Priorities [econ]
The amount of LOL Kitteh talk has triggered an issue related to the care and feeding of kittens across the nation.
Discretionary income is just that: discretionary. People should spend their money on whatever they like. That’s how capitalism works.
Still, it baffles me that Americans are willing to spend so much money on their pets. In 2007, over $41.2 Billion was poured into pets (e.g. on live pet purchases, pet food, pet supplies, OTC drugs, and veterinary care). And the pet industry expects a 4% growth trend in 2008 despite the nation’s economic woes.
Of course, a number in the billions is fairly meaningless. After all, there are a lot of people and a lot of pets, right? To make the number meaningful, a comparison to federal spending priorities in 2007 might be useful:
- $89.9 billion (+1.3%) - Education and training
- $76.9 billion (+8.1%) - Transportation
- $72.6 billion (+5.8%) - Veterans’ benefits
- $43.5 billion (+9.2%) - Administration of Justice
- [$41.2 billion - Consumer spending on Pet Food and Care]
- $33.1 billion (+5.7%) - Natural resources and environment
- $32.5 billion (+15.4%) - Foreign affairs
- $27.0 billion (+3.7%) - Agriculture
- $26.8 billion (+28.7%) - Community and regional development
- $25.0 billion (+4.0%) - Science and technology
That this number is even in the ballpark of federal spending in these areas is shocking to me. Nice to know that the federal government spends a bit more than twice on education what people shell out for their pets and a few shillings more running the entire Department of Justice and Federal Judiciary. If you break it out, the Federal Judiciary got a paltry $6.26 billion in 2007, about a third of what people spent on feeding their pets alone.
That’s a hell of a lot of money for the occasionally brilliant LOLcatz picture. I wonder what Obama, Clinton, and McCain have to say about rising pet product consumption while the government contemplates bail-outs for those who can’t pay mortgages (at least the Dems give lip service to that idea)? Dare any candidate risk speaking out against Fluffy? I doubt it… Not with PETA lurking in the background.