Thursday, September 22, 2011

The "dream" of instant gratification and profits

I feel that the dream for today's generation changed because of the influence of credit, loans, and the easy way to earn a fast dollar. People of today had the choice when they entered their first job to take it slow, save, and not enter the world of gambling possible debt vs. profits. But since credit cards/loans, a fast road to profits in toying with equity, and the "dream" (a picture perfect home/life) was all in reach while the bubble was at its best, they decided to gamble in the bubble and see the instant gratification of reaching the "dream" at a much younger age than their parents. This choice ended up hurting most because greed and a need for more and more profits ended up backfiring when the bubble burst, and I believe that the resulting foreclosure crisis is a good way to see how the dream changed and why.

1 comment:

  1. Great point. Things like credit, loans, and the housing bubble provided opportunities for people to get what they wanted, when they wanted it. I don't think it was the wrong decision to take advantage of these opportunities, but people just didn't know how to manage their spending or realize how their decisions would impact the future. It's more a case of ignorance than anything in my mind. People saw a great opportunity to get ahead, but didn't take the time to gather the knowledge needed to properly take advantage in the long-run.

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