Ideas? - Rampant consumerism (seeking material goods with no ability to afford them)

"Rampant consumerism (seeking material goods without the ability to afford them) is one of the main causes for the current global economic crisis. Restraining consumerism remains a key task for developed countries like the US and Western Europe." What are your views?

This is a very powerful statement. I would explore the many reasons why this society is so materialistic. The government and the media control consumer behavior more than ever. Credit cards have been readily available for years, and loans allow people to buy what they cannot afford. Many people take on more debt than they can repay, causing recession and depression. This depression leads some people to seek medical help (commercials on TV tell people to do this all the time) So the depressed people get fed medication that they may/may not need-- and the drug companies make so much money from this. Companies like Wal-mart cause people to think that they are saving a great amount of money, but if only they knew the details-- wal-mart is one of the richest companies worldwide, and their profits go into the CEO's pockets, not back into the economy. The media is always telling us that we need something new or better, when usually what we already have is just fine. "Restraining consumerism" seems like the exact opposite of what our country is doing (USA). I do not see the government trying to encourage us to clip coupons, re-use things, shop at thrift stores, reduce waste, fix a broken item instead of buying it brand new... they just want us to spend, spend, spend...