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I purchase food staples, as few ready-made processed foods as I can, and gasoline. In addition, our income supports the payment of the city utilities, taxes, the electric bill, and insurance on our home and autos. We get our teeth cleaned. We purchase clothing, furniture, and housewares from thrift stores or using Craig's List. We grow a big garden and gather our own firewood. We have no consumer debt but will have to mortgage our home to obtain the line of credit we'll need for business inventory next year.

Generations of Americans have lived in a similar fashion although it is currently out of vogue. I'm not saying we should ALL live this way, but I do think we have to reject the idea that we're somehow helping the economy by buying things we don't need. There are so many things we DO need: We all need automobiles that aren't burning fossil fuels, power systems for our homes and businesses that are reducing the carbon footprint of our communities, foodstuffs that are produced without huge inputs of fossil fuels and chemical fertilizers/pesticides etc. What we really need is to rebuild our wasteful country into a lean, strong, intelligent world leader in the technologies that will sustain the enormous human population of the world. But how will we do that when we the "consumer" populace have no savings and those who have ruled our financial system have squandered our national wealth through unscrupulous and short-sighted business practices?

Shame on us.

posted 4 years, 5 months ago
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