US Consumerism and the Recession

[DanS]

A $40,000 salary in Milwaukee isn't bad. I wonder what her expenses are that she needs to take on a second job?

[EPW]

I think we need to build self-conscience computers or "Machines" with humanities' best interests at heart to manage our economy.

[ZEE]

but buying 75 dollars worth of worthless crap on a daily basis is SOOOOO goddamn important to people nowadays! Not to mention the 60 dollars a week it takes to drive their fat-asses around and buy the crap to begin with! Also having 5 kids and complaining about sh!t all the time helps round out the cycle.

Check your facts, yall, money definately buys happiness

...


im off to listen to music.

[Victor Galis]

I seem to remember Adam Smith not being too much in favor of the idea of borrowing to consume more.

[chequita guevara]

We borrowed our way out of the 1970s stagflation. It's only cheap and easy credit that's kept capitalism going for the last three decades.

[Victor Galis]

I wonder how far away these people live from work/downtown/whatever that they're spending so much money.

I mean I live on around $1k per month for food and rent. I could see wanting more than the poor grad student lifestyle, but then again I pay something like 13% sales tax on everything I buy.

I can understand wanting to make more than $40k per year, I'm not quite understanding how you need more than that to make ends meet.

edit: I should say, I can't understand how you can claim to have cut down on everything and still need more than taht.

[Space05us]

I just read the article. A sous chef in a $300,000 house driving a blazer? Dude needs to pull his head out of his ass. So do the people who wrote this article.

At $40,000 you should be able to live very comfortably unless you have a family or insist on living in the 'nice', no-minority inner city neighborhoods.

I've never understood why so many people love to just spend their money on anything and everything. I buy the occasional video game and as much clothing as I need to keep clean between laundry days. Very rarely do I go out and just spend for the hell of it. I guess growing up poor will do that to you.

If you really want to live the high life just start dealing drugs and illegal arms. **** 9-5 if all you want is money and toys.

[chequita guevara]

People tend to live where their jobs are, which means there's lots of demand, which means it's expensive. You can commute, but then you get clobbered by gas and insurance, and you lose more of your day to work.

[Space05us]

There are plenty of "unsafe" neighborhoods around where these people live in their 300,000 houses I'm sure. Where you can get houses for under 100,000 because people don't like seeing bums and drug dealers, along with minorities.

In all I will end up paying just over 100,000 for my house, it is a few blocks away from where houses sell for over 400,000. Why so cheap? Because the house is old, all of my neighbors are either black or Mexican, and just under a decade ago gunfire was a common occurrence. Boo ****ing hoo, it's not pretty, gangs and drug dealers tend to leave innocent people alone, just like cops.

Who cares, more plunder for me and mine alike. Cheap, beautiful property. I hope I never see another white family in my neighborhood.

[Dinner]

Originally posted by Victor Galis
I wonder how far away these people live from work/downtown/whatever that they're spending so much money.

There are people at my work who live 90 miles away from the office. That's a 180 mile round trip per day which most of them make in SUVs which get poor gas mileage. Of course they constantly whine about the high cost of gas but it's their own fault. They chose to live way the hell out there because they could buy a house twice as large and they chose to buy the gas guzzler.

[Darius871]

Originally posted by Space05us
gangs and drug dealers tend to leave innocent people alone, just like cops.

While that's more true than most people think, it really depends on your own behavior. If you're seen watching a plasma TV through the living room window, walking in/out wearing a $500 suit, parking a Benz outside, etc., you're bound to get victimized in some way eventually.

The key is just consciously keeping a low profile, but most peoples' childish egos are too inflated for that disgrace. Hence they go for the $400K house down the street instead, and then ***** and moan about their debt.

[Victor Galis]

Originally posted by chegitz guevara
People tend to live where their jobs are, which means there's lots of demand, which means it's expensive. You can commute, but then you get clobbered by gas and insurance, and you lose more of your day to work.

Actually people don't. That's the problem with homeownership: most people don't move when changing jobs or to get more jobs. Economics studies done show that higher homeownership rates lead to higher unemployment because the workforce is less willing to move around to find jobs.

[Dinner]

Originally posted by Victor Galis


Actually people don't. That's the problem with homeownership: most people don't move when changing jobs or to get more jobs. Economics studies done show that higher homeownership rates lead to higher unemployment because the workforce is less willing to move around to find jobs.

It makes sense. Would you want to pull your kids out of school if you didn't have to?

[DaShi]

Originally posted by DinoDoc

It just means that the people who have more than one job are scabbing on the unemployed.

It actually means that the unemployed are lazy if people can find two jobs to thier none.

This reminds me of a Bush quote.

[Aeson]

Originally posted by Japher
I just think advice of spend less because you do need as much is stupid. Especially when you are going to have to spend more to get less.

The problem is people can't go infinitely into debt. Otherwise, sure, just keep spending.