Comments on: Electric Dream

By: Envirofrigginmental

Envirofrigginmental — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 19:10:38 +0000

The past 100-150 years has been one of the most successful marketing schemes(swindles?) in human history, next to religion of course. It was called “power to the people” and we bought it hook, line and sinker. Who wouldn’t? It fed our fragile and needy egos. Everything was going to get “better”.

Now we’re finally seeing how it hasn’t quite turned out as we were lead to believe. And we’ve come to the realization that we are no different than medieval serfs. “They” have closed shop and moved on to greener pastures, leaving us to fight over the last remaining scraps of a decent living while “they” continue to build wealth and live like kings, fleecing the next credulous vicitms.

By: ConnivingSumo

ConnivingSumo — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 18:52:25 +0000

I hear you Tommy.

I don’t consider myself “in the know” or even ‘studied’ on political topics, legislation, etc. (although I’m gaining ground), but it seems obvious to me that we’re heading for a revolution between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’.

If things were done the way they were in the 17th. century, there would have been NO BAILOUTS!! Those bass-turds would have been tar & feathered, in the stocks, and hanging from the gallows. There should have been rioting in the streets the day “we” bailed those sons-o-bitches out.

Anyway, I digress…
If I see this coming, surely they do – so better not yank away the energy too quick & hard. The folks in this country pretty much have their SUVs, Cable TV, and Beer – let them keep those and it doesn’t matter how impoverished they are or how foul we become as a society allowing our politicians to bed with the highest bidder. That’s why I think (at least partly) the energy situation/cost/incentive(s) hasn’t changed.

@Auntie:
As mentioned in other comments I’ve made, I still buy ‘crap’ (like Taco Bell), but I’m trying to change. I want to be one of those folks that bikes to work, or walks, and do as much as I can locally, and/or on my own.

I’m sure readers already know about this, but I thought I would share it because I think it’s a great magazine.
http://www.readymade.com/
I just got my first issue and it’s great. I can see how a trend could start that is marketing and “consuming” anti-consumerism, but -for now- for someone of my low skill level, it works.

@TAOS:
I love the fork. That fork has character like no other. “Old Stuff” is cool, unique, built to last, and the energy used to make it has been redeemed by the years (centuries in some cases) of use. If everyone kept their damn forks that were made right in the first place… well, I’m sure we can connect the proverbial dots there.

Good topics here.

By: TaosJohn

TaosJohn — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 16:48:47 +0000

“We must re-kindle lost crafts and return to a simplified and improved way of life.” Amen, brother! And I’ll bet you’d like this post today at my own blog, VERY relevant: “My Great-Great-Grandmother’s Fork.” http://www.farrfeed.com/2010/07/26/greatgreatgrandmothers-fork/

By: auntiegrav

auntiegrav — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 13:49:09 +0000

There are myriad interest groups trying to get some kind of tax passed on some specific consumption issue, whether for the rain forest, carbon emissions, or obesity.
If I invent some clean energy source, and the only consumption tax is on carbon, then where does the incentive to reduce consumption come from?
The only general consumption tax being proposed (that I know of) is actually a conservative/libertarian idea, the FairTax (http://www.fairtax.org). The problem with it is that their goal is to be ‘revenue neutral’ to replace income taxes. Since our government is operating on a deficit, it can’t be revenue neutral at the proposed 23%.
Our problem is not any specific form of consumption, but the overall idea that increasing consumption and increasing GDP are more important than surviving as a species (giving back more than we take from the environment). The advertising that convinces people to buy stupid shit and the lobbying expenses to keep it that way are TAX DEDUCTIBLE, for crying out loud! What possible incentive is there to change such a system unless it utterly collapses?
A few of us growing our own food, sweating without air conditioning, and taking our lives in our hands riding bicycles among the Escalades and Hummers sure as hell aren’t going to convince anyone we have a better way of living except those who already want it. The ‘future’ consumers are trapped in consumer-oriented schools, based on the factory model where extra production (anyone that isn’t on the scholarship track) is sold wholesale to other factories(tech schools) for recycling or dumped in the dumpster of the ghetto to become “entrepreneurs” (drug dealers).