That's an interesting viewpoint about consumption in the US I haven't considered. As an American who dislikes the wasteful consumption I see around me, my comme

That's an interesting viewpoint about consumption in the US I haven't considered. As an American who dislikes the wasteful consumption I see around me, my comment about your perspective is that many Americans don't purchase items to actually solve problems they really have. Much of it is wasteful on things like fashion, home furnishings, countless crap kitchen gadgets, etc. Things that people think will help them but don't. That being said, your point about under consumption and unwillingness to improve life by buying better basics to solve problems is something new to me.