Consume and don't ask questions

[femoimal]

have a peek at

http://www.storyofstuff.com/

it is a very nice animation about the production/consumption chain.


I don't know about you guys, but i am tired of being taken for a moron. How many times we buy a mp3 player/walkman/PDA/stereo that just implodes just after a year? Once i had a sony Walkman that stopped functioning. I looked at the guarantee (one year), ans was astonished to see that it had expired exactly ONE DAY before. One day ! Do not tell me that premature death of the player was not engineered ! A mp3 player and a usb-external drive never worked properly (and that's about everything i buy for a year). We all have old stereos from our parents, still working after 25 years. Now do you expect the stuff you buy to last more than 3, 4 years tops ?

In our house, we disposed of the TV -too many adds and no info. We keep old computers working, and we keep consuming to a minimum. I am sick and tired of asking first, whenever i want to buy something, if it is going to last. Technology and engineering should make things last more, not less.

I have enough ! Prices are going up, salaries and life expectancy of things go down ! Why am I being considered a sorry sod whenever i take out my credit card ?

Do you feel the same ? What can we do about it ?

[Prozerran]

What can we do about it?

Well, we can stop contributing to the golden arrow. In our history, it is a continuing trend that when we are dissatisfied with products or services, we boycott. By doing so, we apply pressure to the people producing these products. It's the principle of supply and demand. If we demand less and suppliers don't supply less, the cost is transferred to them. They end up not only with the burden of the cost of producing crap while we patiently wait for change, but eventually with the distribution or disposal of those products when retail outlets won't buy because they're packed up to the ceilings with worthless crap.

Do you need an IPod? What about another camera? Like you said, your family already got rid of your T.V. So, it sounds like you're doing exactly what you should be doing. Once everyone else understands the model, there's more pressure for companies and corporations to make changes. Until that time, don't buy shitty products that won't last. Do some research and find a product that will last. When I bought my computer, I spent $1000 on the parts and assembled it myself. I've had it since 2004, and I'll probably have it for another 4 years or more.

Don't buy new cars. Keep the one you have and pay for the maintenance and repairs on it. It's better to pay an average of $400 every 4-12 months than pay $200 every month on a car payment. You don't need a new car unless the car you drive has completely broken down and won't run. Don't buy big homes unless you need the space. If you don't have kids, you don't need more than a two-bedroom home with 1 or 2 bathrooms. Don't buy new clothes if the clothes you already have do the trick. I wear my shoes out (until they have holes and look like they've been through a shredder) before I buy new ones. If I need them for work, yeah, of course I'll go out and find a cheap pair. It creates waste, yes, but the less you spend the more you'll transfer the cost to the corporation.

Now will that cost transfer to the laborers? Sure. It's a real shame too, but there's only so much you're willing to do before you become slave labor and realize it. Then it's a totally different thing. Once laborers refuse to work for less than they make, the corporation is stuck between a rock and a hard place. They're facing a lack of production and a lack of buying power for their products. And while this leads to a loss of jobs and a slower economy the more it takes place, it gets the attention of the government, making the politician look like a sorry sod. That person depends on the satisfaction of the people to be reelected (in theory, in practice this is a little bit more of a challenge).

The bottom line becomes this: if we put the right people in place to effect change in this system and boycott these products, we deflate the corporate foothold, slow the demand for products, and transfer the costs of production to the supplier that's consuming more than his fair share of resources. On a broader scale, this is already happening because we are in a recession. But once we're out of recession, all the ignorant, stupid people in the world will get right back out and start buying, buying, buying, and the whole machine starts right back up. The media will be right back in the mix praising these people for continuing to buy these products that fuel the economy, and no one will get the point that they are the reason the U.S. has such a bad reputation with the rest of the world.

And T.V. isn't bad, it's just the damn advertising that's going on. The media model is in desperate need of change, and if you listen to public radio, a lot of talk is going on about how the big media corporations are panicking over the fact that less Americans are watching T.V. This I think is funny, because they've done it to themselves with the shitty advertising money-model they've been using. You'd think they would have realized a LONG time ago that this was just as finite as the consumer model of the 1950's. When I own a light-bulb that never burns out, that'll be a sign of the change of times, and I'll be a much happier person then.

[GenocideAlive]

IDK about you chumps, but I don't buy shit that isn't going to last.

If I want a flashlight, I buy a MagLite.

If I want an MP3 player, I buy an iPod.

If I want a car, I buy American. And then fix it myself.

If I want a lightbulb, I buy the long lasting low energy consumption ones.

Honestly if you're getting ripped off, you can thank yourself. You can buy things that last longer, but you have to be willing to pony up the dough for them. C'est la vie.

[Neo]

those low energy bulbs are such bullshit. we've had like 6 quit on us after maybe a month.

alternative to tv would be to get in on hulu. streaming full episodes (legally) :D Plus they've got some old stuff like Lost in Space, Knight Rider, etc... Ads, yes, but at most you get a total of like 80 seconds per 42 minute episode.

The problem is, I think, people can't correlate cost vs quality. If it's cheap, BUY IT NOW. Don't save and buy something of better quality!

That and people don't seem willing to research a bit on something they want -- say a Zen mp3 player would serve you much better then an ipod (say you don't have a bunch of songs or something), 20-30 bucks vs 400+ -- I see this with my brother a lot and cellphones.

People get roped into "better plans" like "SHITLOAD OF TEXTS PER MONTH YOU'LL NEVER USE" and envariably people get roped in. So many times I've explained to him that unless you actually hit 6000 texts in a month, there is no reason to get something like 5k+ or the unlimited plan.

Same goes for minutes. I mean, unless your a teenage female, I can pretty much say for sure you aren't going to be talking for 8000 minutes and such.

pfft. GA said it better in less amount of rambling. so just ignore me. :p

still, those energy efficient bulbs piss me off. Plus my brother (who buys them) goes for the ones that are the OMFG BRIGHTEST so it's like having the fucking sun in the bathroom.

-Neo

[TheBB]

Very cool video. I've thought about it myself at times, but it was nice to see a bigger picture without having to work it all out myself.

Consumerism really makes me sick.

If I want a car, I buy American. And then fix it myself.

I have a 24 year old Volvo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volvo_200_series). It runs like clockwork. Not all non-US cars are japanese or german BS. :P

[GenocideAlive]

I'd buy an older car, but they usually have problems with emissions and support. Diesel cars from 30 years ago still amaze me, however. They just go to show how much we can do if we put our resources to work to what's important (fuel economy, emissions, etc.) rather than stupid shit that just satisfies the ID (more HP, flashier paint, etc.).

I have a lot of love for people that have older cars, though. They know what life's about--substance over style.

[tzzA]

Cars? Get a Saab. They get great mileage, have high-quality parts, and last forever. I have 3 friends who all have Saabs that are pre-1990 and they all work fine. Admittedly they look a little old, but who cares?

As for the other stuff, it breaks because it's not designed to last. Take something basic-the common snow shovel. Twenty years ago, you could get a shovel, wooden handle, metal blade, and it would last you for 10 years or more. Today, the best that you can get is a piece of cheap plastic with a tinfoil strip along the edge that might last 2 seasons if you're lucky. Stuff today is designed so that it doesn't last for very long, or degrades in quality drastically, so that people will buy a new whateveritis and give the manufacturer/distributor more money.

[Borgorb]

People make stuff to break
causes "Repeat Business"
if a phone company made a phone that lasted 10 years they wouldnt be a very successful business

For the income to keep coming it eeither needs to be addictive like a cigarette or i needs to break

all i can say is that you just had really bad timinig wiht that. Unfortunately a deal is a deal and if it breaks after the gaurentee ends all the beter for business

i wish it was more like the OLD days when stuff was made to last

*sigh*

[Dark_Magneto]

If you want a vehicle that will last, try to dig up a Hilux diesel (http://videos.streetfire.net/video/4ab82f42-ece0-46ea-9283-98ec0165f7d9.htm).