but I would say to anyone considering buying a pair of these sneakers to consider a few things. I think if you are making a good salary, and you have lots of excess cash to spare, there is no problem with treating yourself to an expensive pair of sneakers, but if you don’t have at least six months of savings in the bank and rock solid employment, I believe you are being irresponsible to buy these sneakers. If you have children, what example are you setting for them regarding the management of finances when you spend money frivolously? We should be teaching our children about living within their means and learning the value of a dollar by showing them all the groceries you could buy with $315.00. That is the problem with our society today. We complain about not having enough money to live, but are not willing to sacrifice our wants and concentrate on our needs.

I was very happy for Lebron James and the Miami Heat when they won another NBA championship. Lebron James proved to be one of the greatest basketball players of our time, but with that greatness there should be a sense of responsibility. I think Lebron James owes many of his fans a sense of gratitude, by making a sneaker that is affordable to all of his fans. I lost a lot of respect for Michael Jordan for the same reason because I felt that there was no reason for him to make these expensive sneakers, knowing that the you are marketing them to people that are a whole lot less fortunate than he is. Many people will say that you have a choice not to buy them, and that is true enough, but I still think that professional athletes make plenty of money aside from their endorsements, so why not give something back to some of your fans? Many professional athletes make enough money to live comfortably for the rest of their lives so why take from people that are already buying tickets to your games and buying your tee shirts. I guess it all boils down to greed. For some people, we can never have enough.