Keeping Down With the Jones'

"Keeping up with the Jones'" has been a part of our vernacular for many years now. Basically, it implies we are trying to emulate, if not compete, with others of a higher social status. It is this train of thought that powers the purchase of the latest high-tech toys, fashions and automobiles because we don't want to seemingly fall behind, which is somewhat understandable to a degree, but I fear this has become an overpowering mindset in a lot of what we do today.

To illustrate, I used to regularly attend my neighborhood homeowners association meetings regularly. Inevitably, our budgets were increased each passing year which, of course, meant higher dues. Whenever you challenged the board of directors about the high fees, they would say something like, "Well, so-and-so association (representing another affluent neighborhood) is paying a lot more than we are." I never understood the logic in this argument. Just because someone else doesn't know how to manage their financial resources, do we have to follow suit?

You see this in other places as well. For example, whenever someone complains about the high price of gasoline, some idiot counters by saying, "Well, overseas they are paying more than double than what we are." Maybe I missed the memo, but since when does two wrongs make a right?

Whenever you argue about such phenomenon, someone will inevitably say sarcastically, "Oh, so you can't afford it can you?" (nudge, nudge, wink, wink). No, I just don't understand incompetence. Instead of taking control of a situation and controlling our own destiny, we seem content to just go along for the ride. Under this scenario, we're not keeping up with the Jones', we're keeping down with them. I guess misery loves company.