Hard Times

I couldn't help but call out this article from the AP if for no other reason than it was just so weird. While there are some interesting points in there, it is a bit rambling and doesn't seem to have a cohesive thesis.

But I'm not highlighting the article to perform an amateur literary critique. Rather, I found the premise, that there's this underlying discontentment in the US -- even during the good times -- pretty interesting.

A quote from the article:

The number of products -- from air conditioners to cell phones -- that Americans say they can't live without has grown substantially in recent years, according to the Pew Research Center. About 6 in 10 working Americans polled by the group say they don't earn enough to lead the life they want.

Not to veer too far from the premise of my blog, but are Americans realizing that the promises of advertisers didn't lead to the elusive stairway to heaven? Were we hoping for something from material wealth that it was never going to give us?

Obviously this isn't a philosophical blog, but when an article like that shows up on Yahoo!Finance's front page, well, I can't help but take note.

-AvgJoe