In America, it seems perception is everything. Amid our economic turmoil, it may seem egregious to say that our standard-of-living has continued to rise, but that is exactly what has been happening. Through pretending and borrowing, we have continued to live in a land of make-believe where we can always afford to live a little better, despite any real basis for this assumption. Due to our reprehensible spending patterns, Americans are encroaching the bursting of the most worrisome bubble of all: the standard-of-living bubble, according to CNNMoney.com.

For the past several years, the average inflation-adjusted total pay of American workers hasn’t been increasing, so there hasn’t been any foundation on which to build our living standard. However, we have continued to save less, borrow more and spend, spend, spend. Credit card debt is growing at exponential rates. With the bursting of the real estate bubble, borrowing from home equity was relinquished and people resorted to borrowing from their credit cards.

Americans began relying on their credit cards as a source of income and living under the false assumption that this extra money could increase their standard of living. However, credit card debt has continued to grow faster than the economy- more than 8 percent in last year’s third and fourth quarters.

While home prices probably won’t be rising anytime soon, there isn’t much else to borrow against. The standard-of-living bubble may have to deflate. Americans may soon have to learn to save their money and spend what they have. Our standard of living has to be earned and can no longer be a delusional thought. We need to develop more valuable work that cannot be outsourced to re-up America’s economy and give us a solid foundation on which to increase our standard-of-living. Maybe then, we can finally evacuate imagination land.

Print PDF