Affluenza: Luxuries Become Necessities in Our Obsession for Entertainment

2012 Dodge Caliber Original MSRP $18,000

I recently was introduced to an article in the Washington Post written by Carol Morello and Scott Clement entitled "'Happy Days' No More: Middle-Class Families Squeezed as Expenses Soar, Wages Stall." It is an interesting write-up about a family of five whose household earns $90,000 a year, however, they are struggling to make ends meet. This really surprised me because my family of six earns half of that salary, but we're surviving just fine. There are the ups and downs of financial stresses that come with budgeting for any family, however, struggling on $90,000 seems unfathomable. So I decided to break the article into parts and address each issue not only in the context of the Johnsons' daily life, but also in the context of my family life and those families in my community. My goal is to take a realistic (and many times painful) look at exactly what is going on in America's middle-class families in regards to the meaning of necessity and our obsession to be entertained.

America the Theatrical

Americans must be entertained - it has become a God-given right to be upheld at all costs. Most homes have now become independent personal media centers customed designed with laptops, HD flat screen TVs, real life gaming systems, iPads, iphones, iPods, and I don't know what will be next. Every aspect of our lives has become tainted with this ideology and in many ways we are dumbing down our society because knowledge is in many ways defined either by your skills with technology or how many questions you can answer on trivia night. Furthermore, our customized worlds give us a false understanding of reality and creates a dysfunctional view of the world. People are defining their relationships through their technology (if you don't have what I own, you're not good enough) and they are quickly losing their ability to function socially because many are choosing to completely absorb themselves into their media-created "reality".

The middle class are the hardest hit when it comes to living up to society's expectations and actually being able to do so in regards to material possessions. The lower classes aspire to have the pricey entertainment, however, if it is not achieved, it isn't such a big deal. Remember, you are poor and those who surround you will totally understand. Folks making $50,000+ a year don't get the privilege of forgiveness and sympathetic acceptance by friends and neighbors. The pressure of keeping an image of affluence can force families to make decisions they really cannot afford. And if you could care less what others think, then perhaps your own drive to have the greatest and latest technology and things will still lead to poor decision-making. This is one of the biggest reasons why Americans have been racking up huge credit card debt for decades- they continually choose to live outside their means. And, for many, this is the only way of life they know how to live.

The Johnsons' Story

Scott and Robin are classic examples of upper middle-class living. They own their home, he is an IT engineer, she is an aspiring accountant, and they are raising three children on $90,000 a year. They live outside the Washington area which has a good enough school district that their children do not have to attend private school. They both have struggled in this economy with their jobs because, honestly, there is no job security any more. The ups and downs have forced them to make some lifestyle changes and, according to the Washington Post article, this family deeply suffers from their struggles. The article builds upon this pathos with Scott stating, "'I don't know how the working class, anyone below the middle class, how they can survive.'" They claim to live paycheck to paycheck and now, with the purchase of a new vehicle, they cannot even pay their electric bill. Their daughters, who are by now high school age, are looking at college options. "Robin's advice to her daughters: Study hard enough to get scholarships, because we can't help." For the Johnsons', the solution to their dilemma is simple: "'If we had an extra $60,000 a year, we'd have some breathing room. I'd like to have some extra things. Not just look at them and drool.'" This "drooling" that so many Americans get caught up in is the primary cause of our affluenza problem. We now have justified our actions to satisfy this "drooling" by altering our perceptions of what defines a luxury or what constitutes a necessity.

Maslow's Hierarchy on Needs

In 1943 Abraham Maslow introduced the world to a concept which defined how humans fulfilled their overall needs. He created a model in the shape of a pyramid with the most basic needs (food, shelter, water, air) on the bottom and running up to the top where the self-actualization needs (personal growth, self-fulfillment, personal potential) exist. In a standard representation of any human, the needs are met first on the bottom and then build their way up the pyramid. Really only 1 in 100 people achieve the top level stage, like Ben Franklin did.

With affluenza, the pyramid tends to be upside down. The needs which would normally be at the bottom somehow lose significance and the stress is placed on the upper levels. As an example, the Johnsons own 3 flat screen TVs, 3 iPads, a laptop, at least 3 personal computers, 4 cell phones, and they recently purchased a vehicle that cost between $12,000 and $18,000. They claim that because of all of their expenses that now they cannot pay the electric bill. A bit topsy turvy?

By obtaining material possessions that you cannot afford (usually just to impress) at the expense of the electric bill places their needs on the esteem level over the safety level. Sure, Scott and Robin need their technology to maintain the biological and safety levels, however, all of the other items are luxuries which they could do without. The problem lies in the fact that middle class families truly believe all of this stuff is a necessity. Is it really? It is within this kind of perception that the definitions of necessity and luxury collide and create financial despair. It's easy to blame the economy, inflation, and rising costs. But perhaps it simply comes down to money management. Not the way Mr. Obama defines it. More like Suzy Orman.

A Look at the Figures

I thought it would be a good idea to run a comparison of the actual figures it takes to run the Johnsons' household versus my own. But first, to give you a little context of how my family lives.... We embrace the couponing and money saving concepts of Crystal Paine (Money Saving Mom) and others like her. We also apply many of Dave Ramsey's guidance principles (Gazelle Budgeting) on money management. Basically, we try to live within our means and make good money decisions. My wife does a wonderful job of managing our income using a budget plan. We rarely eat at any kind of restaurant, choose not to have cable (instead the kids watch Netflix or DVDs from the library), use what we do have to its fullest extent, and keep one another from jumping onto the trend wagon. We could care less about keeping up with the Joneses and are very happy to be blessed with the richness of our marriage, family, community, and activities we do together to make memories. We believe that the reason so many families struggle in this country is simply because of a lack of knowledge on how to manage the money you do earn and what in reality is a necessity. Yes, times are tough. No doubt about that. But when your priorities are skewed, life becomes impossible.

St. Louis, Missouri and Culpeper, Virginia are somewhat similar in their cost of living according to (http://www.areavibes.com/cost-of-living-calculator/culpeper,+va-vs-st.+louis,+mo/). Overall it is 14.2% cheaper to live here than in the Johnsons' neighborhood. However, by looking at the expense breakdown, we find some surprising results. In Culpeper the housing expenses far exceed the costs in St. Louis - a whopping 44%. The Johnsons, however, were able to refinance their home which now brought their mortgage down to the same amount my family pays here. All of the other cost categories are either about the same as St. Louis or lower. True, home insurance and electric bills are higher in Culpeper, but again, they live in an area where their children attend public schools. Schools in St. Louis are terrible and so our family has the huge burden of monthly private school costs. (By the way, we're still raising 4 of our 6 kids, 3 go to private school). Yet, we survive just fine on half of the Johnson's earnings. So, if we were to adopt the Johnson's financial solution, we could continue to live the way we do, and then have another $100,000 left over each year to invest or whatever we wanted. Intetesting contrast, isn't it?

Concluding Thoughts

From reading the Washington Post article, I do believe the Johnsons are good people who honestly think they are struggling, and in many ways they are. No one is perfect and I know my family falls into the financial traps occasionally. It's not easy to live within your means when the status quo screams at you to join in the fun and mocks you when you don't. Money management skills are not taught in our elementary and secondary schools. When people think about a course on this subject they envision someone on a stage with a microphone hanging from his/her ear preaching to them like an evangelist. Our country is solely driven by the dollar and most companies do not want you to properly handle your money because that means less for them. Entertainment has become a number one priority. I might even suggest that it has replaced the role of God in many families' lives. But then again, money is a god or idol too, right?

The tough part to chew on is the fact that Americans have altered their perceptions of what is a necessity and what is a luxury. In my own community I see lots of examples of this behavior. One person goes to the local pantry in order to provide food for the family. That same family is sitting on the couch watching a TV that is plugged into a cable service costing $160 a month and complaining there isn't any food to eat. Another person has had the electric shut off in the apartment for two months, but still grocery shops at Whole Foods Market (currently I work in the culinary industry and we call that store "Whole Paycheck").

The newest trend I'm seeing are the families who make 6-digit salaries but claim they struggle just as much as a family that makes $20,000. They eat fast food 2-3 times a day, nearly every day. They go on shopping sprees every weekend to purchase anything from shoes to the latest phone, TV, or gaming system. They take expensive vacations regularly because these are the only times the family can connect, never mind whether or not they can afford it. Some of these families have moved back in with their parents just to maintain their lifestyles. And then when it comes to true medical or tuition expenses, they scream poverty. These folks truly believe they are struggling just like the rest of us because their concepts of necessity and luxury are deeply skewed. Managing the blessings that you do have is the key to a happy life. Don't let the status quo tell you otherwise.

What do you think?

American Evolution: Technology Replacing Humans

I recently read an article by a local newspaper columnist who brought to my attention a very obvious issue I really hadn't given any thought. He made me think of how realistic it could be, in the immediate future, that many of us workers will be replaced by technology. Although technology is a wonderful thing (when it works, of course), it does have its down sides. As an example, our kids today are usually completely absorbed into either social media or the wonderfully realistic computer games. Their generation will be the guinea pigs, unfortunately, for what the long term effects of technology has on the brain and in social development. I think that we are already beginning to see those effects with the hyper increase of ADHD and employees being able to do their jobs effectively, but not being able to maintain their jobs because they cannot get along with co-workers. But that's another story....

The columnist had recently been given a story from Bloomberg News that stated "technology will eliminate approximately 40 percent of our jobs". That is quite a staggering number and so I decided to do a little research to see what I could find out and make some observations.

Job Loss Qualifications

It would seem that any job which can be defined as routine is eligible to be replaced by robots, computers or some sort of software that can do a better job and be far more cheaper than human labor. What jobs qualify as routine? Here is a very brief list and the estimated number of people working in each field:
     
       Bank workers (we already have online banking and check scanning)               1,000,000
       Secretaries                                                                                                        1,100,000
       Real Estate Agents/Brokers                                                                                 600,000
       Truck Drivers                                                                                                    5,700,000
       Travel Agents                                                                                                        82,000
       Cashiers                                                                                                           3,300,000
       Librarians (note: you must have entry level master's degree)*                            148,400
       Meter readers                                                                                                        40,000
       Taxi Drivers/Chauffeurs                                                                                         36,200
                                                                                                                              12,006,600 

       *"North Carolina State University this month introduced a high-tech library where robots - 'bookBots - retrieve books when students request them, instead of humans. The library's 1.5 million books are no longer displayed on shelves; they're kept in 18,000 metal bins that require one-ninth the space."

As you can see over 12 million people could be without a job in the next decade or two, and this list does not come anywhere near showing the total jobs affected. "The AP found that almost all the jobs disappearing are in industries that pay middle-class wages, ranging from $38,000 to $68,000. [These are] [j]obs that form the backbone of the middle class in countries in Europe, North America and Asia."

"In the United States, half of the 7.5 million jobs lost during the Great Recession [were] paid middle-class wages..." This is an interesting statistic when we consider that it was the unethical business practices of the wealthier factions in this country who were responsible for our plunge into a recession. I would also assert that the recession felt by the middle class became a depression for the lower classes. Food pantries and shelters began seeing more and more new faces as families were losing their ability to sustain themselves. Many folks began implementing ideas that were used during the 1930's - such as using something until it is absolutely worn out. Thrift shops and supermarket stores like Aldi's as well have seen record numbers of shoppers over the past several years.

Fortunately for the poorer class, there really is no worry about being replaced by technology since their jobs are low-paying by nature and it would most likely cost more money to implement robots to function as janitors, housemaids or food service workers. Or perhaps, in time, they too might be replaced as robots become more affordable. Who knows?

Benefits of Technology

Now I don't want to just portray the gloom and doom scenario as the only outcome of technological advancement. It is certainly not this way. There are many wonderful aspects of having a wireless world.
Information exchanged is now at unprecedented levels. Literally any piece of knowledge can be retrieved or sent to anywhere in the world. Those of us who write blogs can share our minds and experiences with people in Malaysia, France, Russia, Gibraltar...the list goes on and on.
The medical field is making huge advances with information gathering done with scanners which look very similar to those used in department stores. If you close your eyes and hear the beep, you might be able to envision yourself as a domestic product being purchased. :) By doing away with the bed charts, a medical professional can access the most current patient information anywhere in the world. In the operating room there is new robotic equipment like the Da Vinci which can help a doctor perform a very low-invasive hysterectomy with great precision and with better eyes than humans possess. Even Hans Wiemann has upgraded to using robots for hair implementation for individuals suffering from hair loss.

In the realm of education, this country needs every possible means of improving the quality of our programs. We have been falling behind other countries very quickly and for quite some time. Technology is now being brought into the preschool classroom in an attempt to better educate and prepare our children for our very competitive world. Smart boards have been implemented in the middle schools and I was a bit shocked when my 10-year-old daughter told me that she not only knows how to put together a Power Point presentation, but she is very comfortable in making them because it is now common curriculum.

Growth Creates Obstacles

As amazing as technology can be there are always subversive members of our society or perhaps in the world who make themselves into bad apples. On Tuesday this week The New York Times published an article written by Nicole Perlroth which reveals a sort of "New Age" of hacking through third party systems.
   
     "Unable to breach the computer network at a big oil company, hackers infected with malware the online menu of a Chinese restaurant that was popular with employees. When the workers browsed the menu, they inadvertently downloaded the code that gave the attackers a foothold in the business's vast computer network."

Locally, "[h]ackers in the recent Target payment card breach gained access to the retailer's records through its heating and cooling system." How crazy it is that attackers can access vital computer systems through very simple channels without anyone even noticing? A hacker's Gold Rush, I'm sure.

After reading this article I began to think about how dependent Americans have become on their technology. Most information used or exchanged is not saved in hard copy form. Banking and financial information is quickly becoming totally digital as we attempt to streamline our lives and eliminate cluttering paperwork. Book stores are going out of business at an alarming rate because of Kindles and other media sources. Even books themselves are being eradicated and converted into a digital framework that can be "shelved" on a much smaller scale.

Just a Thought...

Thinking back on a terrible moment in our history, we can reflect on the events of 9/11 and the impact that it had on America and the world. Vulnerability is a very sensitive issue and the attack on the World Trade Towers left us in this state of being. I am concerned that our new dependence on technology could leave us being even more vulnerable than on that September day. If terrorists could implement some sort of third party system and breach our main computer systems, they could essentially shut this country down. Could it be as simple as a restaurant menu, a purchase on Amazon, or a communication on Twitter? We experienced a large financial disruption with the attack 13 years ago, so just think about how much damage could be done if an extremist group was able to gain access to all of our banking systems, corporate networks, and other crucial frameworks that have become the backbone for daily function in America. Remember, our soldiers found several computers linked to a network in the cave where Bin Laden was found. Those who wish to do us harm are very privy to our technological dependencies. In a world where robots and software are replacing humans for the causes of efficiency and cost savings, so too exists the possibility that we can be crushed far worse than the attacks in 2001. Americans have always endured though, so we can figure it out.

Works Cited

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/smart-machines-job-article-1.1246522

McClellan, Bill. "Economy on Autopilot Raises Scary Questions." St, Louis Post-Dispatch. Wednesday      March 26, 2014. Page A13.

Perlroth, Nicole. "Hackers Luring in Vents and Soda Machines." The New York Times. Tuesday, April 8,     2014. Front page.