Charged With Guilt

An entire generation of kids raised during the depression grew up with modest spending habits and their materialistic impulses seriously in check. Expectations were low, gratitude and humility expected. As they reached adulthood, stability was the assumed aspiration, and living within limited means was the status quo.

Then that all changed.

For the baby-boomers who came to dominate the U.S. social sphere a generation later, raised in the post WWI economic boom, the status quo evolved to "financial security" and "comfort," which were, arguably, simply euphemisms for wealth.

The consumer culture of these different generations evolved to fit the economic context of each. But spending patterns aren't all about practicality. Emotion and subjectivity find their way in; there's guilt, shame, pride, and euphoria; cultural mores are injected into every thought and behavioral pattern around consumerism.

According to Sarah Kershaw of NY Times Magazine, 95% of neuroscientists and behaviorists say that our decision to purchase or not to purchase is borne of a complex biochemical phenomenon that occurs deep within our subconscious.

Unless eclipsed by a major source of anxiety, big purchases tend to release dopamine, which triggers feelings of euphoria and chases away guilt and regret. But in a recent study done by David Lewis of Mindlab International, even upper-class consumers, who have held on to their wealth - and purchasing power- in the recession, experienced anxiety and hesitation in response to luxury goods. Before the recession those same high-end items elicited only positive responses-excitement, arousal, and raised attention levels. Instead, they now experience "disgust," according to the study, and consider the consumption of these high-end items irresponsible and even immoral given the state of the economy.

Professor Kit Yarrow's research that this mentality will not fade with economic revitalization. The results of his post-recession consumer surveys suggest that this newfound moral doubt over expensive taste is here to stay. Other researchers believe that this group-think will evolve like any other; that brain patterns are cyclical and soon dopamine will rule again.

Wal-mart Wins Again

This recession has turned even the Japanese into Wal-Mart shoppers.
As long as most of us can remember, the Japanese have been such faithful consumers of luxury goods that items like designer handbags were effectively considered mass-market. Perhaps for this reason, Wal-mart has never yet seen a profit from its Japanese subsidiary (Seiyu) since first opening the stores 7 years ago.
But that is soon to change. Against all odds (popular consumer opposition, resistance on the part of employers) the company dug in with its pointy little claws and stayed the course, waiting for its luck to change. It's business plan included forcing layoffs of about 25% of the store's employees (an unheard of practice in Japan), aggressively cutting out distribution middlemen, mandating that stores remain open for 24 hours, and pushing historically unpopular and lower-quality goods from China.

Sure enough, Wal-mart's luck has changed in Japan, much as its wealth this past year has grown at a rate inverse to that of consumers worldwide. Sales at Seiyu have risen every month since November, and this year, the company expects to make a profit. Congratulations, you blood-sucking parasite.

Meanwhile, handbag designer Louis Vuitton canceled its plans for a fancy new store in Tokyo, as the company's sales in Japan have dropped 20% in the first 6 months of this year.

Frugal Brooklyn

Last week, Brooklyn was named the most frugal city in the U.S. by Mint.com, based on discretionary spending figures. Of course, since the numbers correspond to the percentage decrease in spending since 2008, it could just mean that Brooklyn was one of the most outta hand back in bull-market 2008...

Either way, its a great graphic and is fascinating in its specifics, charting how much each (at least, each of the 5 least frugal) spent on clothing, books, electronics, hobbies, and sports respectively (Chicagoans love them some books). I wish they had broken it down for the most frugal as well-could be a very interesting comparison.

Blackout Film Festival: The Great Recession

In 2004, Tom Keefe founded an annual film festival inspired by the blackout of 2003. Each year since the Blackout Film Festival team has chosen a theme, "a topic that touches the lives of everyone in our community " according to the website, and have called for submission of film shorts on that theme.

This year the theme is The Great Recession, and the program will include shorts such as Wall Street Chicken, a satire featuring a massive pillow fight in the streets of the Financial District, as well as more somber films like Bridge, in which a woman returns home to find her mother missing and her house in foreclosure.

So today at 3PM, 5PM, or 7PM get down to the School of Visual Arts Theater at 333 West 23rd St. between 8th & 9th Ave. The 90-minute program will be shown at each screening and tickets are $12 in advance or $14 at the door.

Heroes of the Recession 2: Men Who Wear Clean Undies

In his 2007 book The Age of Turbulence, Alan Greenspan proposed that the sales figures of none other but men's underwear may serve as a particularly insightful economic indicator.

He says that manties are historically among the most steadily consumed products out there. Their sales figures are almost always a flat line: underwear is nothing more or less than a necessity for men; they buy em when they need em, and generally they their girlfriends and wives do replace their undies when they've gotten old and ratty.

So usually, since undies don't represent a major expense nor a frequent purchase, they aren't among the items cut from the family budget when money gets a little tight. But as Greenspan's theory has it, in times of true hardship, men do start to skimp on their skivvies, making do with dingy pairs so that they can afford, say, toilet paper.

So, here's the good news: Hanes brands just reported second quarter 2009 sales at a decline of 4%. If you think this figure seems as gray as those ratty undies you're wearing, think again. This is actually a significant improvement, as sales declined by 13% in the first quarter. Manty sales are up, people!

So let's give it up for those men who care about what's on the inside - or at least, what's underneath. May their increasing manty purchases lift us from recession and deliver us from depressing laundry days!

Heroes of the Recession: Meet the Beatles? Be the Beatles.

Welcome to the first installment of 'Heroes of the Recession,' where we pay homage to those brave citizens who against all odds are hanging in there, refusing to be bullied by a a bear market, and continuing to spend money like it's their job. That is, the job that they no longer have because they were laid off 6 months ago and have found nothing since and now have simply given up because there's really no point anymore. Anyway, these spenders who slowly digging themselves into more debt are digging us out of a recession. And so we commend them, for they are true American Heroes.

This week, gamers and music fans alike lined up like kids in front of a crack-laced candy store to score a copy of the new Beatles edition of the video game "Rock Band" fresh off the racks.
Just One Crazed Consumer of Many, Gleefully Shelling Out for a taste of the Fab Four
A limited edition of the game, which comes with special instruments resembling the ones the Fab Four used, will cost $250 and is expected to sell big. The standard version will cost $160 with controllers included, or just $60 for the software alone. Although the original Rock Band has been a consistent money loser for Viacom, the company expects this version of the game to shake them out of their slump, selling as many as 5 million copies this year and generating up to $1.2 billion in revenue.You'd think these guys they were more popular than Jesus or something.

Quick! A Few Free (and Almost Free) Things to do in NYC Before Summer's End

September 21st is the last day of summer. Stop crying about it and start reading about it, because you have exactly 3 weeks to get your act together and get your Recessionist summer on. Here are some cheap things to do before you break out the corduroy and wool.

Explore Governor's Island:

Rent a bike for free (1 hour) on Fridays through October 9th and take a ride on the island's 2.2-mile waterfront promenade. The island is completely carless, and only accessible by a free ferry from Manhattan or Brooklyn.

If you're lucky you'll catch one of the art exhibits hosted there during summer months. (Creative Time’s show, “This World & Nearer Ones,” is up through September 20.)

Have a High Time:

A park that offers natural beauty, art, and a history lesson, the High Line opened on June 8th to hordes of New Yorkers who couldn't wait to get off the ground.







What's now wildflowers and fountains was for the past 25+ years an abandoned and overgrown train track. From the 1930s until 1980 it ran through the meatpacking district in Manhattan, bringing freight from 34th St. to Gansevoort St downtown.

The track was all set to be demolished (thanks , Giuliani) until the Friends of the High Line stepped in and got that thing good and parkified. Read more about the park and the process in this New York Times article.

Take Yourself Out To The Ballgame:

The Brooklyn Cyclones' season ends around labor day. Tickets are only $7.50. The Wonder Wheel is open through labor day as well.

Warm Up at P.S.1

P.S.1, in Long Island City, Queens, holds a weekly dancefest to soundtrack of fun, experimental music, held in the museum’s annually redesigned courtyard. This year it's a bedouin tent designed by the architecture firm MOS. Remaining shows: DJ Spun on Sept 5.

Green It Up:

Whether or not you even buy, all those vitamins in the air at local Greenmarkets have gotta be good for you, right?. Plus they are always samples! Check out the markets at Union Square (Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday), Tompkins Square (Sundays), Tribeca (Saturdays), Tucker Square (Thursdays and Saturdays), Stuyveant Town (Sundays), Columbia (Sundays) and 57th St. (Saturdays). and catch great views of Lower Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and the New York Harbor for free.

Take a ride on the Staten Island Ferry and catch the very best kind of views (the free kind) of Lower Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and the New York Harbor.

Check out the Brooklyn Public Library's Free Summer Concert Series:
Up next are the Mandingo Ambassadors on Sept 12th, followed by Harry and the Potters on Sept 26th.

Roosevelt Island's Riverwalk Commons also offers free summer concerts, through Labor Day. See their calendar here, or on the Islander blog.