Why Do We Spend Lavishly?

The United States department of commerce found out that the nation is becoming weaker. Economy had increased how consumers blow their paychecks on unnecessary items. For example, many Americans are not able to pay their rent, yet still buy play stations 4 and a 52 inch plasma TV. Most Americans spend money when going to a gas station, in game purchase or paying full price for clothes. People who pay for items in full price should be more responsible with their money. However, Alyssa Battistoni

The idea of the American dream revolves around attaining happiness, success and equality. For higher wealth classes obtaining these components aren't a concern; but for many, the American Dream has become a nightmare. For the poor being able to obtain simple necessities such as food, clothing and shelter is a daily struggle. The price of being poor is a lot costlier then those in the realm of the wealthy. Based on the current economic and social systems in America it does not provide everyone with a fair chance to achieve the “American Dream”. In todays society many Americans believe money is the only way to happiness. True or not true, money certainly isn't a hindrance to obtaining the necessary components for survival. But if the American Dream is no longer about happiness and freedom it becomes solely about wealth and possession. "Money cannot buy happiness." (Anonymous, Spring Board pg.81) represents the concept that money doesn't necessarily play apart in your emotional well-being. Today, materialism is more important than character. Money isn't everything; you don't need it to be happy and certainly not to achieve "The American Dream". In addition to that, although money can jump-start your future it can also drive you into the ground. Dana Gioia, the author of "Money", says "...Money holds heads above water..." Implying money plays a crucial part in keeping your dreams alive while America demands so much. Although finances are a building block to ones version of the

America and Money in Modern Society In “The More Factor”, Laurence Shames tries to make relations between the concept of America frontier and with American identity, because he believes that Americans have made the economy as their main frontier and have set it as part of their daily lives for centuries. During the Vietnam war, my family were poor and trying to stay alive luckily that my mom and uncle are mixed race allowed to travel to America. As he states, “Economics has become the metaphor on which we pin our hopes of open space and second chances” (Shames 82). I strongly believe that the concept of “more” is still occurring in today society and culture, but today things are much different than before.

After the independence of America, American dreamers started to strive for wealth because possessing materials was important for them to succeed in their dream. According to John A. Pidgeon, “striving for wealth has become a way for Americans to ease their consciences, while one’s morality is often measured by the ability to acquire material possessions” (Pidgeon 2007). They believed that they could achieve any goals by becoming rich and possessing materials, and believed that the wealth and possession could bring anything they sought.

" We are living in a material world." This famous line in one of Madonna's songs entitled "Material Girl" will never outgrow itself. Ever since the beginnings of monetary means, the main focus of living is getting more money and to be as successful as possible. This became a huge issue during the 1920's. In this era, people made money from the stock market, illegal bootlegging and so forth. With these people hitting the jackpot, this then created a new rank called `new money'. This rank, however, never overpowered `old money' the most wealthiest, well-known and respected class. The possession of material wealth however, can't bring true happiness. Love is an important factor in this equation; when you don't have love, it is hard to say

Since the beginning, America has been a symbol of freedom, a symbol of liberty, a symbol of hope. The American dream is that no matter one’s background, he/she can work his/her way up to become wealthy and successful. However, in The Great Gatsby, Gatsby himself is failed by the American dream because of money. No matter what he does, he is unable to have Daisy because he cannot get away from the fact that he did not come from old money. This goes to show that wealth has the ability to corrupt the American dream. On top of that, when people constantly strive for wealth and rest so much of their worth in how much money they have, no one is ever satisfied, as is seen through people in West Egg. Overall, the negative effects of wealth to the American dream and to any society are clearly seen in The Great

In The United States these past few years everything has gone from bad to worse dealing with spending money; which has developed economical problems, such as debt. Currently people are spending their money on things that they do not need such as iPods, MTV, and so on. They buy things to satisfy their

When I was living in Cameroon, I used to assume that life in America was easy. I thought people here worked less and were paid more because that was what my uncle and aunties who came from America in big cars, fancy clothes, and expensive perfume told me. I always thought about America from the same perspective as Cameroonians. We always saw America as a glorious and wealthy land where it was easy to get expensive cars, such as a Lamborghini, and large and expensive mansions.

This “middle-class nation” is struggling to support all those who live in its borders and the misconceptions about wealth are vastly overrated. Furthermore, the idea of wealth and stability is incorrect, and there is a very sharp contrast between the rich and poor in the country. As the richest twenty percent of American hold ninety percent of the total household of the total household wealth in the country, those at the bottom have managed very poorly and suffer to get through the days.

As Austrian writer Marie Von Ebner-Eschenbach wrote,“To be content with little is difficult; to be content with much, impossible.” History and literature have established that the ideal goal every American has wanted is for his thirst for material possessions to be reached, but even then, the individual isn’t truly happy. Money, and the things it can get you, have long been a part of American culture and the materialist culture of society have been examined in numerous ways from novels to the art of those like Andy Warhol. A life free from the economic woes that plague almost everyone seems like the quintessential existence, but material wealth is not a way to mend issues.

It is sad to say, but in our American Dream, the corrupted one that is, greenbacks are worth more than one’s honor. Other nations look upon the American devotion as sterile cupidity and insanity. In The Great Gatsby, Gatsby, Daisy and Tom are an excellent example of the importance of being wealthy. Lapham expresses his opinion on Americans as Philistinism. Americans base their success on property and luxuries. Without that, they are not truly happy or satisfied with what they did in their life period. If the goal of becoming rich is achieved, everything might not be so great after all. The circle of people associated with you are just there for the luxury. Take the Gatsby as an example. No one went to his funeral, not even Daisy. She was to blame for his death, and

If a man were to wake up one morning and decide he wanted a new car it would not be unusual. However, if he decides he wants to upgrade his Toyota Camry to a Ferrari then he is being materialistic. Odds are that this man cannot afford this superfluous vehicle and his fantasies are getting the best of him. He is wasting money on unimportant things.

Nowadays, money can make most everything happens. People run after money because they think money can give them better life. It is true that we need money to support our life. However, we need to remember that once we have a good quality of life, we should use our extra money to benefit those who have need instead of keep money in our pocket. We need to remember that God rewards us with succeed is because he wants us to take care of our brothers. In addition, if we pursue over luxury life, we will end up being controlled by money.

America is known as the land of opportunities where even a person with an impoverished background can live the American Dream. The fancy cars, huge mansions, top fashion clothes, and luxurious trips don’t come easy. In order to achieve financial success you must work hard, overcome unforeseen hardships, and be “hungry” enough for it.

Second, an important point about wealth, is the whole system which created the State/Church establishment, or the government for America, has its root in Greek history. Certainly, those empires from the Greeks and Rome started as a need to protect their own people, and we see a similar trend in the world today, with the massive amounts of refugees and illegal immigration being portrayed, but all those situations have developed because of power struggles or war on their system. Such as, Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan having to face unstable leadership for all their people, instead they face religious, social, and a struggle for power for only one group. Same happens in developed countries like the United States, during their elections, one side