RIP: Conspicuous Consumption

Incredibly the mass media continues to portray the current economic downturn as a one-sided affair: bad for everyone.

Interestingly, i see a very big silver lining: the end of conspicuous consumption as we know it. When i was a kid in the 70's, I remember my folks saving money and only spending on items as we needed them. TV's weren't upgraded unless they died. The same was true with cars, and to some extent clothing.

Clearly, as we entered the 80's, all of that changed and the cause de rigeur was consumption for any reason. The downside of this new lifestyle (an age of selfishness i believe) was a huge downturn in savings.

Well, after 28 years of consumption-based lifestyles, the world has quickly changed and hopefully it will be a permanent one. In order to keep people in the consumption lifestyle of the last 28 years, the government (via the Fed, Treasury and Fannie/Freddie, etc) worked its hardest to keep people flush with cash to spend. Clearly the outcome of this was multiple economic bubbles including commodities, housing, stock market, gold, etc.

The piper needs to be paid, and it will take awhile. In the meantime, hopefully parents will spend more time with children instead of shopping, neighbors will stop and chat a little more and people in general will recognize that life is still pretty good. Don't let the media convince any different.