FlintTalk.com Forum Index > Political Talk Topic: The Seduction Goto page 1, 2  Next

Author    Post   Demeralda F L I N T O I D Don't usually groove too much on David Brooks, but this one was good. June 10, 2008 Op-Ed Columnist The Great Seduction By DAVID BROOKS The people who created this country built a moral structure around money. The Puritan legacy inhibited luxury and self-indulgence. Benjamin Franklin spread a practical gospel that emphasized hard work, temperance and frugality. Millions of parents, preachers, newspaper editors and teachers expounded the message. The result was quite remarkable. The United States has been an affluent nation since its founding. But the country was, by and large, not corrupted by wealth. For centuries, it remained industrious, ambitious and frugal. Over the past 30 years, much of that has been shredded. The social norms and institutions that encouraged frugality and spending what you earn have been undermined. The institutions that encourage debt and living for the moment have been strengthened. The country’s moral guardians are forever looking for decadence out of Hollywood and reality TV. But the most rampant decadence today is financial decadence, the trampling of decent norms about how to use and harness money. Sixty-two scholars have signed on to a report by the Institute for American Values and other think tanks called, “For a New Thrift: Confronting the Debt Culture,” examining the results of all this. This may be damning with faint praise, but it’s one of the most important think-tank reports you’ll read this year. The deterioration of financial mores has meant two things. First, it’s meant an explosion of debt that inhibits social mobility and ruins lives. Between 1989 and 2001, credit-card debt nearly tripled, soaring from $238 billion to $692 billion. By last year, it was up to $937 billion, the report said. Second, the transformation has led to a stark financial polarization. On the one hand, there is what the report calls the investor class. It has tax-deferred savings plans, as well as an army of financial advisers. On the other hand, there is the lottery class, people with little access to 401(k)’s or financial planning but plenty of access to payday lenders, credit cards and lottery agents. The loosening of financial inhibition has meant more options for the well-educated but more temptation and chaos for the most vulnerable. Social norms, the invisible threads that guide behavior, have deteriorated. Over the past years, Americans have been more socially conscious about protecting the environment and inhaling tobacco. They have become less socially conscious about money and debt. The agents of destruction are many. State governments have played a role. They aggressively hawk their lottery products, which some people call a tax on stupidity. Twenty percent of Americans are frequent players, spending about $60 billion a year. The spending is starkly regressive. A household with income under $13,000 spends, on average, $645 a year on lottery tickets, about 9 percent of all income. Aside from the financial toll, the moral toll is comprehensive. Here is the government, the guardian of order, telling people that they don’t have to work to build for the future. They can strike it rich for nothing. Payday lenders have also played a role. They seductively offer fast cash — at absurd interest rates — to 15 million people every month. Credit card companies have played a role. Instead of targeting the financially astute, who pay off their debts, they’ve found that they can make money off the young and vulnerable. Fifty-six percent of students in their final year of college carry four or more credit cards. Congress and the White House have played a role. The nation’s leaders have always had an incentive to shove costs for current promises onto the backs of future generations. It’s only now become respectable to do so. Wall Street has played a role. Bill Gates built a socially useful product to make his fortune. But what message do the compensation packages that hedge fund managers get send across the country? The list could go on. But the report, which is nicely summarized by Barbara Dafoe Whitehead in The American Interest (available free online), also has some recommendations. First, raise public consciousness about debt the way the anti-smoking activists did with their campaign. Second, create institutions that encourage thrift. Foundations and churches could issue short-term loans to cut into the payday lenders’ business. Public and private programs could give the poor and middle class access to financial planners. Usury laws could be enforced and strengthened. Colleges could reduce credit card advertising on campus. KidSave accounts would encourage savings from a young age. The tax code should tax consumption, not income, and in the meantime, it should do more to encourage savings up and down the income ladder. There are dozens of things that could be done. But the most important is to shift values. Franklin made it prestigious to embrace certain bourgeois virtues. Now it’s socially acceptable to undermine those virtues. It’s considered normal to play the debt game and imagine that decisions made today will have no consequences for the future. _________________ I'm no model lady. A model's just an imitation of the real thing. - Mae West Tue Jun 10, 2008 9:07 am  twotap F L I N T O I D Damn when I first read the title to this thread I thought hey were gonna get to hear about Demeraldas weekend. Good one although, I didnt see the part about how the government well pay ya, house ya and feed ya to sit on your fat ass and have more illegitimate rug rats . I doubt if old Ben could have ever envisioned that either. _________________ "If you like your current healthcare you can keep it, Period"!! Barack Hussein Obama--- multiple times. Tue Jun 10, 2008 9:15 am  Demeralda F L I N T O I D OK, but to me this article speaks much more to people who go out and charge charge charge accumulating a bunch of crap they didn't even need. Isn't it pathetic that nearly every woman in America can tell you what Manolos or Jimmy Chous are? _________________ I'm no model lady. A model's just an imitation of the real thing. - Mae West Tue Jun 10, 2008 11:12 am  twotap F L I N T O I D I thought at first you were talking about the sissyfied singer who is afraid of Elizabeth Hasselbeck. But he spells it different. _________________ "If you like your current healthcare you can keep it, Period"!! Barack Hussein Obama--- multiple times. Tue Jun 10, 2008 11:24 am  Demeralda F L I N T O I D http://www.neimanmarcus.com/store/catalog/templates/EntrySC.jhtml;jsessionid=SMUJC4CMEJ0CUCQAAKQBACI?itemId=cat000209&parentId=cat000199&masterId=cat000149&cmCat=&view=superall&icid=viewallsubs Now you can be frightened. Doesn't matter if you know the name, as long as your wife doesn't (and doesn't have crazy expensive tastes)! I get so tired of the endless quest for more accoutrements. _________________ I'm no model lady. A model's just an imitation of the real thing. - Mae West Tue Jun 10, 2008 12:08 pm  andi03 F L I N T O I D quote: Demeralda schreef: OK, but to me this article speaks much more to people who go out and charge charge charge accumulating a bunch of crap they didn't even need. Isn't it pathetic that nearly every woman in America can tell you what Manolo or Jimmy Chous are? Um........fingers "running" to Google......<insert Jeopardy theme song>........ah, shoes........."Yippee".....<Eeyore type cheerleader scream>. _________________ Build a bridge and get over it! Tue Jun 10, 2008 12:15 pm  twotap F L I N T O I D They got Paris Hilton written all over em. _________________ "If you like your current healthcare you can keep it, Period"!! Barack Hussein Obama--- multiple times. Tue Jun 10, 2008 12:15 pm  Demeralda F L I N T O I D Why did I know I could count on Andi to be the one cool chick who doesn't know? hehe _________________ I'm no model lady. A model's just an imitation of the real thing. - Mae West Tue Jun 10, 2008 12:41 pm  andi03 F L I N T O I D quote: Demeralda schreef: Why did I know I could count on Andi to be the one cool chick who doesn't know? hehe Thanks....shucks. _________________ Build a bridge and get over it! Tue Jun 10, 2008 12:52 pm  twotap F L I N T O I D Well thanks to Demeralda she knows now, any of them catch your eye Andi??? _________________ "If you like your current healthcare you can keep it, Period"!! Barack Hussein Obama--- multiple times. Tue Jun 10, 2008 1:00 pm  andi03 F L I N T O I D quote: twotap schreef: Well thanks to Demeralda she knows now, any of them catch your eye Andi??? If they're not flip flops or tennis shoes or low heeled dress shoes, they're not for me. I wear heels though when I am helping out with funerals, then I change into flip flops. _________________ Build a bridge and get over it! Tue Jun 10, 2008 1:13 pm  twotap F L I N T O I D Flip flops and a cold can of Bud. _________________ "If you like your current healthcare you can keep it, Period"!! Barack Hussein Obama--- multiple times. Tue Jun 10, 2008 1:18 pm  andi03 F L I N T O I D ***Flip flops and a cold can of Bud.**** Amen!! Gotta check my fridge and closet for vacation!! _________________ Build a bridge and get over it! Tue Jun 10, 2008 1:57 pm  Dave Starr F L I N T O I D The wife & I were in Chicago a while bach & stopped in Nieman-Marcus for grins. She found a pair of ordinary looking brown penny loafers - "only" $495.00. I looked at socks - $25.00 per pair. No thank you. Got on a bus & saw a "little old lady" with 3 Nieman-Marcus shopping bags that were full. What gets me is that they sell enough to stay in business. _________________ I used to care, but I take a pill for that now. Pushing buttons sure can be fun. When a lion wants to go somewhere, he doesn’t worry about how many hyenas are in the way. Paddle faster, I hear banjos. Tue Jun 10, 2008 2:06 pm  Ted Jankowski F L I N T O I D quote: Dave Starr schreef: The wife & I were in Chicago a while bach & stopped in Nieman-Marcus for grins. She found a pair of ordinary looking brown penny loafers - "only" $495.00. I looked at socks - $25.00 per pair. No thank you. Got on a bus & saw a "little old lady" with 3 Nieman-Marcus shopping bags that were full. What gets me is that they sell enough to stay in business. Those didn't cost any more than the ones you buy at the Payless store. You're paying for the Name and the marketing. Made by the Same China Sweat Shop labor. Tue Jun 10, 2008 3:52 pm    Display posts from previous:   All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First

Jump to: Select a forum Local News and Politics----------------Open chatFeed BackReal Estate For SalePolitical TalkTigersVehiclesPistonsVehicles for partsThe Flint JournalRed WingsGarage SaleMichigan Professional Soccer TeamsPolitical JokesWantedFlint Sirens Women's Rugby ClubThe Bob Leonard ShowMiscellaneousGenesee County PatriotsFlint City Derby Girls / Flint River Floaters Roller Derby TeamThe Flint Generals Flint Facts----------------Did you know?

Goto page 1, 2  Next <  Last Topic | Next Topic  >

Forum Rules: You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum