Retail analyst Howard Davidowitz debuted on our show in February and declared the American consumer is toast, and that the U.S. standard of living is permanently changed. One of Tech Ticker’s most popular guests ever, Davidowitz lit up our message boards.

According to the National Retail Federation, retail sales over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend were $41.2 billion, up slightly from a year ago, while about 195 million consumers shopped, up from 172 million last year. Meanwhile,