Public in denial of the economic hardships to come
Materialistic addictions are setting Americans up for failure
Ashley Toland
Reporter,
The VOICE
Today's economic downfall is putting people in hard times financially. People are saving their money down to the very last penny and trying to live day by day.
Also, with the unemployment on the rise and businesses having to do routine layoffs, people are experiencing the terms "hitting rock bottom."
Although, many declare they are going through hardships and are hard on money, many people are still routinely going out to eat and seeing movies. How come people are so hard on money, but don't think twice about going out to eat at a restaurant and ordering the most expensive meals and drinks on the menu?
And then they go the next weekend and then the next weekend, creating a cycle of spending money that isn't there to spend.
"The financial crisis continues to deepen, housing markets continue to swoon, consumers are in full retreat, jobs are disappearing, inflation is accelerating, and wages are stagnating," explains Marshall J. Vest, forecasting project director.
Why do they throw away their hard earned incomes on fancy restaurants and the new movies of the weekend? The answer is that people are not ready to accept the fact that they are not financially able to stop living their old lifestyle.
Families rather spend their money on the newest gadgets now rather than save for the holidays.
Truthfully, watching people throw away their money is down to the simple fact that they can't accept their hardships. The public would rather lie to themselves and deal with foreclosure on their homes than give up the $50 meal or the new car. Yes, today's society is suffering economically; nonetheless they turn their heads the other way and hope it will just go away. "Consumers have trimmed spending to levels the likes of which haven't been seen since the 1981-82 recession," says Vest.
The society should start realizing that businesses are not surviving through the larger competition and by going out instead of paying their house payments is not going to solve their problems. Furthermore, they are continually purchasing the latest high definition televisions and new iPods for their children.
"At midyear, retail sales statewide were declining at a 5.5 percent annual rate and were down 7.6 percent from the February 2007 peak," explains Vest. They want to seem like they are financially stable on the outside, while they are drowning themselves in debt.
Will people be able to survive the economic downfall in the upcoming year or will they continue to purchase and put themselves in a financial crisis? Hopefully, the public will begin to change their lifestyles and come out of the economic downfall in one piece.
