The history of American Consumerism is can easily be tracked
parallel to the growth in popularity of credit cards. In the early 1930’s, a
movement called the American Dream was born. American’s began dreaming of a
world where people could have everything they wanted. Today, American’s are
still dreaming the same dream, however few have achieved it.
Instead of earning money to live the American Dream, people
started maxing out their credit cards. Student loans are weighing on families
and mass credit card debt is rising.
In order live a middle class lifestyle; you must have a well
paying job. Most mid to high-level corporate jobs require a minimum of a 4-year
college degree to apply. Higher-level executive level jobs may require
post-graduate education. While striving to achieve the American Dream, student
loans are crushing the financial foundations of America.
Many college students are graduating with upwards of 60,000
dollars in dept. Because of the unstable economy, parents are struggling to pay
tuition bills. Between 2008-2010, tuition rates went up 15%-40%. This was
caused by states losing tax revenue and cutting support for public
universities.
Today’s “entry-level” position requires at least one
internship and as much experience as possible. These lower level positions
often do not pay. Some college graduates are even resorting to taking second
unpaid internships to gain experience after college.
These “American Dreamers” are left with only a degree and an
empty pocket to begin their lives. Though, this does not stop them from
reaching into their checkbooks and on to the American Dream. Young men and
women are constantly comparing their selves to their friends and neighbors. The
idea of keeping up with the Jones’ is ever present in today’s society. Americans
are addicted to shopping. Malls have longer hours, some stores stay open 24
hours a day.
We need to take time to reflect on our purchases. Realize
the possibility of an Impossible American Dream. Stop comparing ourselves to
everyone around us. Push forward for credit education. And help make higher
education as possibility for every American.
Logemann, J. (2008). Different Paths to Mass Consumption:
Consumer Credit in the United States and West Germany during the 1950s and
'60s. Journal Of Social History, 41(3), 525-559.
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/story/2012-07-03/student-loans-debt-crisis/56006496/1
http://www.npr.org/series/153503213/american-dreams-lost-and-found
I completely agree the average tuition for college these days is outrageously expensive and I think all of us in this class and at Miami Regional campuses are actually approaching college and dealing with the constant burden of tuition checks in a smarter and more economical way, as we are still receiving the high education and high faculty experience as the main Oxford Campus, but we are literally paying a fraction of the cost. The one thing I do question is giving up on the possibility of this so called “American Dream”. I think manufacturers and mass advertisers have constantly projected this idea of having a house, 2.5 kids, and a white picket fence as being the ultimate achievement of the American Dream, but how many people do you really know have this situation over a period of time. I think the projected idea of the “American Dream” by the mass media is a Ludacris term that needs to be eradicated. We all have our own dreams and aspirations and I do not think we need to max out credit cards or bury ourselves in loans to do so. I am not implying that the country should raise taxes in order to help people pay for college, but I am saying that colleges and collegiate students all across the nation need to wake up and start being realistic when it comes to finances and what an average 20 something new adult can truly afford. Like I have said before I think going to regional campuses is a very smart way of economically receiving a college degree. I think as more people catch on to this trend of leaving main campuses for alternate locations for education, then the colleges themselves will start having to reevaluate college education across the board. Maybe we do not need to fuel the collegiate sports teams with millions of tuition dollars each year and maybe it is time to return the attention to education. Because I believe if colleges did focus solely on giving students an education, rather than this “college experience” than costs of getting a post-high school degree would not only be lower, but a lot more economically achievable for an everyday student.
ReplyDelete-Michelle Tobeson
When I see statements bandied about concerning credit card debt, my hackles always raise slightly. Throughout my life, I've always seen credit cards as one of the main detriments towards achieving the "American Dream". I thought that the point of this dream was to make yourself successful on your own two feet, not by relying upon some faceless corporation to give you a piggyback ride and then have it shoot you in the foot when you try to go off on your own after getting off. Reckless spending with credit has been one of the major issues that has plagued the modern American economy as it allows people to purchase goods and services beyond their means without immediate consequences.
ReplyDeleteOh sure, all of this stuff can and will be reposessed at a future date if you can't make the payment (with interest!), but how exactly does that stop an uninformed Joe from making that mistake in the first place? Credit cards need to be handled more stringently in the future if we're to try and avoid the deficit spending that our country has been emboiled in for the last century. Regulations need to be placed upon who owns a credit card so that they cannot be used to purchase beyond ones means. Otherwise, the next generations are going to keep getting the wrong idea about how to spend.
For the most part I like the argument and the idea here. I will say, however, that all Americans should not attend an institution of higher education. There have been several reports that there are 3 million "skilled labor" jobs in America that cannot be filled because there aren't workers who have the skills. I agree that there needs to be focus on lowering tuition costs for students, however, that doesn't happen through any governmental organization. So many need to stop going to college in my opinion. Going to college for a Creative Writing degree is idiotic at best. I'm of the opinion that you do not have to go to college to learn how to write profoundly or think deeply, one can do this or they can't. We have to change education at a fundamental level; we need to educate young people on how to think for themselves, and guide them to the right field of study, whether that requires college or not. We have been convinced (myself included) that college is something we need to make a good living and have a family. This is one of the most blatant lies Americans have ever been told. Moreover, the concept of the American Dream is a ridiculous one. I have never seen a culture so obsessed with acquiring something just so they can be like someone else. The American Dream thwarts individualism in our country. That when you go to Miami-Oxford you see people wearing polo shirts and North Face Jackets. They can't stand to be seen as lower on the totem pole than the next guy. It seems that students on our campus have it figured out way more than the folks at Oxford. There are genuinely smart people here that are a true version of themselves chasing their own dreams, not their friend's dreams or their parents dreams, and we don't have to max out the credit card to do it.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad that you brought up the topic of student loans, which is obviously something that is omnipresent for most all of us. In countries like Norway and Finland, they publicly fund education at all levels through tax dollars. It is something that we presently do for K-12; and my question is why wouldn't we extend that offer to college education? It only makes sense especially considering recent developments have led to us becoming lower and lower as far as test scores throughout the world. A large part of this is that there are people who perhaps would want to go to college who are unable to afford it and do not want to live a life full of $40,000+ in debt. I know that implementation would be a struggle in the short term, but I do firmly believe in the long run that we would be better off as a nation in doing so.
ReplyDeleteThrough the speculation and discussion that we had had in class regarding the relevance and the attainability of the American Dream, like your article more or less points out; the American Dream’s realistic attainability has always been relevant to the status of the economy. In the 1950’s a lot of what we consider average today or less than average, was top of the line American quality luxury that could be attainable by the average man. As the Jones’ have modernized into the middle upper class with the recent turn of the century, so have the standards of the American Dream. The middle class is no longer a new, mass attainable thing, but mediocre by 1st world standards. This is because the middle class has inflated so much that there is the middle-lower, middle and middle-upper class to give you further stratification above those below you while leaving more to be desired when looking up. Like your article points out this isn’t helped by the sulking economy versus the massive ‘out of college’ population that is looking of a slice of what has been thinned out by the recession. While the American Dream in my eyes isn’t a secret, exploiting evil. It has become more about materialism unfortunately rather than attaining a comfortable middle class life.
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