There are some people in the United States who do not buy into the idea that they should keep buying more and more. What headline might convince them to keep shopping? Here is one option (the headline is from the front page, the headline on the full post linked here is different):

Americans have a whole system going to keep buying things. Hoping to earn enough to have disposable income. Access to cheap goods and services. Financial options that extend buying power (credit cards and more). Large houses to store stuff. The status that comes with owning a lot or having certain items. It is easy to throw stuff away and buy a replacement. And so on. To be American is to live in a consumerist society.

So when there are big sales or deals, who can pass them up? Even if you do not want to spend or acquire, the system rolls on.

It is difficult to resist. To simply make individual choices to opt out requires ongoing choices and strong willpower. We see, hear, and experience endless ads. We see shopping everywhere and spending money is made as frictionless as possible. It would be better to resist consumerism within families and communities that reduce the pressure to consume, that focus on other activities and other goals. A good life does not require high levels of consumerism.

What might happen if large numbers of Americans opt out of these calls to consume? Imagine Prime Day comes and goes without sizable jumps in sales. Or the Thursday after Thanksgiving is an ongoing opportunity to express gratitude and spend time with family. Or if Christmas was a holiday and not a month long exercise in buying. What tactics would be used then to encourage consuming? What might happen to the time we spend together?