State of the Nation...

I'm not one for much in-depth or philisophical thought. While I consider myself fairly intelligent, life has too many day-to-day worries and tasks to keep me otherwise occupied. Still, over the last few days, I've been coming across a lot of economic news--housing, the new Cabinet being appointed by Obama, the Citibank and auto-industry bailouts.

But, wait...amid the crisises of growing unemployment and home foreclosures I also see news about the line of people at Verizon waiting to buy a new Blackberry for (anywhere from $100 to $300 each), about how the gaming industry is still seeing a successful hike in sales, and how much profit the dollar stores are anticipating for the holiday season.

I also see, in spite of the news of auto-industry crisis, new cars everywhere I turn. I see people shopping for $300 sweaters in the mall. When I finally broke down and bought myself some new dress shoes (having broken my other 9 year old pair), I had to spend $55 to get something comfortable enough for me. When I remarked to the cashier how "expensive" these shoes were she just looked at me as though I had two heads--as though she was thinking "$55 is nothing! Now REAL shoes should cost at least $150!.

Face it people...Americans are stuffaholics. And, not just cheap stuff but designer jeans, brand new cars, state-of-the-art entertainment equipment (so guilty) and more.

And, I can't decide if I'm more jealous or appalled with the way this country, me included, spends.

However, I spend many long minutes, days even, looking over anything I want to buy--shoes, moisturizers, coats---before making a final purchase. I keep a lookout on all the sale ads for grocery stores in our area so I know who has what the cheapest. And, I still end up in the throes of post-consumerism guilt. Ugh. My conscious hounds me over every penny.

And, maybe that's the appalling part about it. The lack of consciousness in this society as a whole. We've gotten too comfortable with our oversized homes and oversized cars. Too numbed by our surround sound hi-def video games and theater systems to pay much attention the bottom line.

People used to spend what they made, with the rare loan or tab at the corner market. The advent of the credit card and "easy" line of credit with corporate retailers made buying those "extras" easier. Look! Buy a new living room set now, no waiting to save the money!, etc.

The problem is this: The extras aren't extra anymore. Americans have become all but addicted to electronics, gadgets, clothes, and all that extra stuff we store in our garages and attics. There is nothing special about our purchases any longer. A new TV is a barely significant purchase, when in the past it meant inviting the neighbors to view the new addition to your household. Cable television, Internet access, cell phones, new furniture, and more are all "necessities" we could live without if we tried.

While I think our economy struggles at this time, I think Americans have only ourselves to blame for it. We want to blame the government or the lenders....but, in my opinion, we must learn self-control. Just because something (*cough, cough* credit cards) is easy, or easy to buy, does not mean we should just take it. We must put some thought or consideration into our actions. We must try to budget the way our grandmothers and mothers did before us.

As an aside, I do wish to see some government control on credit card companies and mortgage lenders. I'd like credit cards to be unable to lobby on college campuses; I'd like variable rate APRs to be illegal in most cases. But, this kind of change will be a long time coming, if we see it at all. (Again, it's only my opinion that it's needed at all. I'd like to see it implemented at a state or county level with some federal backing.)