Why Big Shopping Bargins are Bad News for America - Times Reports

I read this interesting article from the NY Times entitled - 'Why Big Shopping Bargins are Bad News for America,'  sent to me by a friend this AM. Not typically what I post on Carving-Tree, but I do see a parallel in the lifestyle of Americans to the way we spend, what we buy and ultimately the way we eat. I mean everything is connected and it is all the same mentality in the sense we want instant gratification with little effort for cheap.

I stay away from the malls, and most stores in general. I feel better spending money at a locally owned boutique even if the cost is more per item than a big box retailer. I choose quality over quantity, hand-made over factory made. America is addicted to materialism, and ownership of goods--even poorly made items which will not last even a single season of use. My mother just recently replaced a hand-mixer that was older than me, for a $20 Costco version which I can guarantee will not last nearly 30 years of use--but those are the products saturating the market these days.

I feel this is especially true for kitchen, car and home items. I choose to spend a little more knowing full well that I am purchasing quality. I may not be able to buy the entire 26/pc set of Wusthoff knives that I desire at once,  but I sure as heck am not going to settle for Kitchen Aid here just so I can have them all, right now.

Since the Christmas season is upon us, we are probably going to be feeling a lot of pressure to buy things for each other, and that's okay. Remember though that a quality gift--even one--is better than a dozen cheap disposable gifts, so do your research before making a purchase and find something that will last for a few years, even a decade. This is where we need to be going in our spending habits, and it starts with consumer education and raising our standards of the types of products we will accept into our lives and purchase.

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1943252,00.html