The Rise of the Consumer

-A Brief History of the American Dream-

   It’s important to know some history of how consumerism became a priority in this country.  Understanding this helps to comprehend the mess we’re in today and how government policies haven’t changed much since the Great Depression and nor are they likely to change.

   To help combat the Great Depression, Congress, in 1933 passed the National Industrial Recovery Act.  It authorized this cornerstone program of the first New Deal to include representation from the consuming public, who had been previously labeled the “forgotten men.”  New Dealers called for a permanent federal consumer agency to host the perspectives of the consuming public and not just Big Business.

   After all, American democracy was at stake and the only way it could survive was through the quality of living of the rank and file worker.

   Americans as consumers was strongly depicted in a 26-minute film produced by General Motors in 1937, entitled From Dawn to Sunset, released months after GM had signed an historic union contract with the UAW.  It depicted employees in 12 plant cities serving the corporation and the nation as purchasers of goods.  (keep in mind Henry Ford irritated big business just a few years earlier by paying his workers $5 a day and giving them Sunday off – unheard of at the time).

   The film followed the typical day of an army of auto workers and salaried personnel showing (repeatedly) each getting their pay envelope and then, accompanied by family members, spending that money in downtown stores (no malls then), showing the pleasures of consumption.  “…because America has a ready purse…the USA will enjoy a prosperity greater than history has ever shown.”

  In the 30s and 40s, the Progressives identified consumers as a new category of American citizenry which needed their help to “limit the dangers of an industrializing, urbanizing, and politically corruptible 20^th century America because all men and women suffered as consumers from jacked-up prices, defective merchandise, deceitful politicians, etc.”

We didn't starve, but we didn't eat chicken unless we were sick, or the chicken was. 

A famous quote about poverty by Bernard Malamud

   The Depression and the Democratic administration’s efforts to overcome it became known as the New Deal which remade the American economy.  A national welfare state emerged, industrial relations were restructured around state-sanctioned collective bargaining, and the feds assumed a more active role in the economy…the times also gave rise to Unions.

   Consumers as a group were becoming more active in staging boycotts against unfair landlords, grocery prices and unfair labor practices.  Many of these groups were started and headed by women, who, at the time were becoming more politically aware and had a large influence on household expenditures.  Everyone wanted greater access to the fruits of their labor and improved working conditions.   Consumers were being recognized and many safety laws in such areas as meat, drugs, housing, etc. were enacted.  Consumer magazines and “unions” were launched during these times as well as consumer cooperatives (membership in these co-ops doubled between 1933-1936 and again by 1940).  The depression also saw a rise in cooperatives for electricity, petroleum, telephone service, insurance, credit unions, laundry and even medical care.

   Politicians began including consumer issues in their platforms, or they wouldn’t get elected.  Even today, Pres. Obama is touting a plan to create a “new” cabinet level post or bureau devoted to consumers.

WWII Brings Rationing

   Unlike current wars, the Second World War brought about rationing of everything from fuel and tires, to meat and butter.  Citizens were issued ration books (also sold on the black market just like food stamps are today).

   The United States became the arsenal to the free world and there was virtually full employment in this country; bringing us out of the Great Depression.  Many women, for the first time, were drafted into the workplace.

   Most citizens sacrificed to accommodate the war effort but not everyone was happy with price controls and rationing.  Even during this time of mending and salvaging, Americans lived better then than during the Depression; the average factory worker saw wages rise 80% from 1939, while living costs rose only 24% (not the case in 2009 where most people see their wages drop).

Post WWII Brings Mass Consumption Frenzy

   As you can imagine, wartime deprivation and rationing would lead to pent up demand from consumers and manufacturers, despite making large wartime profits, were happy to reconvert their factories into tools of mass production of consumer goods.

   The May 5^th, 1947 issue of Life Magazine featured the Hemeke family and their adjustment to the postwar era…Family Status Must Improve: It should buy more for itself to better the living of others.”

   Mass consumption in postwar America would not be a personal indulgence, but rather a civic responsibility designed to provide full employment and improved living standards for the rest of the nation.

   The unions had a field day.  President of the AFL-CIO, Walter Reuther cajoled government and business that unless factories paid their workers well, no one could afford the new washing machines, autos, homes and other goods that people wanted and most followed his lead.  Consumption was good for the American way of life!

   Wartime thrift was now un-American.  The national slogan in 1946 was “two families in every garage.”  Postwar population growth demanded new housing in this country and it was estimated there was a shortage of at least a million and half homes.  Moderately priced homes where $100 would move a family into a new subdivision home boosted the construction industry and all of the related industries including manufacturers of washers and dryers, home décor and especially the automobile!  The government spent billions creating a national highway system (which boosted employment).

   My Dad always laughed about the first home he purchased.  It was a 3-bedroom single story home he paid $10,000 for using his GI Bill, which offered an interest rate of less than 2%.  Now, he says, you can’t buy a car for that and at least, he says, he had 30 years to pay off the house and he can’t figure that today, one cannot buy a garage for that amount…he’s got a point.

   Returning wartime servicemen found government programs such as VA and FHA home loans and the GI Bill for college rewarding and took advantage wherever possible.  Vast tracts of farmland in what would become the suburbs, became tracts of slab homes; but home ownership is the American Dream.

"The economy is all about money, and politics is all about power. Nowhere does the good of the people figure in or matter."

Downtown Shopping Replaced by Malls

   In the 1950s, two additional events took place, which forever changed the face of consumerism in this country.  Easy credit and shopping malls.

   Until 1950, most folks shopped in the downtown area of their community.  It was also a place where folks gathered to discuss the issues of the day and see their neighbors.  The growth of suburban lifestyles changed that and indoor malls began to appear.  While new suburbia fostered racism in a sense (most new home areas were considered off limits to Blacks) so did the new regional, indoor mall, which were built to accommodate the social classes of nearby neighborhoods.

   Shopping malls fostered a sense of safety, convenience, better shopping hours and they kept folks safe from inclement weather.  Most were located within a short 15-minute drive or less and mass transit in this country began to vanish because of the automobile.

   In 1973 a US News & World Report study found that Americans of all ages spent more time in shopping centers than anywhere else, except for work, school and home.  (I was one of the original, youthful mall rats at the first indoor mall built where I grew up in Cleveland).

   Originally catering primarily to female shoppers, most evolved into a family-oriented shopping experience, even catering to Dad.  Marketers were pretty quick to wake up to the concept of market segmentation in order to create demand…we now see ads geared to tweens, teens, 20-somethings, and even us older fogies.  McDonald’s was the first to recognize the children’s market and it has made a fortune off the little one’s begging Mom and Dad to “take me to get a Happy Meal” and to see Ronald McDonald!  (one of the reasons I won’t go, too many screaming brats).  As parent’s loaded up their kid’s schedules with all sorts of after school activities, and with Mom and Dad working more hours, the convenience factor weighed heavily in the fast food choice; despite the detrimental health effects it’s had on our children.

No doubt, you’ve probably noted that all the fast food eateries now take debit/credit cards (Carl’s Hamburgers was the first), which takes us to the next point…easy credit.

Easy Credit

   Prior to the end of WWII, very few Americans used credit with the possible exception of the local grocer, who often carried accounts for neighbors during the Depression.

   Most people sacrificed and saved their money to make a major purchase of any sort.  Christmas clubs at banks, lay-away-plans and occasional private credit, were the few options available to anyone.

   Shopping malls changed that.  Initially, many major department stores, provided the capital to build malls and they were the first to begin offering store credit cards.  Sears was at the forefront of this practice.  Buy now, pay later became the norm.

  After its successful launch, Diner’s Club led the way for other credit cards such as Mastercard and Visa.  Many of us, over the years, were bombarded with credit card mailings…and took advantage of them.  Initially, the government helped by allowing citizens to write off the interest accrued on those cards and other credit purchases.

   Living the American Dream promised by government and Wall Street beguiled too many of us into an over-extended lifestyle trying to keep up with the Jones.

   Eventually, the government also dropped its law prohibiting Wall Street from selling what amounted to casino style gambling “paper”.  During the boom years, seems almost everyone tapped into easy credit by refinancing their homes to tap escalated equity AND then the bottom dropped out of everything.

   Americans, stuck with lowered valued homes, high credit card debt and interest rates, job losses from overseas competition, lower wages, etc., were unprepared for the debt bomb, which became our current recession.

   The decline of the middle class began in the mid-1970s. Government growth eats up capital which would normally be used in free enterprise.  Tax policies and other government intervention allowed the inequality of income to grow enormously.  Between 1980 and 2000 the top 5 percent of families increased their share of the nation's total aggregate income to 20.8 %.  In 1980 corporate CEOs earned 40 times as much as the average worker - now it is over 500 times.  The "G" in government was never intended to stand for growth industry.

   As more US corporations sent jobs overseas, fewer Americans could buy their goods.  As I wrote in the 80s, "Burger flippers can't afford $40K cars."

   Think things will change?  Will Americans always have a case of Affluenza if the economy should ever recover?  Your guess is as good as mine.

The Promise of Thin-film Solar

From Mother Earth News, by Steve Heckeroth

Every hour, the sun beams more energy to the Earth’s surface than the global population uses in a year. Meanwhile, humanity struggles with the effects of pollution, climate change and fossil fuel dependence. Could it be that the solution to these problems is right above us? Modern photovoltaic (PV) technologies take advantage of renewable energy from the sun by converting sunlight into electricity. So why aren’t more of us using this remarkable technology to power our homes? When asked, the reason most people give is the cost of installing a PV system. But new thin-film PV products are getting better and cheaper all the time. This technology could soon change the way we think about electricity and make sunshine our “fuel” of choice.

The Rise of Thin-film Solar

The type of solar-electric module currently dominating the industry is crystalline silicon, which is made by encapsulating wafers of highly refined silicon under rectangular sheets of glass framed with aluminum. These modules have been the primary solar energy technology for more than 50 years.

Crystalline modules still dominate in PV sales, but in the last few years most new development work has focused on thin-film PV technologies. In 2005, more than 95 percent of the PV market was served by crystalline modules. Since then, thin film’s share of the market has risen steadily and is now 25 percent. Hundreds of thin-film companies have entered various stages of product development or production.

Large-area thin-film PV modules and laminates have been commercially available since the ’90s. Thin-film modules still aren’t as efficient per unit area as crystalline silicon modules, however, they have other advantages over crystalline silicon. Perhaps most importantly, thin-film solar is much less expensive to produce. Many thin-film panels are produced from amorphous silicon. These solar cells require much less high-grade silicon than it takes to produce crystalline silicon panels. Thin-film solar cells can also be made from other semiconductor materials, including copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) and cadmium telluride.

Can We Make Every Roof a Solar Roof?

Rather than building massive new power plants, why not install PV panels on every sunny roof and on simple shade structures over every parking lot? The same mass adoption that allowed room-sized mainframe computers to morph into laptops could cause huge, centralized power plants to give way to rooftop PV panels. In fact, some U.S. policies already encourage distributed generation by giving substantial tax incentives to homeowners and businesses that install PV systems.

Because thin-film solar panels are both lightweight and flexible, it’s possible to incorporate them directly into buildings — as roofing materials, for example. The idea of building-integrated photovoltaics is not new. Architects have been using PV modules as roofing since the early ’80s, but using the glass modules available at that time was both challenging and expensive. Glass is transparent, long-lasting and weatherproof, but it can shatter and is not an ideal roofing material.

In contrast, thin-film solar cells work very well on rooftops. Uni-Solar’s amorphous silicon thin-film laminates have been available for more than a decade, and new solar roofing products may soon be coming on the market. In October 2009, CertainTeed, a leading North American manufacturer of asphalt shingles, announced an agreement to develop roofing-integrated PV products for the residential market. In September 2009, Dow Building Solutions announced it is working with Global Solar, a leading manufacturer, to develop thin-film solar roofing shingles.

Many other possibilities exist for building-integrated photovoltaic applications. A few companies are producing thin-film modules that can be used as windows, and there is also great potential for developing low-cost solar siding. For every new technological development that’s announced, there are dozens more in the works. In short, solar power is becoming more affordable and available all the time. It’s possible that future generations will wonder why people ever used fossil fuels to produce electricity.

Excerpted from Mother Earth News, the Original Guide to Living Wisely. To read more articles from Mother Earth News, please visit www.MotherEarthNews.com or call 800-234-3368 to subscribe. Copyright 2009 by Ogden Publications Inc.

4^th of July Savings Bulletin

   Cell Phone Tricks

>>>We know most Americans are addicted to cell phones and seems everyone wants an iPhone right now-even though they are expensive.

  Personally, I’m not happy with many cell phone users as two of the last three car accidents we’ve experienced were due to folks texting while driving, the last one nearly killing us as a girl crashed a red light and totaled our car…and of course, like the previous idiots who hit us, she had no insurance so now you know why we’re called the Poor Man!

·        Find the answer to anything by sending your question with a simple text to: GOOGL (46645)  You’ll get an immediate answer free of charge.  Example: seeking a movie playing nearby? Type the name of the flick and your zip code.

·        Have a book wherever you go without buying an e-reader like Amazon Kindle.  Go to tx2ph.com on an internet enabled phone.  They offer 100s of books and short stories free.

·        Want to find out what’s ahead on the road?  At 3DmobileEyes.com, you can download a free app which allows a view of the live traffic cameras in your area on web enabled phones.  You can use this app to pre-program your regular commute as well.

Want to sell your old cell phone?  Go to: cellforcash.com or cashmyphone.com to find its value.

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Repairs and Fix-its

   As you know from our site, we’re big believers in do-it-yourself strategies for saving bucks.  For example, if one of your appliances goes on the fritz and you can’t find the owners manual, get a replacement copy instantly at:

www.safemanuals.com

The free site offers guides to more than 850,000 manuals.

For free, simple how-to guides on 100s of  home repair and other projects, go to:

www.fixitclub.com

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   Money-saving shipping idea

The postal service just gets more expensive and confusing with its shipping options…size does matter here!  You may be surprised to learn that Priority Mail isn’t always the best option.  First class mail is usually cheaper and usually gets to its destination the same day as a priority shipment would.  The item must be 13-oz or less to qualify for 1^st class shipping.

Gardening Tip to Boost Growth

Vegetables will bear more fruit if you water them using a mixture of 1 Tbs of Epsom salts and ½ gallon of water.  This is much cheaper than buying commercial fertilizers.

Consumer/Watchdog Sites

The Consumer Federation of America connects you with local groups that are working on issues important to you and your family.  Check them out at:

www.consumerfed.org

Want to find out information on major bills, the “stimulus” plan, special interest groups and a map to where congressional earmarks are going…check out this group at:

www.Sunlightfoundation.com

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Homemade Ice Cream without a machine

Here’s a little 4^th of July treat…takes about six minutes.

1. Place 1 cup whole milk & two tsp. Of vanilla in a quart size zippertop plastic bag and seal.
2. Combine 4 cups of ice and ¼ cup of Kosher salt into a gallon plastic zip-top bag.  Place the smaller bag with the ice cream mixture inside the larger bag and seal.
3. shake the large bag vigorously for 6-8 minutes; avoid squeezing the bag.  When the small bag gets plump, your ice cream is ready.  You can either serve it immediately or freeze it.  Be sure to wipe off any ice and salt.  Make it extra tasty by experimenting with flavors by adding 3 tbs of your favorite instant pudding flavors…1/2 cup of fruit, crushed cookies, chopped nuts and so forth.

That’s it for this round…enjoy your Independence this holiday weekend and feel free to send me your input, tips, suggestions, etc. AND – circulate this (and our site) to your friends! 

Yours for better living,

Bruce ‘the Poor Man’

© 2009 www.poormansurvival.com

How To Survive The Coming Food Shortage!

Learn how to make your own survival foods

Use the link below for the full story

   It may be already starting.  Yesterday, I went to WalMart to get some ammo for my son.  Nearly everything was sold out!

   I found the same story at two other gun shops I visited.  Same thing for two online stores…even the local grocery store was out of many basics such as vinegar and other items.  I’ve heard two theories.  Folks are worried about the potential Obama gun grab and/or, they’re worried about food shortages and potential riots if the crap hits the fan.

   That wouldn’t surprise me in this day and age when fewer people are self-sufficient and they are addicted to ‘just-in-time’ availability of everything.

   Just a couple of years ago, certain neighborhoods in Detroit experienced frequent power outages during winter storms.  It happened often enough and was of sufficient duration that one fellow purchased a big generator to keep his home warm and appliances running.  He prepared himself but wasn’t prepared for the neighbors who visited him in a huff demanding he allow them to use his generator to keep their homes energy viable.

   The police had to be called to stop a potential riot.

   Another theory has it that if food riots did happen in this country, FEMA would step in and pretty much confiscate ALL food and water for redistribution purposes.  They do have the ‘legal’ authority to do this via an Executive Order.

   If you haven’t already noticed that some eBay sellers are doing pretty well right now.  Those who are selling freeze dried emergency food packs, those selling generators, those selling how-to materials on food storage and related items, continue to sell well.

   What are doing to become self-sufficient? Are you doing anything to become more like a Boy Scout?  I’d like to hear from you; especially those on small budgets.

     Below you’ll find some very useful links to assist you in your quest to become more self-sufficient.

http://images.ultracart.com/aff/068A4CB03ACB43011FEBBE3980631600/index.html

http://www.harmonyhousefoods.com/?AffId=3

Halting the Coming Economic Chaos

©2009 Bruce David

www.poormansurvival.com

   The only prayer we have of stopping our continued economic decline is by reducing government spending and by increasing US jobs with decent wages and by fixing the broken healthcare system.  Nothing else will work.

   The “G” in government was never meant to stand for Gouge the citizen.

  For all practical purposes, the buffoons on Wall Street stopped paying taxes decades ago while the American consumer pays two-thirds of our national gross tax receipts.  Washington has stolen money from the Social Security fund for 30 years, which will leave the system insolvent in 2017.

   In essence, Wall Street has helped erode the national tax base, decimate working class wages and jobs, encourage an unrecoverable debt situation and now whines it needs more bailout money.

   Without jobs, there is no one left to purchase the goods Wall Street wants us to buy (note, I did not say ‘produce’).  There is no one left to pay government taxes.

Fire the Wall Street clowns and parasites, which are running the futile exercise of a so-called stimulus plan.  Start preparing a US Lifeboat Economy aimed at reducing the scale and scope of our outlays so we can survive the coming siege of austerity

As one of our readers writes:

 “Your newsletter is as clear and fair evaluation of our plight as anything could be.
 
However, I suspect there are many things which could be done to improve the outcome, some of which come quickly to mind.
 
First, immediately decrease those activities which are costly and ineffectual.  Start with our foreign billeting of military troops, our expansion of military activities of any kind.  Stop all transfer payments to agricultural entities.  Decrease taxes.  Force all insolvent banks through the FDIC process, letting those which have a viable business be resold to new private investors after having stripped off the old shareholders, bondholders and managements.  Stop all TARP expenditures.  Absolutely stop any transfer payments to any investment banks, hedge funds or other non-bank investors.”
 

   CitiBank, for instance, holds more cash in their offshore holding companies than we’ll ever know about, yet accepted a ton of bailout bucks.  It’s business as usual on Wall Street.

Examine this pseudo-biblical snatch from Network (1976 Movie) and its corporate demon, Arthur Jensen:

“Am I getting through to you, Mr. Beale? You get up on your little 21-inch screen and howl about America and democracy. There is no America. There is no democracy. There is only IBM, and ITT, and AT&T, and DuPont, Dow, Union Carbide, and Exxon. Those are the nations of the world today. What do you think the Russians talk about in their councils of state, Karl Marx?…We no longer live in a world of nations and ideologies, Mr. Beale. The world is a college of corporations, inexorably determined by the immutable bylaws of business. The world is a business, Mr. Beale. It has been since man crawled out of the slime. And our children will live, Mr. Beale, to see that...perfect world...in which there’s no war or famine, oppression, or brutality. One vast and ecumenical holding company, for whom all men will work to serve a common profit, in which all men will h old a share of stock. All necessities provided, all anxieties tranquilized, all boredom amused.”

More taxes…please!”

Complaining about a single politician is like plucking a single weed. Doesn’t really get to the root of the problem.

   If you think the economy is going to recover in the next year or so, I believe you’re sadly mistaken.  For a terrific (short, 30-minute version), non-partisan video insight into our national debt and disastrous course our government has taken…watch I.O.U.S. at:

www.iousathemovie.com

   Personally, It’s my contention every high school student and adult should watch this.

Something both my economics and political science professors (one wrote the 1^st book on the Nixon-Kennedy TV Debate) stated frequently…When a country stops producing goods, its demise is guaranteed!

 FREE-Download reports from the Poor Man Survival Series

www.poormansurvivor.spaces.live.com/

10 Ways to Find Emergency Cash

© 2008 Bruce David

   Even if you haven’t received a pink slip, money can become tight.  The following are ways to get your hands on some cash.

1. Sell off your gold and sterling jewelry, sterling flatware sets, sterling silver serving pieces and accessories. Sell your pre-1964 US silver coins and/or gold coins.  Plenty of dealers advertise to this end on Craigslist.org, local newspapers and television.
2. Borrow against your whole life insurance policy.  You can repay it, usually at a low interest rate…or don’t repay it and the amount you borrowed is deducted against the proceeds of a payout. Search your records to find old policies you might have purchased for your children and cash those in.
3.  Look into a reverse mortgage if you’re over the age of 65.  You live in the home and draw out a monthly income. The amount you get is determined on its current value and location.  The loan comes due when you die, sell or move away.  The FHA requires that you see a counselor prior to using such a mortgage.
4. Raid you children’s savings account or college fund if you’ve set one up.  You can always repay it in the future.
5. Get everyone in the family, including teens, to get a job.  Try to develop circles of income even if it’s only $200 a month through babysitting, lawncare, selling eggs from chickens you raise, crafts you make, etc.
6. Cut back on cell phones, cable TV, auto insurance coverage, etc.  On our 11-year-old van, for instance, we cut back to a liability policy which saved $75 a month.  We cut our cable to the bare bones and went to the cheapest cell phone plan saving another $10 per month – total monthly savings was $105 per month.  Cell phones are ridiculously expensive.  Consider a pre-paid plan through TracPhone for which the cost of a new phone and annual 500 minutes was $100…many folks are forking out that amount each month!
7. If you’ve not done so already, hold a garage sale or neighborhood sale and sell of unwanted items.  Consider using Craigslist.org to sell higher priced items.  There are other websites which offer free classified ads including Walmart.
8. Moonlighting.  If you’re a car repair person, computer geek, electrician, plumber, carpenter, etc., perform these tasks on the side at a lower rate. Consider a part time second job.  Most convenience stores always need extra help.  It may require crappy hours, but think of it as short term.
9. If it makes sense and your employer will go for it, consider ending your employee status and become an independent contractor.  Of course, working independently means billing your employer for your time.  This will put more ‘pay period’ cash in your pocket and you can deduct many expenses that you cannot do so as an employee.  Consult with a CPA first.
10. If you get vacation or sick pay, approach your employer about getting a check instead of taking time off or for unused sick days.
11.  A bonus method.  If you own a car without a loan balance but need to keep driving it, consider one of the many places, which offer title loans.  Most often the interest is steep but you still have use of the vehicle while you’re paying off the loan; they just become a lien holder on your title.
12. It may be possible to reduce or manage your mortgage better to reduce your monthly overhead.  Check these two sites for their free loan modification, no refinance programs.

www.emortgagemanager.net

www.mortgage-manager.org

OK…there are 12 tips outlined here!  Be sure to get your copy of The Poor Man’s Recession Survival Kit.  Find it on my eBay storefront, member name Oldbooknook

 http://www.tbotech.com/cmd.csp?af=921331

Great source of self defense items & more!

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