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May 21, 2012
Mark Clayton: Cybersecurity: How US utilities passed up chance to protect their networks
Howard LaFranchi: NATO summit: Who will foot the bill for long-term Afghanistan security?
Chris Farrell : Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Stephen Whiteside, Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: Social anxiety disorder --- or just shy?
Guy Jackson : Victim's father regrets death of Lockerbie bomber
The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: Famed chef's veal shoulder farsumagru: A festive meat course for late spring
May 18, 2012
Rabbi Berel Wein: Striving: The People of the Book's Book for (All of) the People
Steven Goldberg: 5 Great Stock Picks and the Exchange-Traded Fund that Owns Them
Mary Pickett, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Don't be forced into gluten-free lifestyle based merely on a doctor's false-positive test
The Kosher Gourmet by Carolyn Malcoun: DIY healthy lunchbox treats: HOMEMADE FRUIT BARS for kids and brown-bagging adults alike
May 17, 2012
Warren Richey: Teacher fired for being unwed and pregnant can sue religious school, court rules
Josh Mitnick: Netanyahu's 'centrist' coalition is already proving it's anything but
Steven Goldberg: Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Amina Khan: Research links coffee to lower death rates
The Kosher Gourmet by Faith Duran : Cheesy Potato Breakfast Casserole with Cheddar and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
May 16, 2012
Carmen Terzic, M.D., Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: A variety of exercises can help improve balance
Melissa Healy: National strategy on Alzheimer's disease aims to halt it by 2025
The Kosher Gourmet by Joyce White : GOODNESS GRACIOUS: GREENS! 4 winning recipes that are no longer just for down-home folks (Includes expert tips & techniques)
May 15, 2012
Kristen Chick: Obama administration resumes arms sales to Bahrain despite serious unresolved human rights issues. Activists feel abandoned
Pat Mertz Esswein: Homes are now affordable again and mortgage rates are low. What you need to know before you buy
Kathy Kristof: Our Practical Investor Fights Inflation with These 6 Investments
Sue Hubbard, M.D.: The Kid's Doctor: Lactose intolerant young child? Check again
The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Hunt: Spread a Little Excitement with EXOTIC CONDIMENTS (4 RECIPES)
May 14, 2012
Lisa Gerstner: How to Protect Your Identity, Finances If You Lose Your Phone
Harvard Health Letters: Heart disease and dementia
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: MANGO COCONUT OAT MORNING MUFFINS are a bright but hearty delight
May 11, 2012
Jessica L. Anderson: Get the Best Deal on a Used Car
Jett Stone: Forget face-lifts and fake knees. Scientists have seen the fountain of youth --- and it's broccoli
The Kosher Gourmet by Chef Mario Batali: The famed chef's vegetable dish that tastes true to the season: FAVAS AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS WITH POTATOES AND TARRAGON
May 10, 2012
Sergei L. Loiko: Putin sends warning to U.S., NATO in Victory Day speech at Red Square
Mary Rourke: How being a 'mentch' got Vidal Sasoon his start and fighting in Israel's War of Independence provided him with confidence and a strong sense of his own identity
Jeff Bertolucci: Get Home Phone Service for Less Than $10 a Month
The Kosher Gourmet by Betty Rosbottom: Gleaming with its golden, crimson, and snowy white hues, this silken smooth and creamy STRAWBERRY ORANGE TRIFLE looks impressive, but is easy to prepare
May 9, 2012
Sharon Palmer, R.D. How you can reduce your risk -- or delay -- chronic diseases associated with aging
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Jewish World Review
March 22, 2005
/ 11 Adar II, 5765
More! More! More! Desire for status and possessions takes toll on happiness, credit
By
Jamie Malanowski
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
There's a heartwarming
commercial
on TV from
Hallmark. An adorable
little girl receives a
card from her grandma.
The little girl's face
brightens, as though a
candle had been lit inside
her a veritable
candle of love. She
then goes to her room,
reaches under her bed
and pulls out a box. It's
where she keeps her
most precious possessions.
You might have already
begun to think that this is
not a little girl who gets
out much. Then you see
how bogus this kid is because
among her precious
items are jacks.
Well, I've got two girls in
my house not much older
than that girl. One was recently
overheard snarling that her
year-old iPod was embarrassingly
outdated. My girls might
know what jacks are, but they
might also think they are some
poorly designed martial-arts
weapon.
The ad, of course, wasn't designed
aimed at little girls; it was
aimed at grandmas. They know
what jacks are. You wouldn't impress
them by having the little girl
pull out a box with an iPod in it.
The point is, we want people to
buy things. We want grandma to
buy the cards, and the kids to buy
the iPods, and then go out tomorrow
and buy something else.
We want people to buy things because
that's currently the engine of
our prosperity: Great gushes of
spending that are fueled by money
we're borrowing from foreign governments.
We also want people to buy things
because that's the key to our security.
If this seems a little
sick to you, well,
you're not alone.
A
UCLA professor
named Peter C.
Whybrow has written
a new book
called "American
Mania: When More
Is Not Enough.'' (Click HERE
to purchase. Sales help fund JWR.) His thesis is that
Americans have become literally
addicted to the pursuit of status and
possessions, and the supercharged
lives we lead deprive us of the only
things that can really make us happy,
namely, relationships with other
people. "In our compulsive drive for
more," Dr. Whybrow told The New
York Times, "we are making ourselves
sick.''
Dr. Whybrow is interested in the
psychological and even the spiritual
aspects of this phenomenon, but last
week there was an interesting political
slant put on consumer spending.
Acting at the behest of a $35 million
lobbying effort from the credit card
companies, the Senate passed a
bankruptcy reform bill that makes it
much harder for individuals to walk
away from crushing debts.
It should never be easy for
people to walk away from their
bills, so to that end, the bill was
probably good.
But the bill was astonishingly
stacked in favor of the rich, allowing
them to protect assets in
bankruptcy proceedings, while
people who have run up debts
due to illness or job loss will now
have a harder time getting relief.
And the bill was stacked in favor
of the credit card companies.
They are now freer to immerse
consumers spending-addicted
consumers, Dr. Whybrow says
deep in debt, with the same remorselessness
that dealers push
dope. An amendment to limit the
interest rates they can charge to
30 percent was quashed.
Tennessee Ernie Ford once
sang "Sixteen Tons," about a
miner who couldn't afford to die because
he owed his soul to the company
store. Somebody should recut
it, but sub in the word Mastercard.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Jamie Malanowski is a columnist for The Washington Examiner. Comment by clicking here.
03/15/05: Terror suspects can buy guns: Are you kidding me?
03/08/05: Ownership society? Some of us don't have the mental acuity to rationally speculate about the future
03/01/05: Royal flaps make sad English chaps
© 2005, Jamie Malanowski
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