Running head: AFFLUENZA EPIDEMIC

Manuel Rivera Affluenza Epidemic LAS401: Senior Seminar Integrative Experience Siena Heights University 3/29/2013

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Affluenza, as the book states is a painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety, and waster resulting from the dogged pursuit of more. Within this paper I will be discussing the causes, symptoms, and affects of affluenza on a particularly affected member of my family to showcase how this disease is placing a strong emphasis on material things instead of the people in their lives, like friends and family. The person I will be discussing is my brother Ruben. The Cause: My brother, sister and I were raised by a single mother, who worked many long and hard hours to provide a low-income living; to say that we grew up poor would be an understatement. We stood in line at the Salvation Army during Christmas time to get our free bag of toys and were on government assistance. This early history has lent itself, and most would say the reason, to his behavior of overcompensation in buying the best for his family. The Symptoms: My brother is 36 years old and is an electrician with Consumers Energy. He easily clears $100k every year and is the type of person who makes sure you know it. His spending habits changed when his salary started to increase. Going out to dinner and buying jewelry became commonplace. It was not unheard of for him to spend $40 on dinner but leave a $50 tip; he always said this was because he wanted people to know that he was well off. He often said that he works hard, so he should be able to play hard. Working 16-hour shifts became a common occurrence. In the beginning, I used to think my brother had a very strong work ethic because of the amount of time he spent working. I thought that his dedication was something that I could aspire to and that he loved his job so much that he would pick up shifts to help out the company when they were short workers. I now know, this was just the first symptom of Affluenza. When people

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start to work more because they are either living out of their means or because they are trying to keep up with the Joneses. Unfortunately, my brother was doing both. The first year of his employment with Consumers Energy, he bought a nice 1000sqft home just down the street from where we grew up. The house was modest with three bedrooms, one bathroom, on a acre lot. He and my sister-in-law got married that year and spent over $20k on the wedding (according to him which he constantly reminded people of), not including their honeymoon to The Bahamas. Once they returned, he bought both of them new cars, a new boat, and a camper trailerdid I mention that he didnt even have a garage? Three years after this routine of working overtime, buying the newest toys, my sister-in-law found out she was expecting twins. Now, most people would take this as a sign to start spending responsibly as you now have more mouths to feed. My brother took this as a sign to buy a larger house. He bought a 3500sgft, 5 bedroom, 2 bath, quad-level house on 3 acres. Once thought to be a measure of his success (monetary), now I understand that this was just another symptom of his affluenza as he purchased more and more things to fill his new home. My brother has the kind of affluenza that affects the person to buy material possessions for his children; his children have become the ultimate symbol of his affluenza success. Dressed in head-to-toe designer clothes, all three having iPhones (they are two six year olds and one eleven year old), laptop computers, and a family room filled with toys and video games. My brother has been overcompensating, almost his entire adult life, because he is ashamed of the meager beginning that we came from. He is constantly trying to run from a past that did not have much money, but I never knew we were poor. We had enough to eat, we played outside with neighbor kids, we had bikes, and we grew up with our cousins. Nothing about our shared childhood would have ever lead me to believe that we were poor. I guess it just goes to show you

AFFLUENZA EPIDEMIC that even if two people are raised the same way, they can have very different values and experiences that shape who the become. The Affects: Affluenza has taken quite a toll on my brothers health, marriage, and the

upbringing of his children. My brothers physical health has deteriorated over the years because of the long hours he spends at work. His coworkers are all men in their 50s whom are all overweight and divorced. Ordering take-out food every night is typical and even though Consumers offers a gym for their employees, he has never taken advantage of it, due in large part because he would have to punch out of work to use it; the almighty dollar is what drives him. He has diabetes and high-blood pressure because of the affluenza lifestyle. His constant need to make sure he makes lots of money to keep buying things that he thinks will fill some void in himself is slowly killing him. His marriage has been on the rocks for the past six or so years. He works so much that he doesnt have time to spend with his family but instead buys gifts and assumes that the gifts will make up for him not being there. His wife unfortunately suffers from affluenza as well. She puts the kids in dance classes and buys them anything they want. The kids are growing up with affluenza as though it is part of their lifestyle instead of a disease. The children have no concept of community, charity, or compassion. My nephew once told me that people are homeless because they didnt want to work hard enough. He is six. The affects of the disease have rotted the very foundation of kids lives to the point that I am not sure if they can recover. The kids are just another example of the new generation of kids who feel they are entitled to everything instead of working for them or being appreciative for what they have. Conclusion: The Affluenza disease started for my brother from a childhood shame of being poor. Though American success (monetary) has touched him, his personal wealth is much more

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than the average American, his marriage is on the rocks, his children do not understand nor appreciate the small things of life like playing outside, and his health failing, he continues to work 5-6 days a week with at least 4 of them being 16-hour shifts. This disease will one day consume the very existence of him and many other people (not just Americans). It will leave a lasting debt that future generations will struggle or fail to pay off. The legacy of this disease is just as damaging as the epidemic of illiteracy, obesity, and AIDS.

AFFLUENZA EPIDEMIC References

de Graf, J., Wann, D., & Naylor, T. (2005). Affluenza: The all consuming epidemic. (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. DOI: www.bkconnection.com