"An 'illusion of affluence' had been created. Indeed, 60% of Americans earned below the poverty level" (Danzer).
Consumerism
The 1920's were dubbed the "Roaring Twenties" because on the surface, there appeared to be economic prosperity. Modern advertising pushed consumers to buy more products that they could not afford. For this very reason, installment plans were put in place, which served much like credit cards do today. Many used these plans to satisfy myriad expenditures, resulting in massive amount of debt. Though consumerism grew, expenses were unprecedented, and caused many more economic problems.
Income Gap
Prosperity also proved to be false due to the income gap between the upper class and the lower class. "The top 1% of wealthy Americans saw their incomes increase by 75% during the 1920's - an amazing and roaring success for sure. The other 99% of Americans saw their income increase by only 9% - a healthy increase, but nothing close to the wealthy elites, and not enough to justify the huge expenditures on consumer products that most Americans were making" (Danzer).
Consumerism
The 1920's were dubbed the "Roaring Twenties" because on the surface, there appeared to be economic prosperity. Modern advertising pushed consumers to buy more products that they could not afford. For this very reason, installment plans were put in place, which served much like credit cards do today. Many used these plans to satisfy myriad expenditures, resulting in massive amount of debt. Though consumerism grew, expenses were unprecedented, and caused many more economic problems.
Income Gap
Prosperity also proved to be false due to the income gap between the upper class and the lower class. "The top 1% of wealthy Americans saw their incomes increase by 75% during the 1920's - an amazing and roaring success for sure. The other 99% of Americans saw their income increase by only 9% - a healthy increase, but nothing close to the wealthy elites, and not enough to justify the huge expenditures on consumer products that most Americans were making" (Danzer).
The top one percent were claiming almost 25% of income by 1928, leaving very little for the other 99%. While the rich were rolling in the dough, so to speak, the poor were making barely enough to get by, and they borrowed money to spend on consumer products, putting them in debt. This imbalance between the top 1% and the rest of the nation was ultimately the reason for false prosperity, and led the American economy into turmoil. False prosperity was the contributing factor to the Stock Market Crash of 1929.