品读Money Cant Buy Happiness. Er, Can It?-如果您是一个散文爱好者,一定不要错过我们的
MoneyCan"tBuyHappiness.Er,Canit?
金钱能够购买幸福吗？你说说看。经济学家的笔触也是很散文化的，读来动人......
MoneyCan"tBuyHappiness.Er,Canit?
ByPAULKRUGMAN
CAMBRiDGE,Mass.--Afewweeksagomywifeand
ifinallygaveintothepressuresofmodern
lifeandacquiredacellphone.Butitturned
outthatoncewehadthethingwehadafew
questions--questionswecouldn"tgetanswered,
becausecustomerservicewasswampedwith
similarcallsfromthethousandsofotherpeople
whohadrecentlysignedon.
Meanwhile,myparentsstartedcalling
contractorsaboutsomeminorworkontheirhouse
--onlytobetoldthateverycarpenterand
plumberintheareawasbookedwellintonext
year.
Talktoalmostanymiddle-CLASSAmerican,and
youwillhearsimilarstories--aboutpoor
service,excessivetraffic,overpricedhousing
andsoon.infact,thereseemstobeasortof
risingchorusofcomplaintsabouttheannoyances
ofprosperity--complaints,ineffect,that
spendinglotsofmoneyisn"tasgratifyingas
peopleexpectedittobe.Mostofthisispetty
stuff,butitisjustpossiblethatthechorus
ofcomplaintsmarksthebeginningofabroader
shiftinattitudes--ashiftthatwillbe
healthyifitdoesn"tcometooquickly.
Ofcourse,peopledon"tcomplainaboutthe
disappointmentsofprosperityunlesstheyare
prosperous,andinawayallthiswhiningisa
symptomofaremarkablysuccessfulerain
Americaneconomichistory.Still,youdon"thave
tobeanascetictowonderifthereisn"t
somethingabitmanicaboutthepaceofgetting
and--especially--spendinginfin-de-siècle
America.
Eventhedrystatisticssuggestthatsomethinga
littlestrangeisgoingon.Consider:wearenow
eightyearsintoaneconomicexpansion.Consumer
spendingtraditionallylagsbehindtheeconomy
asawholeinboomtimes,becausefamilies
figurethattimeswillnotalwaysbethatgood
andthattheyshouldsaveforarainyday.
Thistime,however,consumersareleadingthe
charge:whiletheeconomyexpandedanimpressive
4percentbetweenthefirstquarterof1998and
thefirstquarterof1999,consumptiongrew5.5
percent,andspendingonconsumerdurables--
cellphones,bathroomfixtures,S.U.V."sand
homeentertainmentsystems--surgedan
incredible12percent.
Thereareatleasttworeasonstoquestion
whetherAmerica"sconsumptionboomisreallya
goodthing.
Oneisthatbyconventionalstandards,the
typicalAmericanfamilyisbeingabit,well,
imprudentinspendingsomuch--indeed,
personalsavings,neverhighinthiscountry,
havenowdisappearedalmostcompletely.True,
millionsoffamilieshaveseentheirwealth
surgebecauseofasoaringstockmarket,but
whilemorepeoplethaneverownstock,most
stillhavenosignificantpersonalstakeinthe
market.
Youmightarguethatordinaryfamiliesare
spendingfreely,despitesluggishwagegrowth,
becausetheybelievethatprosperityishereto
stay.Butsurveyevidencesuggeststhatmany
workersremainnervousaboutjobsecurity,a共2页，当前第1页12※本文作者：佚名※
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