The "Consumer Economy" Was Always a Mockery

"The "consumer economy" was always a mockery. No serious economist ever suggested that you could get richer by consuming wealth. But that didn't make consumerism unpopular. The more people consumed, the more GDP went up. GDP measures output, not wealth creation; but who could tell the difference? In a cartoon economy - no one. Besides, spending made people feel as though they were getting richer." (Emphasis added.)

I have long argued against consumption, especially based on credit, not because I'm an economist, but because I am not. Spending to become rich is as stupid as overeating to become thin. 

Here's a brief article that ties in personal spending, bogus financing of "cartoon" houses and government policy leading to the current recession in a nifty 5 minutes of reading.