David Brooks on Affluenza

David Brook's column in today's NY Times makes the case that U.S. culture of consumption is a new trend. Specifically, that in the past 30 years, we've stopped being thrifty and started outspending our means. His theory is that we've moved away from institutions (like church) that encourage fiscal responsibility. Brooks cites statistics about credit card debt and lottery tickets to demonstrate that consumers are making increasingly foolish decisions about finances.

But Brooks could've taken this argument further. Consumers aren't the only ones who've mortgaged their futures for consumption today. Warren Buffet sounded the warning bell in a fantastic 2003 essay titled Squanderville versus Thriftville in Fortune Magazine. The aggregate effect of consumer, corporate and government debt is terribly frightening, and it feels like the sub-prime crisis might just be the tip of the iceberg.

We do need to build financial literacy in the country... but curriculum and institutional voices supporting financial education have an uphill battle in our culture. When the government is telling its citizens to spend money (AKA, "economic stimulus"), it really seems like we've built an economic house of cards.