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There is an epidemic sweeping the U.S. at an amazing pace. The epidemic is a disease known as affluenza. Affluenza is contagious and difficult to live with. Affluenza can bring stress, debt, bankruptcy, and problems with relationships. Some people have a different vision of affluenza. Most people believe that affluenza is a rich person’s disease. Although affluenza is a rapidly growing and contagious disease, it can be cured and even prevented. There are many symptoms to catch affluenza.
One symptom of affluenza is the rate of growing bankruptcy. Many families would usually build up debt and then declare bankruptcy. In 1980, more people declare bankruptcy than graduated from college. The reason for these rash bankruptcies are simply credit cards because credit card companies are bringing additional credit to the consumer. Consumers get credit cards either because you have to “pay now and pay later” or because of the low introductory rate. Credit card companies usually raise these rates up before the consumer pays off their purchases. In 1995, Americans used to own over a billion credit cards.
Affluenza can cause problems in relationships. It’s usually happens in families as it can cause families to become “fractured”. This means that families don’t connect with each other inside or outside the house, or they don’t interact. Affluenza consumes families and they probably didn’t know it.
Another symptom of affluenza is materialism. How does materialism bring affluenza? The answer is too many advertisements and sometimes false advertisements. Marketers tend to use a lot of information about their products that consumers have to listen to just to get them to buy their product. One statistic that researchers tested was that Americans by the age of twenty will have seen over a million commercials. Whether it be watching commercials or driving past them on the expressway, consumers can’t get away from...