Affluent deprivation: Get used to it.

1 comment November 3rd, 2008

Newsweek has put a finger on what’s ailing me these days: affluent deprivation.

The term signifies a “state of mind. People feel poorer, because their sluggish income gains get siphoned off into higher taxes, energy costs and health spending.”

“To some observers, we are so materialistic that we can easily make sacrifices. Do we really need fancier grills or more flat-screen TVs? Of course, there’s waste and personal extravagance. But what this argument ignores is psychology. “Luxuries” quickly become “necessities”—cell phones being a recent example. “Getting ahead” feeds people’s optimism, and an upbeat society shows more “tolerance of diversity, social mobility [and a greater] commitment to fairness,” as Harvard economist Benjamin Friedman argued in a recent book. Economic growth has anchored our national self-esteem; slower growth suggests a grumpier and more contentious America.

“Could the economy now be at one of these historic inflection points, when its past behavior is no longer a reliable guide to its future? That is the central question confronting the next president.”

No matter who wins tomorrow’s election, we’ll all have to understand what fuels the grumpiness. Then, we’ll have to get over it, somehow, maybe partly by redefining our expectations.