Luxury or Necessity? The Public Makes a U-Turn
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Luxury or Necessity? The Public Makes a U-Turn
1–10 of 27 posts
Re: Luxury or Necessity? The Public Makes a U-Turn
#2Given how correlated these trends are, I am not sure what is changing is the desire for any particular item, but the actual interpretation of the word "necessity". I suspect what is happening is that when financial security is low, necessity is applied as a term close to its actual definition, whereas in times of financial plenty it starts wandering up the scale towards "want".
That said, I boggle at the clothes dryer rank.
Re: Luxury or Necessity? The Public Makes a U-Turn
#3Given how correlated these trends are, I am not sure what is changing is the desire for any particular item, but the actual interpretation of the word "necessity". I suspect what is happening is that when financial security is low, necessity is applied as a term close to its actual definition, whereas in times of financial plenty it starts wandering up the scale towards "want". That said, I boggle at the clothes drye…
> I boggle at the clothes dryer rank
Some American towns actually forbid residents from hanging clotheslines.
Re: Luxury or Necessity? The Public Makes a U-Turn
#4The fact that 50% of people still believe things like a TV, Microwave, and central A/C are "necessities" means we have a very long way to go. I guess I can be happy it dropped from 60%.
Re: Luxury or Necessity? The Public Makes a U-Turn
#5Given how correlated these trends are, I am not sure what is changing is the desire for any particular item, but the actual interpretation of the word "necessity". I suspect what is happening is that when financial security is low, necessity is applied as a term close to its actual definition, whereas in times of financial plenty it starts wandering up the scale towards "want". That said, I boggle at the clothes drye…
> I boggle at the clothes dryer rank Some American towns actually forbid residents from hanging clotheslines.
True, but it's usually a neighborhood association rule, not something that applies to a whole town.
Re: Luxury or Necessity? The Public Makes a U-Turn
#6What about the internet? I don't have a TV but I wouldn't give up the internet because my work depends on it - but for others it would be a luxury.
Re: Luxury or Necessity? The Public Makes a U-Turn
#7The fact that 50% of people still believe things like a TV, Microwave, and central A/C are "necessities" means we have a very long way to go. I guess I can be happy it dropped from 60%.
Have you ever lived in the south? A/C is very much a necessity.
Re: Luxury or Necessity? The Public Makes a U-Turn
#8The fact that 50% of people still believe things like a TV, Microwave, and central A/C are "necessities" means we have a very long way to go. I guess I can be happy it dropped from 60%.
Have you ever lived in the south? A/C is very much a necessity.
Yet people did it. My parents grew up in St. Louis without air conditioning. It gets uncomfortable but is not unlivable.
People live in the tropics without it. It is not a necessity.
Re: Luxury or Necessity? The Public Makes a U-Turn
#9Slightly off topic, but related none-the-less: something that has always bothered me about "necessities" is that 99% of US households have a TV [1] but at the same time, ~12% are in poverty. [2] How do "necessities" like this tie into poverty?
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_in_the_United_States [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_in_the_United_States
Re: Luxury or Necessity? The Public Makes a U-Turn
#10I'm rather blown away that 49% of 18-29 year-olds consider a land line phone to be a necessity.
I think the last time I had a land line was a decade ago, when I was 17. And I live in the decidedly non-cutting-edge midwest. Even my parents haven't had a land line in years.