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Over-Consumption and

Wastefulness in America

By: Jasmin Hopper

December 1, 2008
In the past few years, Americans have taken many of the things acquired in life

for granted. People have become more frugal with their money and how they spend it.

People don’t know how to appreciate money and the value of an object. Money has

become something of no value. Money is not being spent usefully. People now and days

buy things that they want but don’t necessarily need. You have people who spend

outrageous amounts of money on fads and trends such as luxury cars,

over-sized homes, and over priced fashion clothing and this is called splurging. People

who splurge are “rite now” shoppers and don’t really pay any mind to what the

consequences are. They see items in clothing stores and malls that they want and buy it

right then, not giving a second thought about things that are needed.

“The United States, […] maintains its standard of living by using more than one-fourth of

the resources consumed in the world” (Long A3). To put this into perspective, the

Environmental Protection Agency stated that in 2005, the United States alone, produce a

lump sum of over 245 million tons of Municipal Solid Waste prior to recycling (EPA).

These figures equal out to approximately 4.5 pounds of waste produced by each person

living in the United States, each day! Although 32 percent is recovered and reused, 15

percent is incinerated, the remaining 54 percent of waste produced by Americans and

their over consumption is deposited into landfills (EPA).

(http://cssorrell.wordpress.com/2007/11/13/america-the-great-a-satyrical-paper/)

Middle class families and citizens purchase things that, 9 times out of 10, they

can not afford or pay for in the future. As quoted in “The Over-Consumption Myth and

Other Tales of Economics, Law and Morality”, Economist Robert Frank claims that
America’s newfound “Luxury Fever” forces middle-class families “to finance their

consumption increases largely by reduced savings and increased debt”.

(http://www.yale.edu/law/leo/052005/papers/Warren.pdf). Meaning that they purchase

items out of their budget and this can lead to non-payment of bills on items like cars and

houses and repossessions. This in turn can and will cause people to go into bankruptcy or

near-bankruptcy.

People file bankruptcy when they become so far in debt they can’t pull themselves

out. Debt stems from credit card bills that people fail to pay. People charge things that

they can not pay on their own, to their credit cards. People pay for so many things on

their credit cards that when they get their bills they can not pay them or they can only pay

the minimum amount that is due. Not only do they charge items to credit cards that they

don’t necessarily need but people own too many. People sign up for credit cards that they

don’t need. People have 3, 4, or 5 credit cards and charge them up but they can only

afford to have maybe 1 or 2. Credit cards, if used correctly or responsibly, can come in

handy when making pricey purchases. Not only do credit cards play a significant role in

why people file for bankruptcy but loans play part in it too.

A loan is money from another source that has to be paid back over a period of

time. People can get loans for college, for business, and to buy houses and they have to

be paid back in full. Loans for houses and business as well as college tuition is very

popular. With loans, you get the money all at one time or as you need it and over a period

of years or months the company or bank your loan came from charges interest for the

months the money is not paid back. People take these loans out on houses that cost too

much and are way to big. They take money from somewhere for something really
unnecessary like a 600,000-sqft house that they may only stay in for a couple nights,

when the money being used for this can be going to first time home buyers or entering

freshmen college students for loans.

People take these things for granted and use them as they please instead of using

it for good and useful reasons. Money has made many people selfish. Money can also

make people do crazy things. It has also made people become greedy and this has caused

our economy to decline. In the past year leading lending companies and stocks have

fallen and this has really taken a toll on America as a whole. This year America witnessed

the worst economic crisis since the late 1980s. This year, 15 banks failed. The Dow Jones

declined well over 1,874 points during what was considered “Black Week” in October.

Gas was at its all time high with an average of regular grade at $3.14 a gallon

(http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/02/27/business/26gasweb.php). This crisis showed

Americans that we should learn to budget and use our money better. One day, America

will once again be the country it used to be; a country of opportunity and futures.
Work-Cited
(http://cssorrell.wordpress.com/2007/11/13/america-the-great-a-satyrical-paper/)

(http://www.yale.edu/law/leo/052005/papers/Warren.pdf)

(http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/02/27/business/26gasweb.php)

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