BLOG 18

The Story of Stuff

According to Annie Leonard “The American economy’s ultimate purpose is to produce more consumer goods.” In my experience, I find this to be true because nowadays people buy more items especially if they have discounts on them. In addition, media creates an image that we need to buy the latest items to keep us satisfied and replace the worse quality objects we once had.

I see many individuals that occupy the mall hallways. The parking lots are always full especially during holidays. I always wonder why people in the United States especially where many are in a recession, spend their earned/saved money on worthless items that may not be needed in the future. The answer is simple; the industries want you to increase your spending money so they can have a greater interest.  Industries pay for advertisements mainly to persuade the consumer into buying their product. They believe that this method is the best and most convenient way because many people watch television shows. Females such as me go shopping mainly to be in fashion. The shoes that you wore last year must be thrown out since they aren’t in style the following year. New technologies can be similar since technology is changing every couple of months and everyone wants to buy them just for show. One example is the newest Iphone 4s model. Many people were waiting for days just to get it. It is the same like the other Apple phones but people believe that each phone has improved dramatically inside which is not always true.

The ultimate purpose of the American economy should benefit the population. An industry producing more leads to more people buying their products. If this wouldn’t happen we would only spend our money on necessary items such as food and housing.  In conclusion, the more people that buy from certain companies help the workers have a stable job because they are depending on their consumer’s money.