The problem is greed. Every tom, dick and harry wants a mobile phone, cable tv and a euro sedan. These things were luxuries 30 yrs ago. I remember my Dad bringing home our first color TV - in 1967. It was a big deal. We got a window A/C unit and I thought we were royalty...
You got a color TV in 1967, Wow we had to wait until about 1973 or so. We had a great big 25 inch B&W console. When we replaced that with a 19 inch color “Portable” that weighed about 70 pounds I was a happy kid
When I taught job-seeking classes to welfare and food stamp recipients (97% female) back in the late 80’s and throughout the 90’s, they drove better cars, wore better clothing, had more “things” than I did and I was a government employee. They were “early adaptors” of cell phones when they penetrated beyond doctors, lawyers and business executives, many years before I ever got one. Their purses and shoes were much more expensive than I could afford for my wife. We (the govt. and taxpayers) had sent many of them back to school to get their associates and bachelor degrees, yet they “couldn’t find a job” even in a 3% unemployment economy!
Sick of people whining about a cell phone being a luxury.
Please point out pay phones in your neighborhood. They sure aren’t in mine and I’d rather my kids not walk home from school with no way to call for help.
I think up through the 1970s...we were an austerity society. You worked your way to each level and gave yourself a “gift” to fit for that level.
In the 1980s....credit went turbo. I can still remember the hassle it was to get a credit card in 1981 at the base credit union. They wanted me to pay them $8 a month (a hefty monthly maintenance fee), and yearly fee of $80 (a fair sum in 1981). I refused, and walked away. In 1987, I got my first Master Card, no yearly fee and no monthly maintenance cost. They allowed me $2,000 for a limit. I was happy with them.
By 1993, I had a second credit card offered free to me, and both my limits were now $15,000.
These type actions by stores, banks, and credit card companies....brought Americans into a destruction period. There are people walking around with $80,000 in credit card debt. They will never recover. What did they spend the $80,000 on? The same stuff you suggest...stuff they didn’t really need.