Americans should be encouraged to spend more money on experiences rather than stuff. It's better for them and it's better for the local economy, especially after the COVID devastation.
"Go to the theatre / concert / game / etc more often" is a similar statement to "buy less stuff" but it has much different connotations.
They're expensive because they are provided by humans. Almost all "stuff" is built by machines and robots with very minimal human involvement. That's what makes them cheap in comparison.
It has more to do with supply and demand than cost of production (except for commodities). It's especially true for luxury goods (even robot made luxury goods) and experiences.
Sorry mate, the fact that you could ever consider a consistent $100/day wage to be poverty trumps the OP for the most spoilt, uninformed comment - on any forum - I have ever seen.
You've totally misread the comment you're replying to. The person described is not money-poor, but time-poor and energy-poor. These people can afford experiences but given their lifestyle, it isn't really feasible to partake in them compared to buying things like a new TV or phone.
I think you'll find high-income finance/law/medicine/entrepeneur types are even more time and energy constrained. Yet, I doubt the poster would be bleating about them.
There is a nasty polemic (especially prevalent on HN) that any possible advice about personal choices must be from some racially-narrow, empathy-lacking urbane perspective.
And the poster also suggests that coloured folk can neither perceive, nor possibly comment that that a group of largely overweight, sedentary, reasonably affluent people stuck to 70" TVs shouldn't perhaps just go for a walk.
"Go to the theatre / concert / game / etc more often" is a similar statement to "buy less stuff" but it has much different connotations.