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On the glut of stuff
Dec 7, 2007
In the midst of holiday shopping season, a few links on stuff:
• Saturday Night Live skit (with Steve Martin): Don't Buy Stuff You Can't Afford.
• Short film called The Story of Stuff. Good take on "the golden arrow" of consumerism.
• Quick anecdote: flying on the United shuttle from New York to Washington, D.C. the other day, halfway there, flight attendant comes on the intercom to give a sales pitch for a credit card... followed by two attendants coming down the aisle, asking passengers if they'd like to fill out an application. Same thing happens on the flight back. (Print ads on every seat-back tray, too.)
• Another anecdote: friend of mine shopping in Banana Republic asked to re-activate a store credit card; without saying anything about it, the store clerk both reactivates the old card and signs my friend up for a new Visa card.
• Once or twice a month I get frequent flier statements that always include a credit card application. Since when does a frequent-flier program mean "spam list for credit card offers"? (Surely one reason for the current debt crisis in the US is the easy availability of credit cards - on stores, on airplanes (!), in the postal mail.)
• Give and get free stuff from people in your community via FreeCycle.
• Don't forget Catalog Choice, which I featured recently here.
It seems just about every month I get multiple credit card offers from the United frequent flyer Visa. I actually already have one, but they want me to sign up for the business card, too. Maybe 2 or 3 business cards. The offers come in huge full-page-size envelopes instead of a small business envelope.
I've already called the opt-out number, but the offers still keep coming. My condo building doesn't have paper recycling, so I stuff the paper (minus the application which I shred) into the business-reply envelope and send it back to them to recycle for me. It is not a good experience. :-(
The reason why banks are constantly offering you money is because debt, not the production of value, is the basis of this economy.
To see how messed up this economy is, I recommend watching Money as Debt (47:07). Yes it is long, but worth it.
Tip for those who hate junk mail:
I stuff all prepaid envelopes to the breaking point with all the junk mail I get, then mail it all back to the credit card companies.
http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=junk_the_junk
In reference to the endless credit card applications which come attached to my mileage statements (and from every other organization I have ever been remotely associated with), I continue to receive these applications from my airline's "parnter" even though I already HAVE the card.
Haven't been hit up for credit card apps on airplanes, yet, but if I was I'd be tempted to make the rounds to the flight attendants and pilot and co-pilot to see if I could interest them in any of the products I sell.
What arrogance.
Yeah, probably not their choice, but still.
Perhaps they'd give me the name of their supervisor so I could try and pitch something to him?
Story of Stuff starts by saying the government is here to "take care of us". Try to find that in the Constitution. The premise is faulty, so the piece is irrelevant.
You don't have to buy stuff as presents to show your love. Instead, you can make a donation in a friend's name. A nonprofit website called http://www.ChangingThePresent.org (disclosure: our company provides services to this nonprofit) offers such donation gifts as: preserve an acre of the rainforest, fund an hour of cancer research, or provide a child with her first book, so she can learn how to read. With over a thousand donation gifts from hundreds of leading nonprofits, you are sure to find something for anyone on your list. Wish lists and registries ensure the perfect gift. Printed greeting cards include a photo and description of the gift you give.
The "Don't Buy Stuff" clip from SNL was removed, but I found it on You Tube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmAm8GNJ_IA
Great stuff!