Quote of the Day (Robert J. Samuelson, on Americans’ Susceptibility to Advertising)

“Essentially, Americans are like the dog on the racetrack chasing the mechanical rabbit always just ahead. Americans always want a bigger car, for example, or a car with leather upholstery, or a GPS device or a DVD player in the back seat. It’s a familiar cycle that turns luxuries into necessities.”—Economist Robert J. Samuelson, “A Conversation With Robert J. Samuelson: Inflation Rules,” in The American Interest, January/February 2009, interviewed by Adam Garfinkle (excerpt only on Web site)

(Amid a longer—and equally interesting—discussion of how the hyperinflation of the Seventies led to the disinflation of the next quarter-century, which in turn led to our current crisis, Samuelson pauses to reflect on advertising and its influence on Americans’ thriftless behavior.)