"Collectively, U.S. consumers have had charge cards for about 90 years now. Basically, they're a convenient way for people to pay for items without having to carry cash. But people shouldn't confuse convenience with necessity. However, for the vast majority of the people complaining — the ones who have balances that can't easily be paid off because they bought too many flat panel TVs — well, I hate to say it, but you got what was coming to you. You borrow from a loan shark, and you risk a visit from a thug wielding a baseball bat."Nilus Mattive, Weiss Research Inc.
"I believe that the American public hopes for a continuation of the Supersize Me Era. We really enjoyed it and we hope that somehow Obama can keep the party going. Unfortunately, I believe that the kegs have run dry and we'll be forced to shift our mentality to a place it hasn't been in our lifetime. It's best to be proactive than reactive. Reactive can be very painful. Hopefully you have a nice photo album of the era. It will be one to remember."
3 comments:
Hey Kirk,
Regular visitor here.My blog is more geared to those 'baseline necessities', a demographic I expect to swell considerably over the next, oh....., decade or so.
http://outsidethe-cardboard-box.tumblr.com
Nice site BTW - keep up the great work!
Tom,
Thank you! I will check out "Outside The Cardboard Box".
Kirk,
This is a portion of a Charlie Rose interview with Tom Friedman.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/22/friedman-worries-about-am_n_366648.html
I will send the full video when I locate it, but in this interview he emphasizes the problem of situational values (instant gratification to be paid for by others down the road) and sustainable values (which is what we need to implement).
Also note the acronyms:
IBG - "I'll be gone"
YBG - "You'll be gone"
(describing that in pursuit of our immediate gratifications, we ignore the impact of our decisions); and the new reality of:
YBH - "You'll be here" - Explaining that we are now the ones that will have to pay for all of these decisions.
Johnny
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