Why The New American Workforce Wants Better Consumption, Not Just More

[aGENT]

I thought this might be an interesting topic of discussion:

http://www.fastcoexist.com/3026869/why-the-new-american-workforce-wants-better-consumption-not-just-more

While spending might be up for the richest 1%, the rest of Americans are quietly revolutionizing the economy, reshaping their spending habits to reflect a desire for quality over quantity.

America is on strike.

But don't look for picket signs and bullhorns. Instead, one by one, Americans are lifting their collective middle finger and showing it to an economy that's no longer in line with their values.

In the 2000s bubble era, too many Americans wanted something simple: more. A bigger house. A bigger car. A more expensive wardrobe.

Then came the recession. Consumption plummeted and the illusion of broadly shared prosperity melted away.

But the richest 5% of Americans are back to spending like they've got Gordon Gekko's Visa card. They're now responsible for 38% of domestic consumption (up from just 28% in the go-go '90s).

And since the recession ended, spending by the rich has risen 17%. The rest of us? Just 1%.

We've stopped looking for more. Instead, we just want enough. And better.

We're saving. We're eating healthy and local. We're thinking about what each purchase means--for us and for our community.

It's a Quiet Revolution, where small choices can lead to big change.

It's no coincidence this thriftier, more conscious lifestyle is growing alongside the rise of freelancing. Independent workers that get by on fluctuating income know you have to plan for your low times, not your high times.

Each dollar spent is earned one gig at a time--so the connection between income and value is clearer than ever. With one in three workers now independent, we're seeing the ripple effects in how we work, live, and consume.

More than six in 10 Americans say they would rather save than spend, and thrifty shoppers make for ultra-conscious consumers--especially when it comes to what we eat, what we wear, and how we get around.

By going local and organic, Americans are doing their part to protect the environment, eat healthy, and support local businesses. In the last 20 years, farmers markets have quadrupled to more than 8,000 today, part of a trend the Food Marketing Institute calls value-seeking behavior.

And people are wearing those values on their vintage, three-quarter sleeves. As mid-level retailers like J.C. Penney and Best Buy struggle, consignment shops and thrift stores have grown by 7% in recent years to become a $13 billion industry.

It's not just what we eat or what we wear; it's how we get around, too. In the past two decades, car ownership has gone down while bicycle commuting has gone up. We're choosing shared rides over shiny new SUVs.

The New York Times recently attributed changes in consumption to the eroding middle class and rising income inequality. But there's another reason people aren't shopping at Sears or eating at Olive Garden. Consumers with working-class income today--often independent workers--find a farm-to-table menu more appetizing than endless breadsticks. They'd rather buy a hand-designed shirt on Etsy than a mass-produced one at a department store.

Conscious consumers are creating a new mutual class, turning the made-in-China economy to a DIY state of mind.

They may not be marching in the streets or staging protests, but consumers are increasingly and actively changing the economic landscape with every dollar they consciously spend--or purposefully save.

The Quiet Revolution is getting louder. And the extra bucks in your bank account, the keys sliding into bike share slots, and the dollars spent at farmers markets and thrift stores all sound like one thing: change.

I'm a big proponent of buying local. Of "enough" etc. It's nice to see people are catching on to the new reality. Here's hoping it's the start of a transformation for capitalism.

[Warhippy]

What a brilliant read. I hope the numbers continue to show change and on an ever larger scale.

I support local farmers markets as often as possible, ever since it became almost impossible to buy Okanagan fruit in a local safeway or save on.

We are all guilty of wanting more, but maybe prevailing thought patterns will finally dictate that shift away from dollar store quality items and away from the Walmarts of the world and back to Main St mom and pop shops

[butters]

Articles written in this tone are usually wishful thinking when it comes to their conclusions.

[RonMexico]

Unfortunately this is still viewed as the hippies trying to rise up and take over. The multi-billion dollar corporations will figure out a way to profit regardless of spending habits. However, I am all for more sustainable living choices. Check out Epicfest this July 5 & 6 at VanDusen Gardens. I went last year and there many exhibits that would interest those who are into sustainable living.

[Offensive Threat]

The move from a consumerist to a conservationist society is going to happen eventually.Its gonna be a rocky road to say the least. I hope I live long enough to witness it.

[Buddhas Hand]

Articles written in this tone are usually wishful thinking when it comes to their conclusions.

Gotta agree with you on this , seems like an opinion piece with no facts to back up their conclusions.

I think that what is effecting consumer spending in the US is what the article claims the New York Times have stated , that is the middle class is disappearing due to income equality , the working poor are increasing in most countries.

[aGENT]

Unfortunately this is still viewed as the hippies trying to rise up and take over. The multi-billion dollar corporations will figure out a way to profit regardless of spending habits. However, I am all for more sustainable living choices. Check out Epicfest this July 5 & 6 at VanDusen Gardens. I went last year and there many exhibits that would interest those who are into sustainable living.

Sustainable living is a way of life that will be forced on us all soon enough....You can fight it or embrace it IMO.

[ronthecivil]

The fact that Americans are getting a lot closer to SPENDING in a sustainable method is in fact true. How they get there is up to them.

Too bad Canadians are still splurging like it's 1999......

[CB007]

I buy mostly local and organic groceries, as much as I can.

[aGENT]

The fact that Americans are getting a lot closer to SPENDING in a sustainable method is in fact true. How they get there is up to them.

Too bad Canadians are still splurging like it's 1999......

Not all of us

[ronthecivil]

Not all of us

Well as per your topic I do see a lot of things that were popular in the past like root cellars, canning, hanging your clothes to dry, cooking at home and what not coming back into style driven at first by cost effectiveness but then re-inforced with the benefits of some of those things actually do being remembered by the population at large.

Now if we could only get people poor enough to get the kids walking to school again I would be super happy.

[TOMapleLaughs]

Case in point: Masses of people these days can be manipulated into doing just about anything.

Instead of ransacking the rich, they're pinching pennies, going without, and saving up, feeding the very savings system that robbed them of a better lifestyle in the first place.

[ronthecivil]

I buy mostly local and organic groceries, as much as I can.

I buy whatever is the best value for money.

[ronthecivil]

Case in point: Masses of people these days can be manipulated into doing just about anything.

Instead of ransacking the rich, they're pinching pennies, going without, and saving up, feeding the very savings system that robbed them of a better lifestyle in the first place.

Ummm, not sure if that's even worth dignifying, but FYI, that system that you hate so much would love nothing more than for people to borrow their brains out. Going out of their way to do so is what caused that whole mess in the first place don't forget.

[CB007]

I buy whatever is the best value for money.

I hope it's real food you are eating.

[TOMapleLaughs]

Ummm, not sure if that's even worth dignifying, but FYI, that system that you hate so much would love nothing more than for people to borrow their brains out. Going out of their way to do so is what caused that whole mess in the first place don't forget.

I am aware of the system and how it's been used to get the rich richer and the poor poorer. At what point does the poor just ransack the rich instead? Probably when they snap out of their own brainwashing.

[ronthecivil]

I hope it's real food you are eating.

As it turns out it's the cheapest. If you are willing to cut your own primals you can eat sirloin steak for the same price as buying hamburger at most places.

If you buy vegitables and actually cook them they are practically free they are so cheap.

If you want some starch to go with it potatoes and rice are ultra cheap if you buy them in bulk.

The more you cook things from scratch the healthier and cheaper it becomes, never mind that it actually tastes better to boot.

[ronthecivil]

I am aware of the system and how it's been used to get the rich richer and the poor poorer. At what point does the poor just ransack the rich instead? Probably when they snap out of their own brainwashing.

Viva la revolution!!!

Unfortunately we tend to trade one form of brainwashing for an even worse one every time that's been tried.

[Buddhas Hand]

Viva la revolution!!!

Unfortunately we tend to trade one form of brainwashing for an even worse one every time that's been tried.

Most people do not seem to want to take responsibility for themselves or their actions , if you promise them security they will trade their freedoms for it.

[mdehaan]

"in the 2000's bubble era"

As opposed to the 2010's non bubble era?

LOL