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14.2 A Consumer Economy Consumer Economy: Economy that depends on consumers buying goods Why such success? Higher wages for workers Advertising New products to purchase CREDIT available Buying on Credit installment plan Customer makes partial payment (installments) at set intervals over a period of time until debt is paid This led many Americans into debt for the first time Electric Power: Mostly in cities (new appliances) Few farms had electricity G.E. (General Electric) Advertising Competition for customers From info on product to focus on image Rise in Productivity Gross National Product (GNP): total value of goods and services a country produces annually Ford and the Automobile 1st car was in Germany in the 1880s Ford and the Model “T” Sold 30,000 by 1908 Ford’s Assembly Line Adapted the assembly line: worker does one specialized task made it more efficient and cheaper: $390 for a car in 1911 However, Ford’s cars were plain and boring in style Ford was a man of paradoxes: could be generous but also strict and unreasonable Industrial Growth New businesses Garages, car dealerships, motels, campgrounds, gas stations, restaurants Steel, rubber, glass, leather manufacturing/factories Overall, businesses grew in size and wealth Competition grew, while monopolies declined Economic Problems Unskilled laborers/factory workers were still living in poverty Farmers suffered greatly during the 1920s Prices for wheat and hogs fell, pushing many farmers into poverty