Onetime necessities aren't necessary these days [View All]

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Source: USA Today

Onetime necessities aren't necessary these days
BY SHARON JAYSON • USA TODAY • APRIL 27, 2009


A few years back, the list of "gotta-haves" for many Americans included a car, TV, microwave, home air conditioning and dishwasher.

Now, not so much.

A Pew Research Center survey released last week finds that the recession changed Americans' minds about many items that were considered necessities.

"Societal conditions have changed," says James Burroughs, associate professor of commerce at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. "In many ways, luxuries are learned in response to a changing environment."

The survey of 1,003 Americans conducted April 2-8 by telephone and cell phone finds that appliances such as a dishwasher or clothes dryer are considered more discretionary now. Just 21% (down from 35%) say a dishwasher is a necessity, and 66% say the same for a dryer (down from 83%). Still, the dryer ranked second on the necessity list in 2006 and 2009, following the car, which topped the list both years (91% in 2006, 88% today).

Read more: http://www.freep.com/article/20090427/FEATURES01/904270305