On Tap

From this story on “survival panic”.

The U.S. recession that took hold in December last year has threatened personal finances in many ways as home prices fall, investments sour, retirement funds shrink, access to credit diminishes and jobs evaporate.

It is also a rude awakening for a generation of shoppers who grew up on easy access to credit and have never had to limit purchases to simply what they needed or could afford.

Instead, buying and consuming have become part of the national culture, with many people using what is in their shopping bags to express their own identity, from the latest gadgets to designer handbags.

People that have been … identifying with and defining themselves by their material objects and expenditures are losing a definite piece of their identity and themselves,” he said. “They have to learn how to replace that.”

I don’t think it makes me a Red to think that frugality and industry can be at least as beneficial to our country as spending (especially spending beyond our means). Credit itself is neither good nor bad. A small amount can help build capital, but overextending yourself can bring ruin. So spending isn’t always a good thing either.

Benjamin Franklin called frugality “practical patriotism”, and that sounds much preferable to the “survival panic” of the overextended shopper.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 16th, 2008 at December 16, 2008 - 2:05 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.