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EddieM
I have no debt at all. No mortgage, no loans, no credit or store cards and in the black...... That said I own practically nothing, no house, no car etc etc!
Growth is only a capitalist concept. Growth does not need to continue in order to survive and have a reasonably happy and stable world. Nor is it possible for growth to continue as we are now seeing again. It happened before and it's happened now. It will happen again. It's inevitable. Growth is only for the greedy.
Ok but increases in productivity is something which is also unnecessary in terms of keeping a business afloat. Why keep increasing productivity? Achieve a satisfactory level and then keep it at that. There is no need for an economic surplus which you can do something useful with! I'm not saying I'm against growth and making more money I'm just saying that while ever that is human nature we will always have periods of growth followed by crashes and recession. The only reason we have growth in business is because of planned obsolescence and the constant need to upgrade and buy the latest model. Without that built in lifespan of a product, output would continue but it would not grow to the extent which keeps making larger profits year on year. Remember the first light bulbs - designed and made to last over 2500 hours until the Phoebus cartel forced manufacturers to lower the life span to 1000 hours or less! Now look where we are with light bulbs again - designing them to last upto 25 years!! What a turnaround
Most people haven't been like this true but I think the tide is generally turning people are saving more and paying back debt. May be not enough/fast enough but I think there is a change.Well I'm with you when it comes to my distaste for consumerism and the throw away society. My washing machine is an ISE that cost £900 because I was sick of 5hitty cheap ones breaking. I've had my car for 11 years, my dishwasher for 20 years and my stereo for 24 years. When stuff breaks I fix it if I possibly can. I only buy stuff that I can afford - that means no credit (other than a mortgage that I could easily afford and pay off early).
The trouble is, most people are not like this, they want it now rather than saving for it and because they can't afford a proper one, they end up with cheap crap bought on credit. That's the bankers again, enabling consumerism with low monthly payments, supported by a government that likes the effect on the GDP figures.
When stuff breaks I fix it if I possibly can.
I am in a very well paid Job and my colleagues cannot understand my logic as they all have the latest Mercedes Porsches and bmw's and buy everything new as soon as it comes out .
When stuff breaks I fix it if I possibly can.
The flip-side is that not everyone enjoys repairing stuff, would some people rather spend a few hours labour fixing something, or would they rather spend a few hours wage getting someone else to do it, or buying another on credit, then doing something with their time they enjoy.
Buying new stuff isnt all just rampant consumerism, some would rather have a new car, as the cost to them is worth more than the potential lost hours in breakdown and repair.
When you earn £10 an hour, maybe it's better to buy a new toaster for £30 then spend 3 hours trying to figure out how to repair it.
When stuff breaks I fix it if I possibly can.
The flip-side is that not everyone enjoys repairing stuff, would some people rather spend a few hours labour fixing something, or would they rather spend a few hours wage getting someone else to do it, or buying another on credit, then doing something with their time they enjoy.
Buying new stuff isnt all just rampant consumerism, some would rather have a new car, as the cost to them is worth more than the potential lost hours in breakdown and repair.
When you earn £10 an hour, maybe it's better to buy a new toaster for £30 then spend 3 hours trying to figure out how to repair it.
There in lies the problem - I would say yes it's better to work out how and spend 3 hours fixing it than spending 3 hours wages to buy new. You may use 3 hours of your time but you will still have your 3 hours wages in the bank for something else!
I would say yes it's better to work out how and spend 3 hours fixing it than spending 3 hours wages to buy new.
I know some people don't like mending things but throw away society ideals cannot go on for ever - do you know where most WEE actually ends up? In Africa dumped on nature rich areas. Whole areas have been devastated by the west dumping WEE which is reported as being recycled