Americans: epic consumers
No, You Can’t Get an Upgrade
Excerpt:
For decades, Americans have been known as epic consumers, but it would be more accurate to call us epic upgraders. During all those years of packing up and moving, we were headed to a bigger house, at a better address, perhaps for a higher-paying job. We were trading up, and that urge — to acquire something bigger or better, preferably something bigger and better — is a quintessentially American urge. It is so neatly woven into the double helix of our DNA that we hardly notice it.
When we buy a television, it’s rarely because we lack a TV. We want a thinner TV, or a bigger TV, or a TV with features that sound beguiling even if we have no idea what they do. Like the DynaLight Dynamic Back Light Control on the latest Toshiba high-definition set. What is that? We don’t know. But we’ll take two.
Or we would if we could afford them. To fully understand our collective shock over our pulse-less economy, take a good look at the upgrade cycle that we’ve been gleefully riding for at least three decades. Until last year, if you were living the 2.3 version of Life, you had your eyes on version 2.4 and odds were pretty good that you’d get it. Maybe on an overextended credit card, or from a loan that you really couldn’t afford. But you’d get it.
Now, if you’re living Life 2.3, your ambition is to avoid Life 2.2.
Forget the upgrade. The game now is avoiding the downgrade. This is grim and troubling, in part, because so much of our consumer culture is built around the enticements of the Better.
Comment: Stuff does not satisfy!
I look back now at all those years I would ask for stuff from my Dad and he would say no, and now I am very thankful. It taught me that I don't need everything. It also helps that my wife is a thrifty shopper and keeps me from making frivolous purchases. I think, perhaps, it can be much easier to live on a low income. First off, you have craigslist. We have gotten a number of things from there for free. You also have ebay, where as everyone knows, you can purchase many things very discounted. Even through amazon marketplace you can get things heavily discounted if you watch for it.
ReplyDeleteBut definitively thank my Dad for teaching me the difference between needs and wants.