An Analysis Of Anna Quindlen's Stuff Is Not Salvation

In "Stuff Is Not Salvation," Anna Quindlen, a columnist at News Week, talks about how American consumers are out of control with buying the things they want instead of what they need. She talks about how the addiction to consumption is becoming much more of a problem than it should be. People love the idea of getting a good bargain and feel as if they can 't pass it up. She also mentions how this has been going on for decades, all the way back to the Great Depression. The big difference between now and then is credit and how people used to have to save their money in order to get the things they wanted which made them less likely to spend it in the first place. As times grow harder it makes people question what is of true value. Her idea of true value is not all the latest and greatest toys on the market, but things that actually matter like a …show more content…
Quindlen argues that people don’t spend their money on the things they really need like college tuition, prescription drugs, and rent. She also talks about how money can 't really buy happiness. Having a giant house or a bunch of stuff with no real meaning is not the key to happiness. Everyone out here is spending all their money on the things that are not necessary and is causing the number of people on food stamps and the desire of food pantries and soup kitchens to increase because people waste their money on pointless things rather that food to eat or a place to live. Quindlen justifies that, “Homelessness, which had fallen in recent years, may rebound as people lose their jobs and their houses. For the first time this month, the number of people on food stamps will exceed the 30 million mark” (par. 8). I agree with what she talks about, a lot of people really don 't spend their money on the things they actually