SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- Researchers from San Narciso’s Poeslaw Institute for Social Research and Development (PISRAD) offered new information about the economic necessity of high school proms in a report published Wednesday. Despite the tight spending restrictions many families have imposed on themselves, the money shelled out on proms continued to increase over the last three years. This year, however, data from a Visa survey indicated that families may be reining in their prom budgets. “Although sometimes discounted as nostalgic displays of bygone pageantry -- criticized for being outdated or, even worse, deemed exclusionary to those not in the upper middle classes -- proms experienced a surge in harsh economic conditions that saw consumer spending drop in nearly every other sector,” said Janus Heuchler, PISRAD director and head of the project.

“The typical family will spend in excess of $978 this year on prom,” Heuchler continued. “That's a drop of 14 percent from last year, but it's still higher than the $807 spent during the 2010-2011 school year, when prom spending began its meteoric rise.”

PISRAD, which works closely with government agencies on various sociological studies, also said the cottage industry sired from prom-related services and products may be one of the last vital market segments in the nation. Players in this sector worry that the decline in spending could signal the end of a profitable ride, and eventually the ruin of the nation's slowly recovering economy.

“The good news is that government vowed to increase the visibility of proms and to put more pressure on businesses to support these annual black-tie events,” Heuchler explained. “Government programs will also become more prom-conscious. As a result, the U.S. Health and Human Services Department has mandated in a landmark decision that health insurance providers must now fully cover birth control for women. For years, it’s been said by teens that prom is a cheap excuse to get laid. Well, our research has proven that despite the slight ebb in revenues, prom remains very expensive excuse to get laid... but one that might be necessary for the economic survival of the country.”

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