How much of this is a cultural problem with Americans though?

Immigrant families save a higher percentage than Americans even when they make less money. Americans notoriously overconsume and are not big on saving.

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forgetfreeman 4 days ago | parent [-]

That there are cultural issues around consumption is absolutely not in question. That said I watched one of my great uncles raise three kids and put every one of them through college cultivating ~400 acres with equipment he owned outright and could readily maintain and repair himself when issues arose. Fast forward 40 years and "small" farmers are forced to take on and then service literally millions in debt just to break even (if they're lucky and the weather holds). So while I agree wholeheartedly that the modern cultural acceptance of living well beyond one's means is deeply problematic I'd prioritize breaking big industry's chokehold on all the things before telling folks they should tighten their belt.

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crostlybostly 3 days ago | parent [-]

Agreed it’s a multitude of issues.

I just think if people want results they should focus on the factors they can control. Changing government policy and industry policy is a slow process and can take decades for results and often has unintended consequences.

Reducing consumption helps immediately.

	▲	forgetfreeman 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		Reducing consumption is a luxury of the middle class. The working poor don't really have any corners available to cut.