over spending in overindulgence on things they didn't need at all?Like a a giant sized stuffed animal from the flea market? or perhaps $200 bottle of imported wine? Stocking up those freezers with those portion controlled Weight Watchers gourmet frozen dinners? Maxing out those credit cards 5 or more at a time? Wining & Dining at restaurants more often than cooking? Eating out at fast food joints just because it's so cool & home cooking without all the work in your own kitchen by you? Those ridiculously enormous electronics such as extra large stereo speakers, super size television since large is supposed to better?How about buying a $60,000+ car when you only have $100,000 and not getting another penny more unless you of course invest it.Do you think a lot of people who over spent, over indulged unnecessarily taking life for granted simply because the 1980's economy was soaring far above the recession in the 1970's were secretly unhappy and insecure that they needed to fill up their lives with too much expensive junk and maybe prove they aren't broke just to get a name for themselves?Or perhaps they were just too vain and turned on blind eye over what was really important?If people in the 1980's had kept the recession of the 1970's in mind and enjoyed economy the way they couldn't back in the 1970's by enjoying enough but without over spending and over indulging unnecessarily such as a $5000.00+ super size television do you think the ecomony would still be at it's top notch like it was in the 1980's?

no it was a deliberate property and credit bubble that was allowed to burst. the boom bust cycle is a very profitable system for the elite classes. its unnecessary and it shouldn't be happening to us but we don't understand it and see it for what it is, debt-ism/debt slavery.but you are right, we were encouraged to live beyond our means until the whole thing collapsed but it was the banks and people like alan greenspan that told everyone that all the credit was ok, they actually said it was good..."spend yourselves rich" they said.

you mean the "Yuppies" ........yep!!!

Yes! You are the Grand Prize Winner! Yes, that is exactly why we are in he soup we are in Today.. We have lived way beyond our income for too many years.Now our Government thinks the solution to the current economic crisis is to throw more gasoline on the fire. This will not put out the fire, it will only cause the fire to burn further and further out of control.

That maybe part of it but more it's the deregulation that Regan instituted that has cause this mess.