Posted on 08/09/2011 8:37:16 AM PDT by redstateone
The trouble for President Obama is that, due to the catastrophic economy his policies have created, America is now a nation of digital deal hunters, bargainistas and mouse-clicking coupon clippers.
Behold the rise of the Groupon Electorate...
(Excerpt) Read more at humanevents.com ...
I have been thinking about all the “save money” articles and advice we see everywhere today. A growing, prosperous society is always looking to progress and increasing wealth and consumption. A declining, socialist society is always trying to hoard what it has and find ways to do with less. Guess which one we have become.
Dem’s are offering “more of the same”... only losers are buying their ‘deal’....
But isn’t the essence of business about driving down costs and boosting value/profits?
Paying less for the same good/service only increases consumption capacity, not diminishes it.
Do you think so? I hope you’re right, but I fear wards of the welfare state want their free treats and, like Greece/London/etc., will go to any lengths to keep them.
The BOGO Administration...................
That is different from average people consuming as little as possible, buying second-hand goods, and withdrawing into a kind of economic shell.
The kind of cost cutting that produces real savings and progress at the same time comes from innovation, not from contraction. When the economy is expanding, wealth increases.
Smart people look to save money, spend less then they make, get great value and build wealth.
Joe Biden calls us terrorists.
But isn’t that a lot like what Obama is saying? Spend your way to prosperity?
Warren Buffett lives in a house he bought for $30K. He could afford much more. Billionaire Bloomberg wears shoes he’s had for 20 years. Most millionaires buy used cars.
Isn’t frugality simply wise financial stewardship? Just asking.
But isn’t that a lot like what Obama is saying? Spend your way to prosperity?
Warren Buffett lives in a house he bought for $30K. He could afford much more. Billionaire Bloomberg wears shoes he’s had for 20 years. Most millionaires buy used cars.
Isn’t frugality simply wise financial stewardship? Just asking.
another lame attempt to blame Bam’s failures on some quirky pop-culture development
Huh? Did you read the article? Or just the teaser? Read the article and I think you’ll agree with its premise, especially the quotes on frugality from the Founding Fathers.
In my mind, there's not much sense in making the money if you don't intend to spend it.
Not the ones I know!
That’s a *little* misleading. He bought the house for 31,800 in 1958. It’s valued at $690,000.00 today. It has 5 bedrooms and 2.5 baths.
Now, 31K is about $237,000.00 in today’s money, so he got a bargain considering that the house is worth more than double that, but still, he isn’t living in a shotgun crackhouse.
http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/kwze6btvQoc/Warren+Buffett+s+Home/5BBHaXPy2Ro
Granted, it’s not a mega mansion, but it isn’t a small place either. 30K wouldn’t buy you a house that nice anywhere today.
Yes, saving and frugality are great, but there is a difference between that and having a society that simply stops producing and consuming. If nobody buys anything new, then how will people have the opportunity to buy something used? There is a time to save and a time to spend. Socialism destroys production and consumption and leads to the kind of hoarding and retrenchment we see today.
The problem with our society is that we continue to provide money and resources to people who don’t produce, and allow them to continue to consume without consequences for their actions... Or lack thereof.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.