Keeping up with the Joneses

are figuring it out. Sometimes you never figure it out and sometimes you will. By using 4 different pieces of writing, I will get my point across. “Identity,” poem by Julio Noboa, “America and I,” nonfiction essay by Anzia Yezierska, “Keeping up with the Joneses,” article by Common Lit Staff, and “Be Cool to the Pizza Dude,” essay by Sarah Adams are the 4 pieces I will be using. In the Julio Polanco’s poem “Identity,” he contrasts two different subjects, weeds and flowers. The potted flowers…

The period after WWII brought many changes. Traditionally, the 1950s have been regarded as an era of conformity and prosperity. In order to determine whether this assessment is accurate, one must analyze how these changes affected American society and economy. Once the war was finished, expected roles in society grew stronger, especially those pertaining to gender. The suburbs expanded quickly and gained popularity. However, the minorities of the decade were still struggling. This suggests that…

Consumer goods and services, by far, are the largest component of the American GDP. In 2012, consumption accounted for almost 70% of our GDP (Slavin 201). A consumer culture refers to a culture that actively engages in consumption. Most developed countries have fairly strong consumer cultures. Consumption is simply a way of life in America. When America became a country, it was primarily an agricultural economy. 90% of the population lived on a farm (Slavin 2). Almost everything that was needed…

products. What’s even more ingenious is that they came up with ways to lend us money so that we could purchase their products. So they make money off of the products and services that we purchase from them and they make money off of credit cards and mortgages and loans that we use to purchase above mentioned products and services from them. In the “Fight Club,” Tyler Durden says “things you own, end up owning you.” Now, things that we own, end up owning us both, literally and figuratively.…

population has wealth. Wealth boils down to what is left over after you have subtracted all of you debt from your assets. The average person in American currently holds over $47,000 in debt. Now to hone in on the debt free lifestyle versus "keeping up with the Joneses". There is such a strong link between the two. How many people are depriving themselves of wealth…

obsolete, especially in the mindset of today’s society. Subsequently, it is the depth of a marketing strategy that Apple creates a buy into new and loyal customers. In as much as new and improved are attractive to consumers where many try to “keep up with the Joneses” (2016), it remains the individual’s responsibility to decide how realistic Apple or like product offering will benefit personal life and decisions when narrowing down most obvious…

corporate America; it only makes up 1 percent of the population. Wealth is not the only important factor that determines your class; economic capital, Education, and Social status also have a lot to do with social class category. The next Status is Upper middle class. Upper middle class, which is also called new money class, is hard to become a part of because it centers on new money. This class is known to have established money for only one or two generations or so. It makes up 15 percent of…

Living in a lower economic and social class builds the mindset of keeping up with the joneses. Having someone find out that you are allowing a homosexual in your house discredits you as household. People who live in middle to lower income families are looked at through more of a microscope because they are blamed for most of America’s problems. I believe that keeping up with the joneses mentality is trying to stay away from the stereotype of being what is wrong with the nation…

While money may be able to purchase material things that provide people with short-term well-being, there is no monetary value on true, long-term happiness. The Time article titled “Money: The Real Truth About Money,” written by Gregg Easterbrook, provided a respectable argument to the relationship between true happiness and money. In his article, Easterbrook argued one basic, yet complicated, concept “everyone needs a certain amount of money, but chasing money rather than meaning is a formula…

government support offered for a specific length of time and/or until de- fined goals were reached. The modern homesteading social movement can be traced to the 1960s in America. It came as a reaction to rabid materialism and the intense “keeping up with the Joneses” mentality. The appeal is a simpler life and existing more in har- mony with nature. Obviously the skill set that must be learned and practiced is de- manding, however most homesteaders boast a very satisfied, content existence…