And what do you do with your spending power?

[ybbor]

I use my money to promote capitalism, by buying the cheapest goods available :suicide:

 

[El_Machinae]

I promote progress, by purchases goods and services which lead to (or are a result of) increased research or education (long-term)

 

[Godwynn]

A person can only be idle and decadent for so long without withering. Making, building, doing ... these can keep a person satisfied. Why do you think so many seniors renovate their homes? For something to do.

I think old people need a computer and a high speed modem. I could be complacent like that for decades if I had a steady income after retirement. But alas I'm sure if they knew what the internet was and how it worked and what they could get off of it it would fry their brains.

 

[Sparta]

I believe the expression is...

"Broke ass college student."

Yeah, but you can add "Starving Artist" as well, being a published author and all . It's almost like a dual major in being broke .

I don't have a terribly large amount of discretionary income, as I'm trying to save up for a down payment on getting out of the renting racket, but what I do spend I make some minimal efforts to spend fairly wisely. Half of my pseudo-boycotts are pretty non-universal (i.e. hardly anyone but me cares about the issue in contention), but I still at least try to make a conscious effort most times.


Edit:

I think old people need a computer and a high speed modem.

- I couldn't agree more. I'd tried to find it (but couldn't), but there's a pretty interesting stat regarding the numbers of old people turning towards the internet and gaming in general (commonly crap like solitaire etc., but still). It appears they're wising up to just what you suggested. Slowly but surely. Someone should tell them that Civ is turn-based and requires no reflexes whatsoever.

 

[Nobody]

Most of my money goes towards helping build the local fast food industry, paying for my superpowered computer and naked dancing girls.

 

[Dann]

I'm wondering if anyone is as crazy as me when it comes to directing where my hard earned cash goes.

My household is fortunate enough to have an income level that puts us into the top 0.1% of humanity (according to some survey that was around CFC some time back) That means we have a rather large amount of discrectionary spending to do.

And I try very hard to only purchase goods and services from companies and countries of whom I approve.

For example, since June 1989, I very rarely, knowingly, buy anything built in or supplied by China. I think it is crazy to send my money to an authoritarian, one- party communist state that has no respect for human rights. Most of my electronics are from Japan if they are expensive or Taiwan or Malaysia if they are not. Cheap clothing would be from India (the world's largest democracy) rather than China.

As it is impossible to find out where my car's fuel is sourced from, since September 2001 I have drasticaly reduced my use of oil based products. I used to drive circa 50,000 kms per year; now I'm down to about 12,000. Again, I see no sense in sending cash to corrupt regimes so that they can finance mayhem.

Likewise since March 2003, I have tried to limit purchasing anything stamped "Made in the USA" (Civ4 was a notable exception) because I don't support countries attacking other countries.

My purchasing power is the only way I can show my disapproval. Is anybody else here as crazy as me.

I am in China, and I certainly do not belong to the top 0.1% of humanity. I for one do not have the luxury to let some high-falluting political ideals dictate my spending habits.

After rent, utilities, public transport, food, basic necessities and occasional stuff the girlfriend needs/wants, whatever little excess I have remaining goes directly into savings. We poor people from countries without a welfare system don't have no other safety nets besides that.

 

[Paalikles]

Warmonger - your intention may be good, but I think your way of handling this is not as good as you think it is.

Much like the proponents of fair trade want to let workers in low cost countries earn more, you want to remove your "funding of bad regimes", to give your money to the "ethically correct regimes".

In both cases, I think the reaction is wrong:
@fair trade - then you artificially increase the price, therefore screwing with the price mechanism - which does not really help accomplish the goal one set out to deal with. (both Jericho, myself and others have put light on this in other threads)

@your way: it may be the case that most of the money you spend on goods produced in authoritarian regimes flows to the authoritarian leader(s) and not to the firms and or workers that produce the good. But do you think those people are better off or worse off if you shift your consumption away from such goods, over to "good regime"-products? I think the workers are better off - given the regime in place - if your consumption is unaffected, than they are if you do not consume their products anymore. There are better ways of changing the world (as in: removal of a bad regime)

Of course, this is my personal opinion, and not necessarily what I stand for as an economist.


@Dann:

 

[Dann]

Very funny.

 

[El_Machinae]

I don't have a terribly large amount of discretionary income, as I'm trying to save up for a down payment on getting out of the renting racket

I deem this to be a wise use of discretionary income!