ConsumerismSergio Fernandez

Landon Patterson

Andrew Hatch

Jeff Rohrbach

Introduction of the Financial

Crisis

We continue to face a global economic

crisis that began in U.S markets in 2007.

Nearly 5 years later our economy is still

struggling to recover.

Has affected almost every country in the

world.

This is the first “Global Recession”

What Actually Caused the

Financial Crisis?

The following were the main reasons

markets collapsed in 2007:

Cheap Money

Lax Credit

Booming Housing Market

New Financial Products

Huge Enconomic Deficits

What I took from the

“Occupy” Experience

Gave me a notion of what people

actually understood, and what they

don’t.

I felt like many people didn’t really know

what the cause of the financial crisis was,

and just blamed it on Wall Street.

How do we begin to solve the

financial crisis?

Most viable solution would be for

Government to encourage businesses to

re-invest in the U.S. Economy through:

Hub Zones

Tax Breaks

Publicity

Inflow of cheap funds to money markets.

Great Pacific Garbage Patch

• Trash trapped by the North Pacific currents

• Pelagic plastics, chemical sludge, and other debris

• Estimated size: up to 5,800,000 sq. miles – 8.1% of the pacific ocean

• Located between 135 degrees W and 155 degrees W

What I learned

Most of the environmental issues we see

today can be linked to consumption

37 percent of species could become

extinct due to climate change

Our constant need for consumption has

led us to the current state of corporate

corruption

Occupy Wall Street

Reflection of Project

Connection of our consumerist culture

and current state of affairs

First hand view of Occupy Austin

Movement

Trash kills

We are the problem, not the CEOs.

Stop consuming, they don’t get paid

My Research

Global Financial Crisis of 2008

Financial gap between classes

Occupy Movements

Wide variety of opinions

What I learned

Financial Crisis did not affect just the

United States

Small steps in education can be the

solution

People are not willing to change

My Semester Research

Consumerism is caused by us

We cannot accept a simple life

Impossible to stop, we can only improve

Occupy Austin Experience

Starting to die down

Most people were just looking for

something to do

Some did have legitimate causes

Questions?