I mean, yeah, I have a mortgage that will outlive me, but I still have money coming in.
this post was submitted on 15 Aug 2025
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spendy culture in general is disconnected from reality
Kinda answered your own question there
Who's pretending? Not here! We know we broke
Shame. Like several other cultures, Americans are very judgmental of poor people.
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Must keep up with the Jones.
I think most americans identify with the book cover, and not the book.
I owe nothing!
Who said I pretend? I'm effectively broke, between side jobs anyways. But hey, at least I earned a little extra cash doing some bicycle maintenance and other random help for a neighbor today.
Stupidity and the art of flexing.
Ok, not an exact answer, but... In 2008, John Oliver had a bit that I thought captured the US culture of consumerism. He basically said that many countries could invent or even build an inflatable BBQ - but only Americans would actually buy an inflatable BBQ. Anywho, spending money, independent of whether a person has it, seems to be a cultural phenomenon in the US.
Country Last Previous Unit Norway 210 206 % Luxembourg 187 182 % Netherlands 181 184 % Canada 171 173 % New Zealand 169 168 % Denmark 169 174 % Sweden 151 156 % Finland 108 112 % Cyprus 97.14 105 % Belgium 95.93 102 % France 95.35 102 % Euro Area 93.09 96.79 %
https://tradingeconomics.com/country-list/households-debt-to-income
Can't find US on there but I am know it ain't first.
Debt is the westoid material condition... The quality of life people enjoy requires it.
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I hate that the concepts of broke and debt even exist. It's all made up.
https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/keep+up+appearances
Sometimes people attack weaknesses. This is a defense mechanism. Also it's better for mental health to focus on what you do have, rather than what you don't. That doesn't mean you're not trying to meet genuine needs. It just means learning what are genuine needs and addressing that, while also noting "I have food and shelter, that's a great thing!" Especially when so many don't.
MSMs propaganda, decades of it, so you wont realize that you are "actually poor" because of the top .05% owners. im simplifying, buts its through various mechanisms, like advertisements, news, politicians.