is doing harm to us in two ways, at least.
Lost jobs. The need for a bigger house for our stuff.
check it and see:
ANATHEMA TO STUFF
Guest Post: Is Anybody Else Tired Of Buying And Owning Stuff?
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 09/07/2012 11:56 -0400
Submitted by Charles Hugh Smith from Of Two Minds
Is Anybody Else Tired Of Buying And Owning Stuff?
We are suffocating in stuff, physically, psychologically and spiritually.
I know this is a sacrilegious question, but is anybody else tired of buying and owning stuff? Is anybody else tired of dealing with all the junk cluttering up every corner of the room/house/nation?
Has anyone else noticed we have surplus stuff coming out our ears? And that therefore we don't really need any more stuff? Has anyone noticed the psychological consequences of constantly buying and managing possessions? Here is how correspondent B.D. recently put it:
Kids have a melt-down when they don't have the latest iteration of the (insert trendy electronica here) or if they are asked to tidy up the gargantuan collection of "stuff" they are slowly suffocating themselves with. Most kids these days don't have bedrooms anymore ... they have a small warehouse of goods in which they have a sleeping space.
Everybody has a warehouse of goods, even "poor" households. Of the four households on my block with one-car garages, we're the only ones who actually park a car in the garage. Everyone else's garage is jammed with stuff. And this is not an upscale neighborhood, it's working-class/renters.
Have you been to one of the many gigantic swap meets recently? You know, the kind with hundreds of sellers hawking everything under the sun. Our young friends (newlyweds renting one bedroom in a house, they don't own a car, both seeking fulltime work but currently living on one-part time job) recently described their visit to just such a sprawling cornucopia of over-consumption.
People are selling any and everything to raise some cash: birds, snakes, used iPhones, laptop computers, clothing, furniture, you name it. A guy was selling a guitar for $15. Our friend offered $5. The seller took $8. $8 for an acoustic guitar. Granted it was a cheap one, but $8? Was it even worth hauling it to the swap meet for $8? A set of strings costs $4.
"Almost new" bicycles--again, cheap, poor-quality versions--were being sold for $35. You can't even buy a replacement bicycle wheel for $35.
Were these stolen goods? Our friend asked the seller how he could sell bikes for so little money. The seller replied that he buys the contents of abandoned storage lockers for a few dollars and then sells the contents. (Apparently there is a reality TV show based on this process of acquiring the contents of abandoned storage lockers.)
This raises an interesting question: why bother stealing stuff when it is basically worthless? Smash-and-grab burglars are only stealing electronics (and jewelry if it is laying around in plain sight). Nothing else is worth stealing. Bicycle thieves abound, of course, but they're picky as well: a rusty made-in-China bike with a cheap (and easily snipped) cable lock will be left untouched; only the expensive bikes will be ripped off.
As I keep saying: what's scarce is not stuff, it's cash and reliable income streams. People are trying to convert stuff into cash, but it's tough because there is a surplus of stuff.
No wonder organizations that promote giving stuff away such as Freesharing.org are so popular. People are giving up trying to get any cash at all for old TVs, etc.; they are delighted if someone hauls it away for free.
Is anyone else sick of the "buying experience"? No wonder online buying has become so ubiquitous--the experience of shopping to acquire stuff is a form of torture, at least to some of us. Getting there is a nightmare (unless I can bike to the store), parking is a hassle, clerks generally don't know much, and the selection is often limited or skewed to the high end. The "fun" is in leaving empty-handed.
I suppose other people can't wait to get a new mobile phone; I live in dread that my old "dumb" phone will expire and force me into buying another one. Ditto for everything else we own.
There is so much stuff floating around America that we end up with stuff we didn't buy or even ask for--old laptops, bicycles (abandoned on our property, left by neighbors moving away, left to us by elderly neighbors who passed on, etc.) and clothing, to mention but a few of of the things that we have "inherited."
I make a point to be a "good citizen" by taking outdated printers, modems and other electronics to the recycling yard; others aren't so civic-minded, as proven by the piles of high-tech detritus that litter street corners and dumpsites around the nation.
When the university students leave town in May, dumpster after dumpster is filled with broken Ikea furniture and old mattresses, many of recent vintage. It isn't worth hauling any of it home. They will buy more future-landfill at Ikea when they settle down somewhere else.
My new mantra is "please don't give us anything we won't consume in a few days." What with all the insecurity in the world, a lot of people have assembled stashes of precious metals. Quite frankly, I don't want physical wealth I have to store, manage, protect, etc. I am not at all sure I want any "wealth" at all other than the "wealth" of productive land, a functioning infrastructure / civil society, and the "wealth" of freedom of movement and choice.
I just want to get rid of stuff, not acquire more. I welcome the digital age because "entertainment" no longer requires physical collections. I have already accepted that most digital stuff will be lost with time, just like physical stuff. Who wants to lug around 50 years of digital files? Yes, it might fit on a small drive, but who will sort through it all or even look at it/listen to it?
The clutter of all this stuff, physical and digital, clouds the mind and spirit. I think it was Sartre who noted that our possessions own us, not the other way around. I am tired of being possessed by possessions, of any kind or nature. I would be delighted if the can of WD-40 in the toolshed lasts the rest of my life. If it doesn't, then I will replace it, grudgingly.
More than likely, I will find an almost-full can in somebody's trash, along with everything else anyone could possibly want. The only thing missing from sorting through all that's been abandoned is the drug-like "hit" of the purchase. Sadly for a consumerist society, some of us are immune to that potent drug.
Many others will suffer consumerist withdrawals as the cash and credit needed to complete the purchase become increasingly scarce.
redpill
I fucking hate shopping. I'd rather spend the money on a massage. I could throw 3/4s of the shit in my house in the garbage tomorrow and not miss it a bit. And then there's the kids toys....arrrggghh grandparents constantly giving them big bulky plastic shit.
Anyway, there is a solution to this. Repeal the 16th amendment and replace the income tax with a revenue-neutral consumption tax on new retail goods and services. Poor people can save money buy buying things second hand. People would save more, and think more before they consume because they would have a choice in how and where they would pay tax. They would take better care of things and sell them to others who would take better care of them. People would be rewarded for saving, and punished for being wasteful. It would not only help solve our addicted-to-Chinese-crap problem, it would be a boon for our economy to have more savers.
Rick Blaine
Absolutely...
It's now at the point where I specifically ask my family not to buy me anything for my birthday or Christmas...well, besides a gift card or cash.
Even a lot of the stuff I buy for myself, which I initially think I want/need, basically gets wasted.
One of my favorite things to do now is look through my stuff for things to give to charity...
...which is a solid indicator of how meaningless my life has become.
FEDbuster
Checks and gift cards to restaurants is what we exchange. Once and a while some wine or interesting food items. NO MORE STUFF!
If something we use breaks, we fix it or replace it. That's it. Stuff we don't use or wear we get rid of, sell it or give it away.
The only exception is long term storage food (seems like you never have enough). The accumulation of Chinese made McShit is over for us.
i_call_you_my_base
Everyone can be poor if you define it as a matter of degree. Poor to me means you can barely afford food and are constantly on the verge of being thrown out of your rental. That is poor. Poor people do not have "a surplus of stuff". Poor people don't have shit, and if you want to see what that looks like, you can go to Detroit, Philly, or Baltimore, or the backwoods of West Virginia if you prefer a more natural setting.
Umh
Many poor people have a surplus of stuff. Mostly because they can't resist the urge to buy stuff they can't afford when they should be paying their rent and buying better groceries.
ParkAveFlasher
The concept of minimal possession resonates within me as well, trust me. I'd rather build than buy, I'd rather sweat than hire.
However the problem is not in "materialism", the problem is the manipulated view on the real value of anything. Blaming it on "materialism" is obfuscation. Like blaming our economic woes on "capitalism". That's like blaming "geometry, mass, and conservation of motion" for stubbing your toe on the coffee table.
You should want things. You need things to live. Cats have claws and fur, and sharp eyes and ears, we do not. You need practical things. You need practical things of a certain material quality that makes them practical for a long time. In fact it is in the practice of proper valuation that wealth is unlocked. You can not behold this unless you first crawl, walk, fly, limp, or lurch through materialism.
Western society has forgotten what "value" is. Our food comes in boxes. Our lives come in boxes. Our work is on paper, theoretical. We export time. Our manufacturing is done elsewhere. Our "wealth" paradoxically equals our "debt".
"Value" is further confused with "price", itself the victim of that arbitrary, sliding-scale denominator of fiat money. "It is a high price, therefore it is valuable". In this statement, lies the great confusion of our times. The confusion of "value" is enforced and dispersed via fiat currency.
There are material things that have value. This value must be unlocked. It is an active process. It is soul-searching, it is experimentation, it is study. However in the value of things, upon unlocking this, what may be reflected is the value of endeavor, the value of human action.
laomei
Here's a tale from when I lived in the US.
I had a cheap decent Jetta.
I lived in a neighborhood that I believed was incredibly convenient. 5 large supermarkets. 2 western, 1 discount, 1 chinese, 1 korean. Great food at good prices. Go a little bit further and hey, even more great supermarkets that are even cheaper. Cheap clinics, pharmacies nearby, basicaly lots and lots of options... even a Fry's!
One day, the alternator dies and just my luck, there is a sale at the local autoparts store. I can get a recertified, trade in the old one for credit on the core charge and another $20 off. $35 for an alternator? Score!
Just so happens that my housemates are all away for the week. No biggie I think, I'll just take the bus, it's only a 5 minute drive. After walking 40 minutes to the nearest bus stop, I find that I missed it by 5 minutes according to the schedule that is only posted at the bus stop and nowhere else. Next bus? 1 hour later. I wait. The bus finally comes, I have to take that bus to another station so I can transfer onto another bus that will get me where I'm going. The hitch in my plan however is that the second bus wasn't running that day. After getting off at the station and learning from the schedule (which is only posted there) that it's not running, I wait 30 minutes for a different bus which will take me another 5 miles down to road to meet up with a 4th bus that IS running and makes that stop. 3rd bus gets there just in time to meet up and I don't have to wait. 4th bus gets there after doing a stupid route that takes an hour.
So after 4 hours I am finally there. Fortunately they knew me from the last time I was in, and as they were closing up shop anyways, I scored a ride home from someone who worked there for $5... the buses were stopped for the night anyways, so I was kinda screwed. Only takes 5 minutes in a car going 85 (which is typical there), but that's 7 miles each way. Sorry, zero intention to walk 14 miles in the summer cali heat.
It was this experience that got me to realize how utterly retarded the system is. Not a city bus either, it was privatized. They just killed all stops and routes that they deemed unprofitable. Try to go shopping when you have to rely on the bus. Taxis will eat you alive.
Over here, subways are everywhere and being built up further. Buses are everywhere. No stupid time schedules either, they come when they come and you are rarely left waiting more than 10 minutes for one. Taxis are cheap and everywhere as well. The taxis actually receive a subsidy from the government to keep the fares low in light of inflation and gas prices. The buses operate at a net loss, as does the subway system, but they are state-owned and operated and are public services. Their existance enables far more commerce and economic activity than the operating loss created. Our highway system has distance-based tolls. Add in the cost of gas, and unless it's a car of 4, it's just cheaper (and faster) to take the train or fly... or even take a long-distance bus for stupidly cheap.
Driving here is a luxury and it's really not required until you get really really remote and most small villages will have regular buses and motorcycle taxis to the nearest town and neighboring villages. A personal car SHOULD be a luxury, not a requirement of basic life. In the US you are slaves to cars with the rare exception of a handful of cities that actually have semi-functional mass transit. Actually living in those cities, you are either rich as hell and can afford property, or you are renting a slum and/or sharing with a roommate or two, or three, or more.
laomei
I advise investing in learning all about molding/casting and welding. Tools are cheap, materials are cheap. And there's something that's just satisfying about it. Don't even need top-of-the-line tools to do it either. Basic soldering skills and learning how to etch are also great investments.
NotApplicable
Reminds me of a coworker who, "OMG, I just saved $100!" after paying $120 for a Coach purse.
Carlin stuff
