Thread by @Trinhnomics

American personal income rose 10.5% as they consume less, -13.6% less.

Read the article below. What does it say? Instead of saying Americans, citizens, they’re reduced to just consumers & has a tone of them consuming less as bad & saving more horrible.

reut.rs/2TQumI5

https://twitter.com/Trinhnomics/status/1265901720950829056

First paragraph of article:

“U.S. consumers cut spending by the most on record for the second straight month in April while boosting savings to an all-time high, and the growing frugality reinforced expectations the economy could take years to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic”

Notice that across all sort of communication, Americans are reduced to just consumers.

Your function in society is to consume & if consumers, which is what these people are, don’t consume, that is bad bad bad.

Let’s look at this assumption of blaming people that save.

First, there will always be consumption as people need to eat, live, etc.

But what is key here is that most of American consumption is discretionary & non essential. That said, essential high. Look at PCE components.

But we are people, not consumers. Why do we save & consume?

We consume more than what we earn in income because the government, the media, the companies tell you to consume. And u buy a lot of junk that don’t make u happy but accumulate debt because advertising is that good. But u know u are not happy. But u buy. Targeted advertising.

They tell u that it is your civic duty to consume & show material well being as equal to moral and spiritual happiness. But what u need is essentials & maybe some discretionary. And the definition of essential is family, food, shelter & community & not what they sell u through ad

And u are not properly educated on finance. So u borrow thinking it is good to have debt & also because u are defined by the stuff u have.

But when a shock happens, u don’t have enough to absorb. U go under. Even essential stuff like house, healthcare.

So? U save more!

Your act of saving more is a rational act & a natural adjustment to change. To have someone tell u that it is wrong is not right.

U are not a consumer. U save or consume as u like and only u should determine that ratio of comfort. And the fact that Americans save more is good!

Because that also means that there are more funds to be invested. Saving and investment circular.

Spending is not good or bad. But if u over consume things u can’t afford or even need or want, that is a disaster of a way to live life.

Not to mention unattainable for the planet.

Remember that the plastic in the ocean that is making it quiet & the garbage piling up, that is us consuming things that we DISPOSE. That means we barely even need/want it for more than single use or even.

Isn’t Covid a chance for us to change the type of consumption?

We need to change. We need to produce and consume things that we need, want, make us happy, and not just individual but communal. And sustainable.

U can see Americans are changing, for the better I think. This is a natural adjustment & a good one, esp if they reduce fast fashion

Or consumption of one time plastic, disposable stuff. I hate nothing more than disposable cups, cutlery’s, all sorts of wasteful behaviour like this.

We are not consumers. And a reduction of consumption is not bad & we still need to consume something. Perhaps things that last!

I also think we should also not just rid ourselves of disposable consumer goods but also disposable relationships. Our modern society has left us wanting. Perhaps Covid will spur positive change on what matters & invest more in things & people that make us happy for a long time.