Why do you americans buy so much crap?

reply to post by Metallic Monk
In my opinion we are conditioned by the system to want more....but especially material things. The barrage is non stop. Meanwhile in reality we probably need only about 20% of what we actually consume.

"The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it."-Oscar Wilde

How come Europeans never think they are materialistic? Why do they think that Americans are the only people that buy so much crap? I would say the Japanese are much more materialistic than Americans.

/TOA

I'm not your typical American as I've never had a credit card in my life. I refuse to monetarily support the banking industry. Me and my roommates were talking the other day about money debt, as they are a married couple but between the two of them make six times more money than I do. Despite this I end up with more expendable cash. That is because they have so much debt due to credit cards, expensive phones, various household items not paid off, and there new cars. I drive junk until the wheels fall off of it and don't buy anything unless I hve the cash in my pocket. My lifestyle however is very unpopular. I have a lower paying job because I work for a small non profit helping people. I still feel wealthy as I live better than most of the rest of the world, but no one here in the USA looks at it that way. They just have to buy buy buy to have the same self worth that I gain thru my benevolent actions.

reply to post by Metallic Monk


Why,you ask? Because I am married and I have children.
I have very needy children...

reply to post by The Old American

I have never been to the united states but I have friends who have and from what they describe the US is much more materialistic. Yes, Japan is much more materialistic. And yeah we europeans are materialistic but if you turn on the TV over here you don't have a gazillion commercials. I never watched the Tonight Show on american television but I have watched it on swedish TV. How many commercial breaks does that show have when it runs on NBC in the US?

Originally posted by xxblackoctoberxx
im american and i wonder the same thing.

why is everyone so materialistic?

its only the stupid people that think their cool car or their fancy phone makes them a better person. and its only the stupid people who see the fancy cars and think that the people who own them are better.

FUNCTION OVER FASHION.

everyone is too worried about their status and what everyone else thinks about them

with all of the money wasted by pop stars and professional athletes we could feed the hungry and clothe the poor.

If I could I would give you a million stars!

I'm an American, and I have one credit card, and it's always got a balance less than $100, and is mostly just for emergencies (and things like renting a car or hotel room). For everything else, we pay cash or debit (right out of the account).

Both cars are even paid for.

Not to say we don't have debt though...we'll be paying our student loans for years...but at least that's it.