On 3/1/06, Ron Soave <soavero@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>
> Face it - as RBH points out,the definition of middle
> class has greatly changed. Our parents did not waste
> money on 3000 square foot houses, cell phones, digital
> cable, computers, DVD players, 2 new cars every 4
> years, or any of the other crap we feel we need to be
> "middle class". I can only imagine what my father
> would think of people at Starbucks drinking $3 coffee
> while surfing the internet on their laptops and
> bitching about how tough it is today.
That is an interesting point. Figure out what you spend on cell phones,
land lines, high speed Internet, cable TV, satellite radio, cleaning lady,
eating out, etc. Then add in all of the gizmos that we now have, cell
phones, cordless phones, computers, printers, networks, supplies, TVs, DVD
players, VCR, DVR, HDTV, surround sound, high end stereos for the car,
coffee make, expresso maker, and god knows what else. Things are very
different. How many people still have one TV in the house?
When I was a kid (born 1963) my parents had one TV with rabbit ears. Life
got better with the roof top antenna. The remote was the kid nearest the
TV. God help you if you parents wanted you to adjust the rabbit ears, you
could be there all night. But we did not have multiple TVs, phones, phone
lines, and a bunch of gadgets. Coffee was one type, not the array of $4+
drinks.
We did it to ourselves so why complain. My house is 2800 sq for 2 people
and 2 dogs, with a 2 car garage and 3 cars. A bit more then my dad.
I think the lesson to learn from all of this is that the most powerful force
in the universe could very well be "marketing"
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