If you’re so smart, why aren’t you rich?

Before you listen

Who do you think owns these two vehicles in the films below? Where do they live? What kind of
lifestyle do they have? Write down your ideas, then listen to find out if you were right.

ABC vis tekst

ABC vis tekst

Now do Getting the gist.

If you’re so smart, why aren’t you rich?

Some Americans think it isn’t good to base your life on money and buying things. They are anti-consumerist. Many other people think the opposite. They believe that the car you drive and what you own show the world whether you’ve made it, whether you’re a winner. Competing and being a winner is an important part of life in the USA.

The connection between status and money is an old one, and it certainly didn’t start in America. Buying and shopping have become an important part of people’s lives and identity all over the world, including here in Norway. But there’s one important difference in the USA: advertising has much greater influence. The message telling people to “Buy, buy, buy!” is everywhere. TV programmes, including the news, stop every few minutes for several long commercials. There are giant convenience stores selling everything you could imagine, and they’re open 7 days a week. If you have money in the USA, it’s easy to find a way to spend it.

Of course, some have more to spend than others. In the USA, there are bigger contrasts between the rich and the poor than in Norway. The very richest people, 1% of the population, own 40% of the nation’s wealth. Meanwhile, one in three children in the USA lives in poverty, according to UNICEF. Why isn’t America doing more to help poor families, you might be thinking. Part of the answer is political. Many Americans believe that you shouldn’t give money to the poor and that they only have themselves to blame. They don’t want the Federal or State governments to have too much power, either. America is built on the idea of the self-made man, but huge success for some comes at a price.