I walk the streets in some of the poorest neighborhoods in downtown L.A. everyday. A large portion of the communities don't have a pot to piss in but the majority of the people drive nice cars and blab away on cell phones. Priorities?
yes, this is an amazing phenomonum that is not limited to just the US: for example in Italy it is quite common now that young unmarried men in their 20s and 30s live at home with their moms so they can afford an expensive car (as well as expensive clothes)
or visit a US trailer park where about half the residents are actually poor and the other half have a corvette and BMW or Dodge pickup or something similar parked next to the trailer -- often the car is worth more than the home!!