America- A Consumer Nation

When I started thinking about American Culture, the one thing that I could think of to characterize America is money. We have talked about money in class, "Time is Money," and how we like spending. That is why I would define America as a consumer nation. As Americans, we love to spend money on things to improve our appearance, but also technology and food. The industries dealing with beauty- cosmetics, botox, salons- have all became major staples of American Industry. A girl does not need to drive very far to find a store that sells makeup (Walmart, Walgreens, Ulta). Other industries, such as those selling clothes, also are everywhere because people feel better about themselves when they are well dressed. The second thing we spend money on is technology. It used to be that one TV would be sufficient for a house hold but now, we spend money so every room has a flat screen HD TV. Also, the growth of the ipod has created an "iWorld." This industry has created an array of products that allow us to listen to music, connect to the world wide web, and even contact others. The final aspect of America as a consumer nation is food. We love to spend money on a good dinner. There is no other explanation why their is always over an hour wait at luxurious restaurants such as Wildfire or Cheesecake Factory. Also, their has been an enormous increase in fast food restaurants. Although this seems to contradict my point about spending loads of money, a home cooked meal is much cheapier than paying 2 dollars for a coke when a can probably only costs 50 cents. On a side note, eating fastfood is destroying the folkway of family dinners where you talk about eachothers days. Overall, America is an enormous consumer nation that strives to have unlimited income so you can spend it on fashion/cosmetics, technology, and food.