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The Lost Virtue of Thrift
To live in working-class and lower-income America today is to be surrounded by the debt culture. Need money? Get "EZ Cash" from your friendly neighborhood payday lender "in minutes!" It was not always this way. The deep commitment to thrift that once characterized our society would strike many Ameri...
How Early-20th-Century Americans Taught Their Kids to Be Thrifty
Americans Low Savings Rate A Bad Sign for Good Economy
Cleaning Up, Throwing Out
'Thrift,' by Andrew L. Yarrow
The Wisdom of 'Thrift'
Looking back at how today's 'sustainability' is really yesteryear's 'thrift'
Arguably the 21st century's most important ethical imperative – using resources wisely, or what many people call sustainability – traveled for much of American history under the name of "thrift" and for decades was formally celebrated each January by millions of American children and...
Kansas Thrift : An Appreciation and a Proposal
A national New Year's resolution: reducing our debt
While our $18 trillion gross federal debt is now larger than America's entire economy, at least as troubling is the nearly $12 trillion in debt that individuals and households have. The statistics are grim. While median assets have declined by a third since 2003 and are below those of 15 other count...
Bring back thrift
We live in a society in which too many who can save don't, and too many simply don't earn sufficient income to be able to save. Without savings, we are less able to take care of future needs, have less for the private and public investments necessary for a flourishing economy, are less able to provi...
A hidden time bomb: rising debt among the elderly
The aging of America bespeaks many medical triumphs but poses a host of difficult problems. Although in many ways it is a spectacular blessing that U.S. life expectancy at birth has risen from 47 to 78 years since 1900, and research has projected that babies born in recent years will live past 100, ...
Berlin boasts a wise use of food, while Americans deal with a wasteful mentality
The need is enormous. Studies suggest that at least 30-40 percent of food produced in the U.S. is wasted. The waste occurs at every level, from farm to fork to landfill. Americans likely waste about 50 percent more food per capita than we did in the 1970s, and food waste now costs our economy an est...
Thrift – Telling the Story of a Cultural Movement for Today
Andrew Yarrow discusses the fate of a national movement that responded to the industrial age and a nascent consumer society. This unique coalition of social forces inspired both reform of character and institutions – and has great significance for today.
Thrift in Early 20th-Century America and Today
The United States is not a thrifty nation and "thrift" is often seen as an antiquated value in a society in which consumption is encouraged and most Americans either don't or can't save money. But that was not always the case. In early 20th-century America, thrift was the rallying cry for many civic...
Thrift advocate: Kansas can claim novel savings idea
Teaching Thrift : A Curriculum
A curriculum for teaching thrift to high school students.
Evaluating Thrift
Thrift: Lesson of the 'Pete Pig' campaign relevant today
When you were a child, you probably had a piggy bank. Do you wonder who conceived this idea and what made piggy banks so popular? There's no single answer. For example, earthenware penny pigs were popular among British children in the late 19th century. But one important answer, at least in the U.S....
Race goes to the thrifty
To me, that's what thrift is all about. It's about practicing financial and social responsibility with an eye to the next generation. It combines traditional wisdom with innovation, and it demands diligence and dedication. Here in Philadelphia, this is Thrift Week - a celebration of industry, frugal...
Race goes to the thrifty
To me, that's what thrift is all about. It's about practicing financial and social responsibility with an eye to the next generation. It combines traditional wisdom with innovation, and it demands diligence and dedication. Here in Philadelphia, this is Thrift Week - a celebration of industry, frugal...