5 ms·

One-third of Americans probably also have full mobile phone and digital cable packages, the latest iPhone, eat out twice a week, and drive a brand new Ford. Ev

by jbob2000 9y ago

One-third of Americans probably also have full mobile phone and digital cable packages, the latest iPhone, eat out twice a week, and drive a brand new Ford. Every time I visit the states, I am shocked by the consumerism that pervades every aspect of their lives. Visiting friends and relatives down there, I am shocked at how full their houses are with junk; toys litter the floors, TVs in every room (bathroom too), drawers and closets full of yesterday's electronics and toys, etc. It's no wonder 1/3 people are on edge financially, it seems like you aren't "American" unless you're buying the latest crap you see on TV. The American identity is heavily tied to consumerism.

onion2k 9y ago
There's no evidence that the third of Americans in this survey are the same third you claim spend unwisely. That's just your prejudice talking. You presumably don't want to face the fact almost half of the citizens of the richest country in the world aren't doing very well. It's easy to blame them. It doesn't help though. Also, even if there was evidence that it was their own fault for spending badly, the idea that poor people should be able to ignore the psychological pressure of social status, peer envy, and plain old marketing is ridiculous. Google, Facebook, etc make billions of dollars facilitating advertising to people - they wouldn't be able to do that if it didn't work. It seems decidedly unfair and unreasonable to say poor people should be ignoring what advertisers put in front of them when no one else is judged for buying stuff.
candiodari 9y ago
I wonder how much of that is because they want to, and how much of that is cultural. In my experience a lot of people in Western Europe want to do the same, but can't, because credit is much less accessible. Is using credit for that stupid ? Yes, absolutely. But I strongly wonder about denying people credit.

onion2k 9y ago

There's no evidence that the third of Americans in this survey are the same third you claim spend unwisely. That's just your prejudice talking. You presumably don't want to face the fact almost half of the citizens of the richest country in the world aren't doing very well. It's easy to blame them. It doesn't help though. Also, even if there was evidence that it was their own fault for spending badly, the idea that poor people should be able to ignore the psychological pressure of social status, peer envy, and plain old marketing is ridiculous. Google, Facebook, etc make billions of dollars facilitating advertising to people - they wouldn't be able to do that if it didn't work. It seems decidedly unfair and unreasonable to say poor people should be ignoring what advertisers put in front of them when no one else is judged for buying stuff.

candiodari 9y ago

I wonder how much of that is because they want to, and how much of that is cultural. In my experience a lot of people in Western Europe want to do the same, but can't, because credit is much less accessible. Is using credit for that stupid ? Yes, absolutely. But I strongly wonder about denying people credit.