{"product_id":"in-cheap-we-trust-the-story-of-a-misunderstood-american-virtue-9780316030298","title":"In Cheap We Trust: The Story of a Misunderstood American Virtue","description":"Cheap suit. Cheap date. Cheap shot. It's a dirty word, an epithet laden with negative meanings. It is also the story of Lauren Weber's life. As a child, she resented her father for keeping the heat at 50 degrees through the frigid New England winters and rarely using his car's turn signals-to keep them from burning out. But as an adult, when she found herself walking 30 blocks to save $2 on subway fare, she realized she had turned into him. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In this lively treatise on the virtues of being cheap, Weber explores provocative questions about Americans' conflicted relationship with consumption and frugality. Why do we ridicule people who save money? Where's the boundary between thrift and miserliness? Is thrift a virtue or a vice during a recession? And was it common sense or obsessive-compulsive disorder that made her father ration the family's toilet paper? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In answering these questions, \u003ci\u003eIn Cheap We Trust\u003c\/i\u003e offers a colorful ride through the history of frugality in the United States. Readers will learn the stories behind Ben Franklin and his famous maxims, Hetty Green (named \"the world's greatest miser\" by the \u003ci\u003eGuinness Book of Records\u003c\/i\u003e) and the stereotyping of Jewish and Chinese immigrants as cheap. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Weber also explores contemporary expressions and dilemmas of thrift. From Dumpster-diving to economist John Maynard Keynes's \"Paradox of Thrift\" to today's recession-driven enthusiasm for frugal living, \u003ci\u003eIn Cheap We Trust\u003c\/i\u003e teases out the meanings of cheapness and examines the wisdom and pleasures of not spending every last penny.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Back Bay Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/11\/2010\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780316030298\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 310\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.67lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.25h x 5.50w x 1.00d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eChristian Century\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/19\/2010 pg. 56\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/28\/2010 pg. 28\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Lauren Weber","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":36635967520924,"sku":"9780316030298","price":18.69,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_964790f3-a353-4f7c-8242-25edf11821c9.jpg?v=1603841026","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/in-cheap-we-trust-the-story-of-a-misunderstood-american-virtue-9780316030298","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}