Not to mention politicians, lifetime welfare recipients, trial lawyers, judges, bureaucrats, sidewalk superintendents, drifters and assorted grifters....
Most people think Americans consume too much, but I think there is a reason for all of that. I think a lot of people are careful with their money. There are many new expenses that just did not exist in 1950. Real estate taxes are a lot now. Health care has become so much more expensive and a college degree can set you back by anywhere from 50-100K. with all these expenses that are a must, people are always working and for stress relief, they spend yet again on stuff and vacations. They also tried to build assets as in homes, to pay for their college loans, and medical bills, and that did not work out too well. The core reason is inflation in health care, education and real estate taxes.
It is not. A small number of individuals with access to pools of money from insurance companies and pension funds could get filthy rich by doing buyouts and takeovers and offshoreing manufacturing, and by buying off anyone who might have stopped them, they did. They have reduced the average wage which means that American workers earn less to spend AND since America no longer makes what the world wants to buy there the currency becomes devalued. It was/is a tragedy of the Commons thing like overfishing and overgrazing.