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Middle-class parents weigh the costs of getting their kids ahead
Podcast: Consume all of 'Consumed' in one sitting
Economic value check: How much is enough?
By the Numbers: Consumed Day 5
The cost for a "Front of the Line" pass at Universal Studios in Hollywood. A standard ticket will set you back: $84. (Universal Studios)
How many times more carbon pollution you create by booking a first class ticket over one in coach. (Washington Post)
The number of enrolled Harvard students who have taken Michael Sandel's class "Justice" over the years. Sandel studies the consumer economy, and he also wrote the book, "What Money Can't Buy". (EdX)
The amount of total consumer debt in the United States as of March 2013. That's down from its peak of $12.68 trillion in September of 2008 -- but it's is still at a much higher level than the early 2000's. (NY Fed)
Millennials face uncertain future with part-time work
How putting a price on something can change everything
Infographic: The consumer economy at a glance
Father of modern 401(k) says it fails many Americans
What do you 'need' today that you didn't have five years ago?
All week, we've been looking at the consumer economy as it stands today, and where it is (and should be) going in the future. In order to think about what it all means, we have to look at our own behavior. So we want to know: What do you feel like you absolutely need today that you didn't have five years ago?By the Numbers: Consumed Day 4
The year that Ted Benna, the father of our modern retirement fund system, stumbled upon an obscure add-on to tax code 401 -- otherwise known as the 401(k). (Marketplace)
The drop in the value of the average 401(k) plan tracked by Fidelity Investments during the financial crisis. (Reuters)
The amount the typical middle-class household nearing retirement has saved -- one-tenth what many say it needs. (Center for Retirement Research)
The age you are supposed to start saving for retirement by... and never stop. (Fidelity)
The number of acres the government offered homesteaders to go to Montana in the 1910s and start to farm. (Marketplace)
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For middle-class parents, raising children becomes a consumer arms race
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Middle-class parents weigh the costs of getting their kids ahead
Podcast: Consume all of 'Consumed' in one sitting
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Middle-class parents weigh the costs of getting their kids ahead
Podcast: Consume all of 'Consumed' in one sitting
You hear it a lot: For the economy to get better, we all have to spend more. Consumer confidence, consumer spending, consumer interest, consumer debt.... it's the consumer economy. But didn't spending too much get us in trouble a few years ago? Can we afford the consumer economy? Marketplace explores how we consume, what we get from it, what it costs, and whether we can keep it up.
