Consuming

By Rohan

Barrages of electronics, iPods, brand name clothing, and luxury cars dominate our lives; we, Americans, are innate consumers. The religion of consumerism exists as one of the most unquestioned forms faith there is. Blinded by the glistening façade of class and conformity, we consume with disregard to the environment, we consume with disregard to the workers, and most of all, we consume with disregard to ourselves.



“Who gets the risks? The risks are given to the consumer, the unsuspecting consumer and the poor work force. And who gets the benefits? The benefits are only for the corporations, for the money makers.” -Cesar Chavez

The foundation of the staggering fourteen trillion dollar American economy is us, the consumers; our fanatical desire for superfluous trinkets and toys not only drives this financial powerhouse, but also drives the corportocracy’s Lamborghini's and drives the eternal suppression of the populace through debt. The word consume comes from the Latin consumere meaning to eat or to waste, so aptly derived as we indeed waste our lives consuming. We consume beyond our means. According to the Federal Reserve, forty percent of all American families spend more than they earn—but why? We do not necessarily need a sixty inch Sony LCD television, or a thousand dollar Gucci handbag, or a life-sucking iPod, or a GPS navigated Mercedes-Benz, and yet we spend our whole lives working in an attempt to obtain these material goods. We are ingrained, entrenched, infatuated in consumerism. We live to consume. However, the consumption of goods brings forth a great plague, a rampant disease that is cauterizing the working people of America: debt.

“A man in debt is so far a slave.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Debt is viral. Whenever we swipe that credit card, sign that car loan, or take that mortgage, we are further sinking into the black abyss, the void of debt. This is America, and thus people believe we are truly free—but we are not. Who do you think owns that new iPod you just bought on your credit card? Who do you think owns your recently purchased car? Who do you think owns your house? The bank.

“The Bank, Mr. Van Buren, is trying to kill me, but I will kill it” -Andrew Jackson

The bank owns everything. Day by day, we are less ruled by a government, for the people by the people, and more ruled by a corportocracy, for the banks by the banks. The majority of American workers are modern wage slaves, enchained in a perpetual cycle of consuming, work, and debt. The concept of debt further establishes itself as profoundly disgusting notion when the aspect of interest is factored into the equation; the majority of Americans’ payments each month is interest on the loan itself. Our consumption of goods has invariably led to debt administered by our prized banking institutions. How interesting is it that our government has recently given these banks $700 billion of the taxpayers’ money. How interesting is it that our government allows Wall Street to keep their $5000 Armani suits while the average American remains incarcerated in the prison of debt on Main Street. We are a country so entrenched in debt that our national debt is rising to the amount of our epic GDP, and even more disturbingly, our money itself is created through debt.

The Federal Reserve created a publication entitled Modern Money Mechanics that reveals the appalling truth of our financial system, stating that the Federal Reserve will exchange US Dollars with government for a United States Treasury Bond, essentially meaning that the Federal Reserve lends US Dollars to the government at interest. This denotes that if the principal of all loans were to be paid off, not a single dollar would be left in circulation. But what about the interest? Unfortunately, the interest can never be accounted for, and like a jet out of fuel, as the interest inexorably spirals out of control, class divisions, poverty, and inflation occur as we witness in these trying times. This outline of the way our monetary institution functions is oversimplified, and there are countless other processes and ramifications to be considered. Nevertheless, our monetary institution is one of the most socially paralyzing structures humanity has ever endured.

The lofty, majestic columns willingly absorbed the sun’s rays as I walked past them. My parents and I ventured into the bank for a mortgage on our new home. Denizens of all ages, of all ethnicity, and of all class used this bank, whether it be a car loan or a mutual fund, the bank was always there to manipulate your money. First appearing friendly, the cunning bank representative in his mind-numbingly gray suit attempted to goad my parents into one of those interest-only mortgages. Firmly refusing, my parents entered a more common, yet also destructive, thirty year loan, in which the house would take thirty years to be paid off. At the time I did not really understand, nor frankly care what was going on. But I understand now. The overwhelming majority of Americans, like my parents, aspire to achieve the American Dream, to own a house in this “free” land. What the overwhelming majority of Americans, like my parents, did not realize is that the American Dream is simply a façade, and there is only the American Debt. The American Dream entrenches its followers in an inescapable pit of work, consumption, and debt. The American Dream is in fact a nightmare, as many Americans live in a perpetual cycle, from paycheck to paycheck, in an attempt to pay their mortgages and bills. The American Dream is an ingenious scheme developed by the banks to suppress the populace, the consumers, with debt.

“Rather go to bed with out dinner than to rise in debt.” -Benjamin Franklin