by Nathan Dungan. Wiley.
According to the Vanier Institute of the Family, in the past decade the debt per household for Canadian families has advanced by 45 per cent, with a debt to income ratio currently at 145 per cent. At the same time, there has been a steady decline in the savings rate in the past two decades. (The current recession did see the saving rate move from two per cent to five per cent, but it is still significantly less than it was a decade ago.)
Add to this a new report, A Canadian Culture of Generosity by Cardus, a think tank on social innovation, which shows “that while many Canadians are very generous, the great majority of citizens donated very little or nothing thoughout the year.” Cardus found 10 per cent of givers account for two-thirds of all charitable donations. In addition “many who have the means to give do not appear to give much.”
In his book, Nathan Dungan has written a compelling argument for the connections between increased debt load, decreased saving, minimal philanthropy and our society’s obsession with consumption. He argues that from a young age we are bombarded with messages to start spending and never stop. These messages have us struggling to differentiate between the things we need and those we want and too easily embracing debt to get both.
His book argues that we need to go back to first principles when it comes to money — teaching our youth to share, save and spend. He offers practical ways for us to ensure that our financial habits reflect our values. He sees a role for the church to “inspire young people to question the social implications of blatant consumer manipulation.” He argues that it is time for our values, rather than peer pressure and advertising, to drive our decisions around consumption. “By adjusting our priorities, we can both help more people through sharing and help ourselves by clarifiying the role money plays in our lives.”
