The Consumer Society 17-2

The Consumer Society Buying spree – Higher wages – Shorter hours – Shifting attitude Thrift and prudence  eager consumers

Easy Consumer Credit Credit – Debt shameful before 1920s – Buy now and pay in easy installments – 75% of radio and 60% of cars were purchased on installment plans – Many people buy stuff on credit, but don’t have the income to back it up

Mass Advertising Otto Rohwedder – Sliced bread in 1928 ADs – Progress, convenience, leisure, success, and style – Insecurities, anxieties

The Managerial Revolution Company divisions – Sales, marketing, accounting – Run by managers Freed up executives Expanded middle class – Relied on technology Engineers in demand – Middle class

Welfare Capitalism Industrial workers = more disposable income – Stock Profit sharing Medical care and pensions

Decline of Unions Influence and membership down Open shops More benefits More income Higher quality of life

Uneven Prosperity African Americans and women lost WWI jobs Native Americans granted citizenship in 1924, but isolated on reservations with little economic opportunities European immigrants—mostly farmers and factory workers with low wages Deep South—agriculture

The Farm Crisis Farmers earned less than 1/3 of the average American’s income Technological advances – Fertilizers – Seed varieties – Machines – Allowed more production, but supply is too high and the price is too low – Tech expensive. Farmers in debt

Changing Market Conditions “Quiet depression” During WWI  food in high demand – Farmers encouraged to take out loans to buy new tech After WWI  Europeans farming again – European debt affects Am exports Fordney-McCumber Act (1922) raised tariffs – Provoked a negative reaction aginst Am agriculture

Helping Farmers McNary-Haugen Bill—gov’t buys surpluses, selling at a loss overseas – Passed 2x – Coolidge vetoed both times Said encouraged farmers to overproduce