Maritime Morning - Andrew Krystal

Don’t believe what the economists tell you. Yes, there is more money out there, but what we do with it is another matter. We are not richer, we are poorer.

Economic indices have, for a while now, shown that more and more money is flowing into fewer and fewer hands. The middle class is shrinking, attenuated by globalization and corporate concentration and by new consumer expectations — a new, and expanding, culture of consumption and imposed affluence.

The digital revolution in technology has meant whole new areas of expenditure with consumer products. For example, the simple home telephone required one local bill, plus long distance. Despite industry deregulation, and while long distance rates have dropped, other bills that didn’t exist before such as call display, forwarding, etc. now do. People now have cell phones too – two phones that they now pay for instead of one.

The increasing reliance by Canadians of, for example, debit cards has meant banks nickel and dime us every day – and Canadians use these cards a lot. Debit cards didn’t exist before the 80s.

The new wave of digital cameras, not to mention cell phones, and their incessant upgrades, has meant a constant stream of purchases driven by engineering/technological refinements.

The home computer, not around much in the early nineties, is everywhere now – and is considered obsolete in three years. What was once one home telephone bill has grown to “bundles” with internet, high definition TV digitization, and home phones together.

Kids insist on a galaxy of DVD games even as they download their free music on an Ipod or a computer you have bought for them (it was cheaper to send them to the record store).

Cars have become obscenely expensive and complicated. But, are they really any better though? Homes are overpriced.

What about globalization? Well, cheap Chinese labor has meant that while Wal-Mart stuff is cheaper, people simply end up buying more in Wal-Mart that they don’t need. In fact, studies have shown that Wal-Mart’s have a negative economic impact on communities. The money goes to the home office Arkansas.

Then there is the culture of gambling. Initially introduced as a recessionary device, Casinos are now as ubiquitous as is their bastard child, the lotto ticket – which statistically nobody wins (and when they do it I most likely to be the guy who sold it to you). We lose money on lotto ticket over a lifetime. We never did before.

The cost of tuitions has decimated families and students alike – and of course they all need lap tops, in addition to the home computer.

It is not that there are more consumer items; it is that there are more consumer items that are considered essential. A case in point would be the salesman who can’t use the five year old Blackberry even if he wants to. The cultural pressure is there to upgrade and not look bad, more importantly; some of these “old” devices simply won’t work anymore with new systems.

Resultantly, savings rates are at an all time low and debt rates are at an all-time high.

People work longer and harder for less. They spend less time with their spouses and even are having less sex in the marriage because of computer time. Kids don’t talk to adults (if they ever did); they are testing, and on myspace, instant messaging, etc.

Every generation is on facebook. The big screen plasma TV is sometimes not even watched anymore.

Are we better off? Are we any happier?  Statistically we have fewer friends even. No wonder. We are working too hard to pay for it all.

The neo-luddite, techno-terrified, homicidal “Unabomber” Theodore Kaczynski who railed against technological advents and their hold and control of us and who mailed out letter bombs to those he thought led the techno charge, was wrong in his violence — but not entirely mad.