The Trappings and Traps of Wealth
Part two of American Dream or
American Nightmare?
The traps of wealth? Many people will read this and say something
like, "Yeah, I'd like to have that kind of problem."
They probably already do. Millions of people in the U.S. sit
in front of their televisions watching expensive cable programming,
eating expensive snacks and thinking they are poor. They are,
but not in terms of income. Not having traveled the world much,
they don't know what true poverty is.
They are poor because they cannot find peace of mind with
what they have, even if it is enough. They are in constant financial
trouble because no matter how much they make, they don't know
how to handle money. A typical scenario: a man gets a $2,000
tax refund, and instead of enriching his life by helping him
get what he needs or truly wants, he uses it for a down payment
on a car that replaces a perfectly functional one, or he gets
a bunch of new household rent-to-own items, ranging from large-screen
TVs to new couches. Now he has more debt than ever, and so more
stress in his life. In this case, more money (combined with his
lack of wisdom) actually made him less happy.
There is nothing wrong with large screen TVs or new couches
or even $4,000 refrigerators. These are nice things to have.
In fact, if you had unlimited money, it would seem silly to deny
yourself nice things - at least those things that truly bring
more comfort or pleasure to your life. But we don't have unlimited
money, and things are not worth any price.
This so called "American Dream" is one of social
conformity. It presents the nice home full of nice things and
paid for by a nice job as the goal we all should aspire to. This
leads people to buy a television for the cost of a year at a
community college. Which would actually enrich one's life more?
Actually I don't know, because everyone is different. But the
more important point is that the person making the purchase usually
doesn't know either. We are taught to buy into other people's
dreams without any real consideration for our own unique possibilities.
We are also taught that we need to impress others. If you
don't think this is true, imagine yourself driving to your class
reunion in a rusty old car and telling everyone about how you
sell scrap metal recovered from garbage dumps. Or consider that
people are somewhat ashamed to be living in a mobile home when
they are in their thirties, even though such housing is better
than most people in the world have. And what's the first thing
a man does when he buys a new jet-ski? He proudly shows it to
his friends.
This need to live a life that others approve of, to "live
the dream," almost certainly causes spiritual or psychological
damage, and paying for it can require having jobs we hate and
going deep into debt. The stress this creates can quickly turn
this into the "American Nightmare." Again, this isn't
a denunciation of material things. A beautiful new car paid for
out of one's excess wealth is a useful and enjoyable thing. But
that same car, bought with debt that enslaves a person to jobs
she hates and constant stress from financial struggles is not
a good purchase.
The Traps of Wealth
Most people who make $30,000 per year think they would be
much more secure if they made just $10,000 more, and those making
$40,000 (or $80,000) think the same thing. The truth is that
a higher income often just makes potential problems bigger. Once
you buy a home and car and other things based on that higher
income, you then need to maintain it. In this way you are trapped
by your increasing wealth. This is not a necessary outcome, but
a common one.
Imagine a man who makes $250,000 per year losing everything.
Then think about one who makes $10,000 going broke. The former
almost certainly suffers the bigger blow psychologically. He
may also think more about this possibility, so one's worries
do not necessarily decrease with rising income.
Apart from the traps of wealth that result from personal factors,
there are consequences of a society becoming wealthy pursuing
a dream life. Let's look at a few examples.
If you go to Brazil or Peru or India, you'll notice that there
is public transportation available for everyone. Why? Because
they don't all own cars, so there is a demand for busses. In
the United Sates, most towns have no public transportation at
all (foreign readers will find this hard to believe). Why? Because
everyone owns a car.
The result of everyone buying into the dream - which includes
owning your own car - is that there is no demand for cheaper
alternatives. This, in turn, means it's difficult to get to your
job if you don't own a car. So though you make more money than
those in other countries, you have a large expense that they
don't have.
Furthermore, the American dream calls for houses or at least
nice apartments, but not mobile homes, so the latter are pushed
far away from city centers by laws made by the wealthy people
who don't want such "eyesores" around. The result is
that if you want the cheaper housing you are forced to pay the
expense of commuting further to the jobs that are in the towns
and cities. You may not have bought into the dream, but it imposed
it's cost on you nonetheless.
Here are a few more minor examples. Want to buy a cheap computer
monitor? Last year you could buy a one for $40. Now, because
most people want the fancier flat-screen ones, the cheaper ones
are no longer available. The cheapest now is more than $150.
Oh, they are better, but you no longer have the choice to have
a good-enough one for $40. You are dragged along by the dream
whether you like it or not.
A 19-inch TV could be bought for $99 at Wal-Mart two years
ago. By the end of this year (2009), those "cheap"
TVs will no longer be available. The flat screen ones start at
about $300. This isn't going to show up as inflation, by the
way, since these are not the same products. But whatever you
call it, the wealth of the country and the dream that hypnotizes
it's masses make it more and more difficult to live simply and
inexpensively.
Now, this is an observation, not a complaint. And difficult
does not mean impossible. The truth is that you can avoid many
of these "traps," and live the life you want - one
of wealth or of simplicity - or both. But you have to take your
eyes off the American Dream and look at what is truly of value
to you and what you actually need to be happy. |
