Consumer Finance:Consumerism - Now & Then

Fahzy Abdul-RahmanFamily Resource Management Extension Specialist

2010 New Mexico Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (NMAFCS) Annual Meeting

April 10, 2010 - 45 minutes

Consumerism - Now & Then

Once Upon a Time ...

The Jungle (1906) book by Upton Sinclair

Roosevelt: “That bad?”

The Jungle (1906)• "There would be meat that had tumbled out on the

floor, in the dirt and sawdust, where the workers had tramped and spit uncounted billions of consumption germs. There would be meat stored in great piles in rooms; and the water from leaky roofs would drip over it, and thousands of rats would race about on it. It was too dark in these storage places to see well, but a man could run his hand over these piles of meat and sweep off handfuls of the dried dung of rats. These rats were nuisances, and the packers would put poisoned bread out for them; they would die, and then rats, bread, and meat would go into the hoppers together."

Mr. President, it’s 100 x worse

President John F. Kennedy

• Consumer Bill of Rights (1962), are the following:

1. right to safety; 2. right to be informed; 3. right to choose; and 4. right to be heard.5. rights to education6. right to service

• E.g.: In Banking industry - Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Truth in Lending Act, and Fair Credit Billing Act.

Rachel Carson - Silent Spring (1960s)

EPA; ↓ DDT, lead and cancer-causing agents

Ralph Nader

1980s - 2000

StagnantDeregulation Reaganomics

NOW

1. Banking & Credit Card

• Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009– Enforce date: February 22, 2010– $15 billion in penalty fees– 80 percent of American families have a credit card,

and– 44 percent of families carry a balance on their

credit cards

2. Car Safety

3. Worker’s Rights

“I aimed at the heart and … hit the stomach”

3. Worker’s Rights

4. Consumerism

• The Next Wave of Consumerism

• Marketing– Segment markets– Make consumers sit and

listen!– Ordinary items

Elderly: Past vs. Present

Remember the Jungle?

Other “Muckrackers” – as coined by Roosevelt: • Lincoln Steffens details municipal corruption in his

book Shame of the Cities– Led to legislation that crippled the political machines

dominating the major cities in the early 20th century. • Ida Tarbell writings on Standard Oil Company, – Led to the break up of that company and other monopolies

• David Graham Phillip's Treason of the Senate created a public outcry – Led to direct election of senators

Who are Today’s Muckrackers?20

06

Consumers in Control

• Blogs• Reviews, Complaints: Forums, blogs, twitter• Designs: Soda, NikeID

Example

• Forums• YouTube: “DEBTORS UPDATE: BANK

OF AMERICA RESPONDS!!!” > 200,000 hits– Ratings– Comments– Response by the affected party

• Bank of America to End Debit Overdraft Fees (nytimes.com 03/10/2010)

New Challenges – New Solutions

Adapting to These Changes1. Start listening - more2. Become part of the community you serve3. Stop being experts, start being interesting4. Find your higher purpose– Give but still profitable

5. Embrace the chaos

New Challenges – New Solutions

Consumerism: Now & Then

Fahzy Abdul-RahmanFamily Resource Management Extension Specialist

2010 New Mexico Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (NMAFCS) Annual Meeting

April 10, 2010 - 45 minutes