BC,...I'm not opposed to moderation. It's one thing to provide for your family as you are doing. It's another thing to turn your family into consumerist zombies. But I'm ain't having any kids so I'm not too worried about that.
snipelfritz wrote:warwick.hoy wrote:I'm basically just saying that you don't need a Mercedes, an H2 to haul your yacht, a 60 inch flatscreen 1080p TV, a giant opulent McMansion, a trophy wife and three spoiled brats to be happy. At least I don't need those things to be happy anyway.
Do I wish I could go out and buy a vintage SVT at the drop of a hat? Fuck yeah, but I don't have that luxuray. I have to save and make do with what I have. But I don't get depressed over that shit.
But for the most part Americans seem duped into the blind overkill consumerism culture that has been perped on us. How do you get all these things? Go into 1000's of dollars into debt (or put your parents into debt) with a college education, graduate and assume a subservient role in the workforce and incur 100's of 1000's of dollars in debt (ie "buy" a house,...you see where that landed this economy) and hope that you can get promoted and climb the ladder before your job gets outsourced.
[puts on indignation hat] FUCK ALL THAT SHIT. This is actually an appropriate topic for this thread. I hate consumer culture. I hate being a consumer. I hate that there are things that I want and I'm willing to fork over whatever price Steve Jobs/Bill Gates or whoever attaches to 20 cents worth of parts and labor. But I try to temper that with not being overly opulent.
The alternative is to starve I guess.
So, what are you going to do about it? I hate it when people whine about abstract concepts as if there's some evil mastermind behind it all. If you're going to trash something, come up with a viable alternative that could be realistically achieved over a period of time. Same goes for the Tea Party. Sure, nobody likes paying taxes, but if we don't, the deficits are just going to keep growing.
I don't have an across the board alternative. People's priorities have to change and I can't change that for them.
What I do is live simply and think about purchases I'm about to make and avoid going into debt at all costs. Can I buy something that is mass produced for cheap, or get something that is handmade by some guy trying to put food on his table for a few dollars more? I choose to buy off of the guy trying to put food on the table. This is true of effects, it's the reason I'm on ILF.
If I don't have to give a bank money,...I won't. Banks aren't in the business of handing out money,...they are in the business of making money.
You want to talk about evil masterminds? What about those that orchestrated the subprime mortgage/housing loan/toxic asset fiasco that has this economy in a downward spiral and has screwed millions of people out their homes. That wasn't an accident,...that was a few greedy people finding a loophole and exploiting it so they could transfer wealth from the poor and middle class into their own pockets.
Abstract? The middle class is shrinking and the rift between the filthy rich and the just plain filthy is growing. That's not abstract.
