It's not a hobby. Children watch their parents chase the dollar sign, and maybe even see their parents break a few rules, or act unethically, to get ahead. That makes an impression. The clearest way to let someone know where you priorities lie is by your actions. Talk is cheap.
Many parents preach a good sermon, but live a life of accumulation at all costs.
Kids love their parents, and often want to be just like them. There is also a great deal of hostility generated in young people by being scapegoated for every social ill, and thus denied their civil rights. Then there is the news media, which loves the titillation of reporting on misbehaving kids. No, the media usually reserves their awful language of generalization for children. Children who are powerless to fight back, and sadly believe what they read.