Quote from Trader666:
I didn't say that, I said "one of our biggest problems in this country is too many people buying too much sh!t they don't need with money they don't have. " And it's a fact whether you understand it or not. Much of our recent "prosperity" was over consumption by people using their houses as ATMs and running up credit card debt and the house of cards is finally coming down.
You are right that Americanâs spend too much on stuff they donât need. I think partially this is attributed to the media and government who tell people to go spend money to help the economy. We give $300 rebate checks to the lower income earners because they spend 100% of their income. Will they day ever come when we give them a $300 funded IRA? I donât think so. I for one have never understood why people need all that stuff. Like a new car. I never understood why people spend 30k over 6 years on a new car that can be gone in one second. I drive a 92 Camry. Partially because I canât afford anything more and it was available when I needed it and partially because Iâd rather spend the money on other things. Itâs got itâs issues, but it works. I think this was the earlier models that Toyota built very well. Then when they got market share, they realized pretty quickly the American way. They werenât going to make any money if cars lasted to 200k. So I think their quality has suffered.
My parents are just as guilty as anyone when it comes to using the house as an atm. They will readily admit this. But think of it this way. My mom never worked and stayed home with us kids. That left just my dadâs self employment income. Do you want to know what a lot of the refinancing went to? Medical bills. We went several years with no health insurance. I have glaucoma that they paid for several years out of pocket. I believe a long time ago they had to spend over 20k for my brotherâs appendix. Also I think they had some minor back taxes due to the double taxation of social security on small business taxes (or rather the responsibility to pay both sides). So you see how itâs easiest to sometimes just refinance again and again. It doesnât always go to buy new cars. All of ourâs our more that 10 years old.
I will say one thing about the lower class that spends a lot. I think you guys often wonder why you go buy a $40 pair of shoes, and the poor people walk around with their $150 Nikeâs and $400 North Face jackets. Most of this is just a gratification issue, I guess. But you have to understand it from their perspective. They work crap jobs and see no chance to ever achieve the things that you work and save for. You might save 30k for a downpayment on a house. Or contribute 15% to your 401k. But these people donât think like that. They see houses at 250k and realize they will never own a home making $8 an hour. So they just give up. However a $150 pair of shoes that will garner the attention of people and make you fit in with your friends is achievable for them. My friend owns a clothing store that sells $80 pairs of pants. Does he sell suits to the upper classes? No he sells urban wear. Wanna know why? Because they spend money. You go to a store and ask whatâs on sale and try to get a bargain. They just walk in with $50 and buy stuff. They have nothing else to work for, so they spend all their money on what they can at least appreciate now.
I work at a restaurant. Sales are down as expected. Do you know who is holding the business up. Rich people? No, the poor. The rich go AAAHHHH! The markets tanking, I need to stop spending. The poor couldnât name 2 companies in the Dow Jones. All they do is say I have $20 in my pocket and Iâm hungry, I think Iâll go get a pizza. Of course theyâre the worst tippers though.
So my point in all of this is to that the very high cost of living has attributed a lot to this mess. People borrowed to get stuff that maybe they could have otherwise gotten if wages were higher and cost of living was a lot lower. For the person who hasnât lost his job, the past few months of slight deflation has been an incredible sign of relief.