The American Dream is changing

Great article here that I agree with - I don't see any way that we are going to return to 2006 type levels of personal spending and debt. The culture is changing. If Obama and company think that they can recreate a culture of 2006 then they will fail. The game is over. What the culture evolves into is anyone's guess, but it will be different. Too bad DC isn't trying to understand the new America.

A shift in the American dream is occurring. During the Great Depression the notion of thrift and staying away from debt ran deep in our culture. This past decade saw the ultimate climax of the opposite. Not only did we shun thrift but also debt was a method of keeping up with the Joneses. Yet this massive pursuit of “things” and “stuff” did not make us happier. How can that be? We had the highest per capita ever, the majority owned their homes, many people had not only one but also two nice cars, most everyone had a television, people were living longer, yet happiness was not there? We had forgotten of the common good. Interestingly enough in 2006 CNN conducted a poll finding 54 percent of Americans thought the American dream was achievable. In 1995 a Business Week/Harris poll found that two-thirds thought the dream would be harder to achieve in the next 10 years. And that is the problem. Each successive generation was under the model of perma-growth and naturally, everyone wants to think that the future is better. Yet we have had periods in our history where things retrograde (Dark Ages anyone?). When the dream was only achievable through debt, many people were willing to risk it all just to have a piece of the delicious financial apple pie. How many times during the bubble did you get mailings to refinance your home and take money out for a vacation you deserved? Or how many credit cards did you get saying that you should go out and buy those expensive shoes because you are worth it? There is the problem. Much of this past decade was so shortsighted and focused on the “me” culture that here “we” are in this global mess.

http://www.doctorhousingbubble.com/wave-goodbye-to-the-bankrupt-joneses-deconstructing-the-american-dream-the-shifting-financial-and-societal-goals-of-a-country-mired-in-debt/