Material Happiness

In the 1960's, for reasons I cannot figure out, the Boomers decided to rebel against their parents.  I guess it was hard for them to live up to the greatness of their parents generation. So, with this burden, the Boomers set out to discover their own morality.

The Boomers tried everything: Free Love, Buddhism, Taoism, Maoism, Christianity, Krishna, Environmentalism, Paganism, Native Americanism, New Age, Black Power, White Power, Feminism, Scientology and many, many more.  However, none of these movements seem to take hold as much as the most powerful ism the Boomers found and that was Materialism.

As the Boomers stopped getting high...who am I kidding....As the Boomers changed their drugs from psychedelic to stimulants and were finally ending their childish games....who am I kidding again....and were moving into the business world, they discovered the joy of materialism.

And, to give the Boomers credit, they got real good at it.  As soon as the money came in, it went straight out.  It didn't matter where the money came from. Whether it was from working, inheritance or government checks, the Boomers spent every dime they could get their hands on.  From the mid-80's to the late 00's, the Boomers bought everything from luxury cars to electric facial masks. 

The consumer marketplace was alive and booming (pun intended).  Consumer product companies found new ways to sell to the Boomers.  Infomercials started to explode on cable television and new malls were opening everywhere.  Then in the late 1990's, the Internet became the ultimate tool to easily buy any product you ever wanted.  And, for the Boomers, it came at a perfect time.  As the Boomers were starting to age, it was more difficult for them to race out every weekend to buy more material.  the Internet let Boomers bask in the joy of materialism without leaving their sofa.

So, here we are in 2010, the Boomers spent all their money and then some.  According to money-zine, "The size of the total consumer debt grew nearly five times in size from 1980 ($355 billion) to 2001 ($1.7 trillion). Consumer debt in 2009 now stands at $2.5 trillion." 

Well, I guess its time to come up with a new ism.  But, I am not worried.  I am confident that the Boomers will find joy in their new religious movement: povertyism.