Because rampant consumerism isn&#x27;t the issue. Most families <i>are</i> responsible with their money. Their greatest expense? Rent&#x2F;mortgage which is pushed up by:<p>1. bankers issuing insane amounts of debt that out-pace wages<p>2. speculators borrowing from said banks to &quot;invest&quot; in pushing up living costs for families (ie people like MMM)<p>The media loves to portray people as feckless idiots but the real problem is economic rent extraction by people who are adding zero value to society. That is the rentier - they generate no wealth merely appropriate it.