Prosperity Paradox

When will Americans stop loving stuff?

Topics

Consumerism

Can you guess what industry is among the fastest-growing in the U.S.? Self-storage. A self-storage industry newsletter reported in March 2018 that self-storage boasts an annual industry revenue of $38 billion. American storage facilities number between 44,000 and 52,000, offering around 2.3 billion square feet of rentable space.

And when we are no longer able to store all our stuff, we simply throw it out. Treehugger.com reports that every American generates 4.4 pounds of trash daily. In fact, we spend more on trash bags than scores of other countries spend on everything!

Richard M. DellOrfano spent ten years on a cross-country pilgrimage following Christ’s instruction to minister without possessions. He is completing his autobiography: Path Perilous, My Search for God and the Miraculous.

From The Narthex

More Frank Dialogue

In recent posts I contested the “dignity deniers” Ruth Macklin and Steven Pinker. I noted…

Meet Daniel S. Dickinson, Statesman & Poet

In June of this year I had the pleasure of addressing the annual reunion of…

Outrage and Serenity

From time to time, I’ve told people that outrage is the proper response to the…