Speak Up, Speak Out A Consuming National Passion  by Heidi L. Brennan Article Copyright 1999 Heidi L. Brennan.  Reproduction or dissemination of  this work -- or any part of it -- is expressly forbidden without the written consent of  the author.

When a population becomes distracted by trivia, when cultural life is redefined as a perpetual round of entertainments, when serious public conversation becomes a form of baby-talk, when, in short, a people become an audience and their public business a vaudeville act, then a nation finds itself at risk; culture death is a clear possibility.

--Neil Postman,
 Amusing Ourselves to Death (c. 1985)

"Shop till you drop!" as the saying goes. By all accounts, America's ongoing national shopping spree is now mass entertainment. We ought to ponder that "drop." Yet doing so raises critical questions that may dim our cultural optimism. And who wants to be a party pooper?

The performance of our economy has been the subject of rave reviews. Our national confidence is expressed in our purchasing patterns. Certainly, a sound economy is important for extending a comfortable standard of living for large numbers of people. Interest rates have been at record lows, making home ownership more accessible. The stock market has consistently performed well, improving the investment portfolios of the most affluent, but also of a growing number of newcomers to personal investing. Unemployment rates have been at historic lows.

 So "don't worry, be happy," as another saying goes. Well, let's see. Record-breaking economic performance also has been matched by record low levels of personal savings. Then there is the record number of personal bankruptcies. Despite high levels of education, professional accomplishment and generous salaries, a surprising number of affluent people are declaring bankruptcy because of excessive spending. No media story illustrates this better than the one this past spring in the Washington, D.C., area, in which the nominee for school superintendent of Montgomery County (Md.) schools withdrew from consideration when it was discovered that she and her husband had filed for personal bankruptcy twice. Their combined debts totaled nearly a million dollars, and were not related to a one-time crisis such as a grave health problem. Rather, routine excessive consumption (including frequent vacations to exotic island locales) dropped them in their spending tracks.

 This couple's behavior is extreme, but the habit of overspending is widespread. How often do we find ourselves saying, "You deserve it!" regarding a potential purchase? Advertising campaigns are routinely built around this concept: "You've worked hard, you've earned it!" It is a seductive thought, and not only for adults.

 "'Kids really thrill to have money because it gives them power,' said Peter Pinch, editor of SmartMoney magazine and co-author of the recent book How to Raise Kids Without Going Broke. 'They can start buying things that they want,' Finch said, 'and that's kind of a rush.'"  Washington Post writer Jacqueline Salmon ("First Flush of Youth: Teenagers Cash in on Hot Economy," May 17, 1999) interviewed Finch, other financial analysts and parents in a thought-provoking article about the money habits of adolescents and the attitudes that go along with them. One profiled high school senior is earning nearly two hundred dollars a week. "'My problem is that if it's there, I have to spend it,' he said amiably. 'I really don't know where it goes.' His mother fretted, 'Now, he's making a lot of money, he's working too many hours and he's spending it like water."'

Salmon's article went on to detail the growing number of hours that kids work, and the high hourly rates they can command. Higher consuming teens set new benchmarks of behavior for their peers, driving up the cost of being or parenting a teenager.

The growth in family incomes, due almost entirely to two-earner households, also has put more cash and credit cards in kids' pockets. In fact, there are now banks, credit cards, financial magazines and Internet resources devoted to the interests of these young earners and consumers. It would be comforting to believe that these tools will yield future adults with personal and financial planning skills, self-discipline and an ethic of responsibility toward others. Don't count on it.

The problem of peer-pressured consumption doesn't begin in adolescence. Another Washington Post article appearing in the Business section ("Even the Kid's Piggy Bank is Online," by Fred Barbash, 5/17/99) describes a new web site that permits "parents to register themselves and the child, outlining where he shops and how much he spends. Each gets a user ID and password, and parents create the child's account with credit card deposits." The reporter muses that in addition to fine and gross motor skills, parents now brag about their children's early computer skills. He predicts parents will soon add money management to their children's list of expected accomplishments. While the reviewed web site promotes itself as a teaching tool for consumer planning, savings and even charitable donations, a quick visit reveals that purchasing is the main focus (surprise, surprise). After all, commissions are the source of the web site's income.

Fortunately, Barbash raised the issue of communication: "Never again will you have to sit down with your child to talk about that Christmas or Hanukkah list. Never again will you have to sit down with your child. Hmm." Barbash's sarcasm echoes a growing reality for many children: their parents have more confidence in both human and technical substitutes than they do themselves to guide their children. Furthermore, many are forgetting or ignoring the importance of developing empathy, interpersonal skills and character. Perhaps it is because these traits can't be taught or measured by a computer learning game, and thus there are no oh-so-sophisticated advertising campaigns to charm and reassure us that ownership is only a credit card purchase away. Instead, the development of these traits is a slow process, requiring parents to spend generous amounts of time with their children.

Time. Now there is a commodity that many in our society seem to value only when it is spent earning the income needed to buy desired consumer goods. In "Urge to Splurge: A booming economy is turning America into a land of big spenders. But at what price?" writer James Lardner (U.S. News & World Report, May 24, 1999) describes our high consumption of luxury goods. People are not simply trying to replace the old refrigerator or car. Cornell University economist Robert Frank calls it "luxury fever." Lardner adds: "Americans, [Frank] says, are 'trying to be as rational as they can.' But they're caught in an arms-race-like cycle in which a series of decisions, logical in themselves, add up to collective madness."

This we should acknowledge: time with family is losing ground to time spent earning and spending money. Consumption has become a form of entertainment, unceasingly promoted in all of our media. The U.S. may have a sound financial economy, but the economy of our hearts appears to be floundering.

The Welcome Home readers who participated in our Affordability Survey last year reflect the attitudes and practices of many of our readers. Well aware of the consumer pressures they face, they place high value on the time they have with their families, and are deeply committed to their choices in spite of contrary messages so prevalent in our culture. When asked how it is possible to afford to have a parent at home to care for their children, their answer was unequivocal: When we consider what our children really need, how can we afford not to give them our time?