Re:Big Macs and the Cost of Living Crisis
by jmyeet on Tuesday August 06, 2024 @10:10AM
(#41171015)
> I... can't relate.
I'm guessing you're not in dire financial straits? Is that accurate? Or you're simply not struggling to house and feed yourself (and any dependents)? Not an accusation BTW.
> I don't understand why people take on debt to buy shiny goods.
So real incomes have been hit hard since the pandemic. One interesting aspect is that the effect on consumer spending has been limited. This sounds like a good thing (from the perspective of the economy not collapsing) but it's actually not.
Why? As an enecdote, there was a Tiktok trend for awhile where people would do different versions of "my retirement plan is to die", basically. They're struggling. They might want a family but can't afford it. Or they have a family and have to have 3 jobs just to stave off homelessness. There is no time for a fulfilling life or to spend leisure time with pets, family or friends.
So the dark side of continued consumer spending (the "shiny things" you allude to) is that there is a growing hopelessness crisis and people are buying the shiny thing they cannot afford to distract from their material conditions. More importantly, they don't see that they even have a future so why not enjoy the shiny thing now?
This doesn't explain all of it. There are existing problems of people wanting to spend money, to show off how well they're doing (even if it's fake) and so on.
But I think over the coming years the level of awareness about the hopelessness crisis will only increase and it will probably rise to the level of national discourse.
I'm guessing you're not in dire financial straits? Is that accurate? Or you're simply not struggling to house and feed yourself (and any dependents)? Not an accusation BTW.
> I don't understand why people take on debt to buy shiny goods.
So real incomes have been hit hard since the pandemic. One interesting aspect is that the effect on consumer spending has been limited. This sounds like a good thing (from the perspective of the economy not collapsing) but it's actually not.
Why? As an enecdote, there was a Tiktok trend for awhile where people would do different versions of "my retirement plan is to die", basically. They're struggling. They might want a family but can't afford it. Or they have a family and have to have 3 jobs just to stave off homelessness. There is no time for a fulfilling life or to spend leisure time with pets, family or friends.
So the dark side of continued consumer spending (the "shiny things" you allude to) is that there is a growing hopelessness crisis and people are buying the shiny thing they cannot afford to distract from their material conditions. More importantly, they don't see that they even have a future so why not enjoy the shiny thing now?
This doesn't explain all of it. There are existing problems of people wanting to spend money, to show off how well they're doing (even if it's fake) and so on.
But I think over the coming years the level of awareness about the hopelessness crisis will only increase and it will probably rise to the level of national discourse.