You want to know why this country is in debt? Well, let me present this theory to you. We have a technologically based disposable culture that is in a feeding frenzy that has put this country and this economy in the dumps. Not to mention the huge increase in landfill pollution something never been experienced before. How ironic for a culture that prides itself on protecting the environment.
Where did we go wrong? First we took the manufacturing base from the economy and gave it to China. Then we were sold a bill of goods. It goes like this... give it to us cheap and new and make us buy the same item over and over again.
So what happens here? Why don't you have any money? You have a good job you make ok money why don't you have a downpayment saved on your house? Why don't you have a savings account?
Let me tell you why. Fifty years ago a family bought a television that lasted around 10 or 15 years. Now let me break this down for you. This is how we purchases items now. The companies that sell techonogy based products look at you as a customer over a lifetime. In this exapmle of where your money is going I am going to be very conservative in my numbers, but you will get the picture.
If you start having purchasing power at 25 years old and continue to 75 that is 50 (FIFTY) years of purchasing power. These days you have to buy at least one television set every three years to keep up with the technology so over the course of FIFTY years you will have bought about 17 television sets. ( Don't forget that most people have two or three sets in their homes) OK, so that's 17 televisions at about $2000.00 each makes a total of $32,000 dollars over your lifetime to purchase televisions. And you know, this is a very conservative number.
You will have thrown out 17 televisions and put out $32,000.00 in buying televisions.
But that's not all lets factor in the cell phone. You've got to replace that thing every 2 years at a cost of say $200.00? So thats 25 cell phones over your lifetime and that's another $5000.00.
So far on just two technological items you have spent about $40,000.00 over your lifetime and I know and you know that is a very, very lowball number.
Now let's take the computer under consideration. . You need a new one of those every 3 (three years). That is 17 (seventeen computers) at $1500.00 each. Thats another $25,500.00.
Then there's the internet at about $40.00 a month for 50 years is $24,000.00.
With only those four items you have spent $85,0000.00 over your lifetime. That's the downpayment for your house. Ripped right out from underneath you.
This is where all our disposable income is going. WE MUST look for ways to stop this frenzy, we must demand that technological items are made to last. Not only for our pocket book but for our landfills. Can you imagine how may teckno gadgets are thrown away? There is no such thing as repairing. When you get a new something please keep in mind that the old something has to go somewhere.
So let's stop the rape. Americans make make good money and work hard we can't let this continue to happen. We can't let corporate America sell us this bills of goods or we are going to literally bury ourselves in technology.
