Welcome to the Machine: America and Money

I wrote a while ago of my first brush with America's financial system as a fresh-off-the-boat expat applying for a credit card. Thanks to a career over-indexed on financial services, however, my experiences with the world's largest economy run broader. These have only deepened in the last couple of years building a life in the country, but continue to leave me perplexed on more than one count.

Of my subsequent wanderings, I find the average American's attitude vis-à-vis the stock market the most peculiar. One might verily imagine investors lining up outside the door given its extraordinary breadth (in offerings), depth (of liquidity) and information access (implying transparency). Yet, in reality, retail participation in the NYSE-Nasdaq is unlikely to make India's NSE jealous. Broader still, it appears linked to the outlook around Money.

Some facts for starters. Wealth-accumulation is, in many ways, an inveterate part of the 'American dream'. Next, unlike the land of my birth, inflation has mostly been in check since the Supply Shocks of the 70s. Finally, median incomes have almost doubled in the period. Statistics, therefore, point to significant investible surpluses. Yet, reams can rightly be written about burgeoning US household debt as much as the general disaffection of its populace in matters financial. It takes us back squarely to saving discipline.

To unravel this, consider an analogy from another bane of modern human existence, namely lack of fitness. Be it a shudh desi tond or American overweight, we know that exercise is key. Indeed, that rush of endorphins at the end of a workout is the glow of champions. Watch what happens next, as the hungry, proud-as-Punch body heads out to eat. How often do we overestimate calories burned; gorge on 2X the amount we typically need; and feel no qualms therefrom? And then we bemoan fitness levels, go jumping from one fancy exercise plan or fad diet to another, and hurtle towards the eventuality of a large medical bill.

Just as the gap between calories burned and replenished drives success in a weight-loss regimen, so a saving habit determines financial well-being. So why the proclivity for conspicuous consumption that fells the average American? Answers are at hand. Akin to the rush post a rigorous workout, income growth also stokes an increased propensity to spend. Cast under its 'have-earned-this' spell, Americans splurge guiltlessly on indulgences. Luxuries of today turn into necessities of tomorrow, and wallets continuously seek new extravagances to feed the sense of entitlement. A social-media-centric existence plays no small part in this frenzy, with lifestyle expectations driven by peer benchmarks, resulting in a vicious dance of debt.

Culturally overindexed on wealth, America can only be happy when the cycle of overcompensating rising income with indiscriminate consumption breaks. The solution is obvious, but fundamental. From chasing the tangible and easy (spending), the Average Joe or Jane needs to be inspired towards the intangible and difficult (saving, directed towards goal-focused investment). Apps that demystify wealth by making its creation and tracking ubiquitous shall pave the way. Celebrate, therefore, the tingle of income more than the whoosh of the credit card, virgin or otherwise, as the real money machine. Godspeed.