The End of Bling

Time Magazine calls it the new frugality on its cover for this week. I call it the end of bling. Bling is shiny stuff, conspicuous consumption; it symbolizes the fast times and easy living of the boom years, but also the artificiality and denial.

Time reports that

Among people earning less than $50,000 a year — roughly half of U.S. households — 34% have not gone to the doctor because of the cost, 31% have been out of work at some point, and 13% have been hungry. At the same time, 4 in 10 people earning more than $100,000 say they are buying more store brands, 36% are using coupons more, and 39% have postponed or canceled a vacation to save money.

These kind of facts are often reported as though they are bad news. The real question is, does increased consumption make people happier? It's good news that we're slowing down our consumption, because it'll help us focus on the things that truly matter. And our bling years were pretty hard on the environment. When I think of bling, I think of a big Escalade or Hummer with massive chrome rims. That image hardly makes me think we have much of a future. But now that the recession has dulled our appetite for bling, I think we have a much better chance of facing the challenges we must face.