http://www.pbs.org/kcts/affluenza/home.html Af-flu-en-za n. 1. The bloated, sluggish and unfulfilled feeling that results from one's efforts to keep up with the Joneses. 2. An epidemic of stress, overwork, shopping and indebtedness caused by the dogged pursuit of the American Dream. 3. An unsustainable addiction to economic growth. http://www.pbs.org/kcts/affluenza/diag/what.html What Is It? Test Your Consumption Quotient 1. Which of the following is comparable to the size of a typical three-car garage? a. a basketball court b. a McDonald's restaurant c. an "RV" (recreational vehicle) d. the average home in the 1950s. Answer: d. Many of today's three-car garages occupy 900 square feet, just about the average size of an entire home in the 1950s. Many people use the extra garage space to store things they own and seldom use. Often we hear that Americans have lost ground economically and have less purchasing power. But Americans are buying more luxurious items, partly by working more and going deeply into debt. The homes they live in and the cars they drive today are often bigger and more technologically advanced than those purchased by their parents. 2. The percentage of Americans calling themselves "very happy" reached its highest point in what year? a. 1957 b. 1967 c. 1977 d. 1987 Answer: a. The number of "very happy" people peaked in 1957, and has remained fairly stable or declined ever since. Even though we consume twice as much as we did in the 1950s, people were just as happy when they had less. 3. How much of an average American's lifetime will be spent (on average) watching television commercials? a. 6 months b. 3 months c. 1 year d. 1.5 years Answer: c. In contrast, Americans on average spend only 40 minutes a week playing with their children, and members of working couples talk with one another on average only 12 minutes a day. 4. True or false? Americans carry $1 billion in personal debt, not including real estate and mortgages. Answer: False. Americans carry $1 trillion in personal debt, approximately $4,000 for every man, woman and child, not including real estate and mortgages. On average, Americans save only 4 percent of their income, in contrast to the Japanese, who save an average of 16 percent. 5. Which activity did more Americans do in 1996? a. graduate from college b. declare bankruptcy Answer: b. In 1996, more than 1 million Americans declared bankruptcy, three times as many as in 1986. Americans have more than 1 billion credit cards, and less than one-third of credit card holders pay off their balances each month. 6. In the industrialized world, where is the U.S. ranked in terms of its income equality between the rich and the poor? (First being the most income-equal.) a. 1st b. 5th c. 12th d. 22nd Answer: d. The income disparity between the rich and the poor is greatest in the United States. 7. The world's 358 billionaires together possess as much money as the poorest _____ of the world's population? a. 15 percent b. 30 percent c. 50 percent d. 10 percent Answer: c. Nearly 50 percent. The world's 358 billionaires' combined assets roughly equal the assets of the world's poorest 2.5 billion people. 8. Since 1950, Americans alone have used more resources than: a. everyone who ever lived before them b. the combined Third World populations c. the Romans at the height of the Roman Empire d. all of the above Answer: All of the above. Since 1950, Americans alone have used more resources than everyone who ever lived before them. Each American individual uses up 20 tons of basic raw materials annually. Americans throw away 7 million cars a year, 2 million plastic bottles an hour and enough aluminum cans annually to make six thousand DC-10 airplanes. 9. Americans' total yearly waste would fill a convoy of garbage trucks long enough to: a. wrap around the Earth six times b. reach half-way to the moon c. connect the North and South Poles d. build a bridge between North America and China Answer: a. and b. Even though Americans comprise only five percent of the world's population, in 1996 we used nearly a third of its resources and produced almost half of its hazardous waste. The average North American consumes five times as much as an average Mexican, 10 times as much as an average Chinese and 30 times as much as the average person in India. 10. Which president feared that untamed American capitalism might create a corrupt civilization? a. Jimmy Carter b. Ronald Reagan c. Theodore Roosevelt d. Abraham Lincoln Answer: c. President Theodore Roosevelt feared that allowing American capitalism to develop unleashed would eventually create a corrupt civilization. He was a strong proponent of simple living. 11. Which economic indicator counts pollution three times as a sign of a growing economy? a. the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) b. the GPI (Genuine Progress Indicator) Answer: a. The GDP counts pollution three times: first when it is made, second when it is cleaned up and third when health-care professionals treat pollution-related health problems. An organization called Redefining Progress developed an alternative economic progress measurement, the GPI (Genuine Progress Indicator). GPI takes into account 24 aspects of economic life that the standard GDP (Gross Domestic Product) ignores. The GPI adds value for such activities as housework and volunteerism, and subtracts for the costs of such problems as crime, car accidents and family breakdown. 12. Of the Americans who voluntarily cut back their consumption, what percent said (in 1995) that they are happier as a result? a. 29 percent b. 42 percent c. 67 percent d. 86 percent Answer: d. Eighty-six percent of Americans who voluntarily cut back their consumption feel happier as a result. Only 9 percent said they were less happy. In 1996, 5 percent of the "baby boom" generation reported practicing a strong form of voluntary simplicity. By the year 2000, some predict this number will rise to 15 percent. http://www.pbs.org/kcts/affluenza/treat/tguide/tguide1.html Affluenza Teacher's Guide Background Information In 1958, only 4 percent of American homes had dishwashers. Now more than half do. Less than 1 percent had color televisions. Now 97 percent do. In addition, in the '50s there were no microwave ovens, VCRs, or personal computers. Today, many new homes have three-car garages and are nearly 900 square feet (the same as an entire house in the 1950s). Americans fly 25 times as may passenger miles as they did in the 1950s. Although Americans had fewer material goods, the number of Americans who say they are very happy peaked back in 1957. Seventy percent of Americans visit malls each week, more than attend churches or synagogues. On average, Americans shop six hours a week and spend only 40 minutes playing with their children. ----- By the age of 20, the average American has seen some one million commercial messages. Advertising accounts for 2/3 of the space in newspapers, and 40 percent of our mail. The average American spends one year of their lives watching TV commercials. Children are the fastest growing segment of the consumer market. In 1995 alone, companies spent $1 billion marketing their products to young people. Each year advertisers spend millions of dollars trying to convince people to buy products. Most people don't know that advertising is not free to the buyers of products. This business expense is added to the cost of the product so that we pay more at the store. In fact, you are paying for products you don't buy! There are other, less obvious ways we "pay" for advertising. Ads play on our feelings of envy and anxiety. Ads often suggest that a person could be more successful, attractive, even lovable if they use "Brand X." People, both young and old, need tools to separate the message from the advertiser's intention to make a sale. We are all cynical about the above, because it seems so obvious...but we are bombarded with advertising daily. If we hear something often enough, we start to believe it, and this can affect our self esteem. Sometimes when people don't feel good about themselves, they want to do a little "shopping therapy"-- buying things because they think it will make them feel better. This is a symptom of Affluenza. ----- Marketing companies are only interested in "market share"--what 1,000 people will buy as a group. Advertisers sell market shares of the "under 25" or "upper income," etc. These markets are determined with surveys and focus groups. As students will see in Affluenza, marketers are watching children shop, and going into their bedrooms to find out what kinds of products children like. In Affluenza, marketers say that using anti-social behavior to sell products to children is "a good thing." They also speak of "capturing" and "owning" children, and that messages showing aggressive behavior are a good way to sell products to boys. ----- Advertising is moving into American schools in corporate-sponsored curriculum, in school busses and hallways, and during television programs shown in classrooms. Some educators believe that accepting advertising benefits students. In exchange for showing Channel One, an in-school broadcast service that includes advertisements, schools get to use video equipment for free. Others feel that advertising will give schools additional funding. In Affluenza, the superintendent of a school district decides to accept advertising to increase school funding because voters haven't approved a levy in his district since 1972. Others say schools should be ad-free zones. Requiring students to view advertising is unfair, they say, because students are a captive audience, and because advertising messages may get more credibility from the school setting. Students have been taught to trust what they learn in school, they say and they worry that advertising distracts from education. ----- In Affluenza, "Adbusters" use the energy and the message of an advertiser to express a very different point of view. They do this by using parody --taking an advertisement that is intended to be serious--and altering it to make fun of the product or the message. ----- Eleven percent of teenagers own their own credit cards and 40 percent use their parents' cards. Americans have more than one billion credit cards. Fewer than one-third of all Americans pay off their credit card balances each month. In fact, the average cardholder is $2,700 in debt and is paying 16 percent interest. More Americans declared bankruptcy in 1996 than graduated from college. Arguments about money play a major role in 90 percent of divorce cases. ----- The gap between rich and poor Americans is now the widest of any industrial nation. One-fifth of the world's population lives in dire poverty, slowly dying of hunger and disease. Millions of others desperately need more material goods. Yet, were they to consume as Americans do, the result would be an environmental disaster. Americans throw away 7 million cars a year, 2 million plastic bottles every hour and enough aluminum cans annually to make 6,000 DC-10 airliners. ----- In Mexico, more than 60 percent of the land is severely degraded, and soil erosion leaves 100,000 square miles of grazing and cropland unproductive each year. According to figures from the Natural Heritage Institute in San Francisco, unsustainable farming practices--and increasingly, desertification caused by climate change--drive 900,000 people off the land each year. ----- In the 1800s, the word "consumption" meant to exhaust, pillage, or destroy. Even in the early 1900s, the disease tuberculosis was known as consumption. Families were encouraged to buy a new car every year, not because the cars don't work anymore, but because they go out of style. This is known as "planned obsolescence." Not long ago, some experts predicted that by the year 2000, Americans would only work 14 hours a week. Labor-saving devices were supposed to make this possible. Instead, business executives feared a lag in consumer demand. They worried that the economy would come crashing down, and looked for new ways to stimulate spending. http://www.pbs.org/kcts/affluenza/treat/tips.html Tips for Beating Affluenza The Bug Stops Here Try these handy tips for beating Affluenza! 1. Before you buy, ask yourself: Do I need it? Do I want to dust (dry-clean or otherwise maintain) it? Could I borrow it from a friend, neighbor or family member? Is there anything I already own that I could substitute for it? Are the resources that went into it renewable, or non-renewable? How many hours will I have to work to pay for it? (Note: Before you do this, you may find it useful to figure your real hourly wage. Take your annual net income and subtract your work-related costs like clothing, transportation, child care, parking and lunches out. 2. Avoid the mall. Go hiking or play ball with the kids instead. 3. Figure out what public transportation can save you (time, money for gas and parking, peace of mind). 4. Become an advertising critic. Don't be sucked in by efforts to make you feel inadequate so you'll buy more stuff you don't need. 5. Volunteer for a school or community group. 6. Splurge consciously. A few luxuries can be delightful, and they don't have to be expensive. 7. Stay in -- have a potluck, play a game, bake bread, write a letter, cuddle a loved one. 8. Make a budget -- know how much you are earning and spending. Each dollar represents precious time in your life that you worked. Are you spending money in ways that fulfill you? 9. Pretend the Joneses are the thriftiest, least wasteful people on the block. Then try to keep up with them.