How the financial crisis is changing us
Money magazine published a lengthy article detailing some of the ways that the economic crisis is affecting us. They begin:
A new set of American values is emerging from the ashes of 600,000 layoffs a month, a lost decade in stocks, and the worst housing crash ever. These values may ring familiar to anyone who lived through the Great Depression. But for most of us it amounts to a large-scale makeover of the way we think about money and life……
We’re not just cutting our bills, we’re rejecting materialism. We’re placing safety and intrinsic rewards like relationships and personal growth ahead of profit. We’re embracing family and community and asking how we can help others, not just ourselves.
I can certainly see that the recession is effecting all of us, but is it really a large scale makeover? Is it really making us embrace family and community? Or is it a temporary adjustment that will be discarded as soon as things improve?
To back their claims up they cite a survey by Marketing & Research Resources which reports that 94% of respondents are changing their financial habits for good. For comparison, a recent Gallup poll reported that 51% of Americans thought that their changes in saving or spending habits would be permanent. And the Gallup poll was a bit more pessimistic about whether that 51% would actually maintain the changes.
Continuing with the Money Magazine article. They list several areas where they say think that the economic crisis is causing lasting change.
- Debt is out.
- Conspicuous consumption is out.
- Lack of trust for the financial sector.
- Your job is your best asset.
- The new focus on family and the community.
My take on these:
- Let’s hope that we’re past the debt habit. I for one, won’t be missing debt.
- Personally, I think conspicuous consumption is on hold, not dead. Right now people are too busy flaunting frugality. When the frugality fad fades we’ll go back to keeping up with the Jones’s. Let’s be honest, there isn’t a new model of frugality coming out each year. A new model of Lexus or iPhone comes out every year or two.
- The lack of trust for the financials is definitely here to stay. At least until the middle of the next boom.
- In this recession, people like their jobs because they realize how fragile they are. In other words, they don’t want to get laid off because their job pays the bills and they are probably still in debt. I doubt that people love their jobs because the work suddenly became interesting and meaningful as soon as the economy tanked. People will go right back to hating their jobs as soon as the specter of unemployment passes.
- If this has happened I haven’t noticed it. I hope it’s true, but I remain skeptical until proven otherwise.
Overall I think the article is a good read even if you’re a bit skeptical of all it’s claims.
What about you? Do you agree with the article or do you think it’s a little too rosey? What about the five points they outlined? Do you see those changes happening around you? Do you think they are permanent?
