“Doing More, Spending Less”

That’s what New York Times Damien Cave reports many Americans are now doing (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/business/economy/03experience.html).

Cave writes, “Quietly but noticeably over the past year, Americans have rejiggered their lives to elevate experiences over things.  Because of the Great Recession, a recent New York Times/CBS poll has found, nearly half of Americans said they were spending less time buying nonessentials, and more than half are spending less money in stores and online.

 “But Americans are not just getting by with less.  They are also doing more.

 “Some are working longer hours, but a larger proportion, the poll shows, are spending additional time with family and friends, gardening, cooking, reading, watching television and engaging in other hobbies.”

  Cave cites evidence such as a Department of Labor survey that shows, “compared with 2005, Americans spent less time in 2008 buying goods and services and more time cooking or taking part in ‘organizational, civic and religious activities.’” Even the Walt Disney Company has experienced a drop in product sales but “a three percent increase in visitors last quarter.”

 Obviously this isn’t all good news.  Cave notes, for example, that retailers are hurting.  And the change may or may not be transformational.  But for the moment, this is a promising trend.  As Cave reports, “Psychologists have been saying for years that shared experiences like vacations lead to more long-term happiness.”  Cave’s interviewees seem to back that up, saying things such as “’Now I am having fun working on projects around the house, even if it’s just pulling weeds or taking my dog, Amos, for a long walk.’”

 I find this article very encouraging.  First, it illustrates the adaptability of the American people.  Give them a lemon – far less spending money – and many (not all) turn it into lemonade.  Second, it is another example of the old cliché about necessity mothering invention.  Necessity is breathing down our necks, and we need some really big inventions, but Cave’s reporting shows a widespread cultural capacity for moving toward solutions that can, in fact, lead to much more long term national happiness.  The time is clearly right for the GNH movement to take hold, and take off.

by Ginny Sassaman