I don't know why this is, maybe because you listen to right wing radio too much, but people who are not just starting their work life are also struggling to be able to make enough to live...
Shoot, I would think you would want people (white Americans at least) to have lots of babies to replenish American with Americans...many hard working people simply can't afford to have kids. Think about consequences of a society that cannot afford to have children...
Consumerism? Let's see, who is to blame for consumerism in America today?
Who has been preaching that consumers should go without?
It is not as if the corporations or government ever suggested living modestly and curbing the spending appetite.
Banks? They are the first to issue a credit card to anyone.
Madison Avenue and the advertisers?
I know it ultimately comes down to personal responsibility, but when society pushes consumerism as the primary value in life, looks to Wall Street like as some religious temple, suggesting borrow and spend is the solution to all problems...
Well, you may get the point...but I doubt it.
The issue is systemic in a country that prizes material possessions, lots of them, and new ones, as a way of life.
In the past, a wife could actually stay at home and raise children, now very very few can actually afford to do this, even those who live modestly.
No, society has to share part of the blame for the way American is today, and the focus on purchasing things as a path to happiness.
Quote from AAAintheBeltway:
Here's a news flash. People NEVER earned enough beginning their work life to afford an upper middle class lifestyle right off the bat. Plus, what people consider the bare necessity has grown beyond belief. Look at the starter homes from the '50's and today. Today's consumers are spoiled rotten and have an entitlement mentality.