thependulumswings

Last week, riding its post All Star NBA weekend high, nike unveiled its latest technologically advanced, lightest weight, and most breathable basketball sneaker ever.  Just Do It.  It’s light weight was achieved by removing the entire outsole.  With the entire bottom of the foot exposed the air circulation is second to none.  It was quite the stage for the reveal as Duke was hosting North Carolina in a great ACC showdown.  It was so unexpected just 18 seconds into the contest that Zion Williamson was unprepared for it and he sprained his knee as a result.  Duke was so unprepared for it that they got hammered by NC in their own Cameron Area without Zion. We trust that nike was unprepared for it as well.

Meanwhile President Trump was busy selling and building a wall on the U.S. southern border.  He was all in joining Nancy Reagan’s early 80’s campaign of Just Say No to drugs.  Mr. Trump’s triumph in 2016 gives him the political clout to keep pushing.  He says that amongst other things the wall will stop the massive amount of illegal drugs entering into our country on a daily basis.  Half of America is so unprepared for it that they attempt to verbally tear it down as it’s being built.

Nike has been riding high due to its Just Do It campaign and great connection to basketball on all levels for over forty years.  A wise owl told us that the combined market share of nike and Air Jordan sneaks command a combined 92 percent of the basketball shoe market.

Unfortunately America has been riding high for those 40 years and then some on drugs in spite of Mrs. Reagan’s Just Say no campaign and thousands of DEA and border agents best efforts.

It’s highly likely that the nike blowout on the hardwood will have little negative effect on their sales and gaudy market share numbers.  While we write and while you sleep the sewing machines in China and beyond that forgot to sew Zion’s pair are busy 24/7 sewing millions of pairs.

It’s also highly likely that the Trump wall will have little negative effect on the abundant supply of drugs.  Global weed growers and pill makers are likely busy 24/7 as well.

If the roles were reversed and the Just Do It slogan was used to help the wall and the Just Say No one was used to try slow nike sales we also doubt that either would have any negative effect.  Demand is what it is for nike, and, for very different and unfortunate reasons, for illegal drugs.

Therefore, supply always attempts to satiate demand.  Always.  Money always wins out.  Always.

Sonny and Cher sung the hit song “And the Beat Goes On“ way back in 1967.

And so it does.