without having to carry cash. I use my debit card a lot, almost never use my credit cards other than for emergencies (like my recent truck repair), and tend to pay off things very quickly. Granted, this was a lesson I learned the hard way, but don't assume we're all living on credit either, even though many are.
I am torn sometimes, in that I feel we as citizens need to be more financially responsible, but I also blame a lot of it on predatory lending practices and other top-down problems. Studies have shown that despite what appearances show, Americans spend less (as a percentage of income) on discretionary items than they did 30 years ago adjusted for inflation, partially because of cheaper goods.
http://www.beyondmainstream.com/politics/infocus_1.php ...
At the same time, the common working person's dreams of wealth become harder to achieve. Wages for most Americans didn't improve from 1979 to 1998 and the median male wage in 2000 was below the 1979 level despite productivity increases of 44.5 percent. Despite gains made in income during the 1990s, wages are now on a downward spiral. In May, The Financial Times reported that wages are falling faster than at any time in the last 14 years. Meanwhile hidden unemployment soars as U.S. economists declare a "jobless recovery."
....
A 2000 Time/CNN poll found that 39 percent of Americans believe they are in the wealthiest one percent or soon will be. They even supported Bush's abolition of the inheritance tax, which only applies to the richest two percent of American families.
Thinking like they're rich, Americans allow their representatives to lower taxes for the wealthy and increase their share of the nation's assets. After Bush's tax cuts, the 400 top taxpayers now pay at the same rate as those making $50,000 to $75,000 and many of the largest corporations pay no tax at all. Unlike the average wage earner, these people know their interests: 72 percent of the Forbes richest 400 who contributed to the 2004 campaign gave money to Bush.
When F. Scott Fitzgerald said the very rich "are different from you and me," he was right. The rich and corporations invest heavily to convince Americans to lower taxes, abolish regulations and give them free rein to amass more wealth and create a virtual aristocracy. Meanwhile, the bottom 90 percent struggle to pay their credit card bills and only dream of getting wealthy "someday."
Also interesting:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21309318/?GT1=10450 Shopping malls are packed every weekend. Restaurants can't open fast enough. Everyone seems to be wearing designer shoes, jackets and jeans and sipping $4 lattes. Credit card commercials constantly advocate splurging and, it seems, U.S. consumers are all too ready to comply.
So what's the problem? Why do so many middle class Americans with so much stuff say they feel so squeezed? If they are dogged by debt, isn’t it their own fault?
...
Bankruptcy law expert and Harvard University Professor Elizabeth Warren spent a lot of time crunching consumer spending numbers for her popular books, "The Fragile Middle Class” and “The Two-Income Trap.” In both, she makes this point: Despite all those $200 sneakers you hear about and the long lines at Starbucks, consumers are actually spending less of their income — much less — on discretionary items like clothing, entertainment and food than their parents did. In fact, after taking care of essentials like housing and health care, today’s middle class has about half as much spending money as their parents did in the early 1970s, Warren says.
The basics, according to Warren, now take up close to three-fourths of every family's spending power (it was about 50 percent in 1973), leaving precious little left over at the end of the month — and leaving many families with no cushion in case of a job loss or health crisis.
(more at link)
In other words, while I think we need to step up and take responsibility, I have trouble completely blaming the "victim" also, despite what things appear.