Shop or not?

Can we shop ourselfs out of an economic crisis, or do we need to find other intrests in our lifes to get out of the "crisis" once and for all? I know one cannot live without to consume, but why have prestige in ones belongings?

 

what do you mean by "other interests"?

 

Art, culture...
--- merged: Jan 19, 2012 5:52 PM ---
education..

 

How are art and culture possibly going to have an effect on an economic crisis? Or is there some other crisis you have in mind?

 

my response is to just pinch as many pennies as you cann for things you don't need. birthday/xmas/whatever presents = a whole day to hang out with family/friends and go for a walk or do something that costs nothing instead of the ipod/car people

 

I see the mouse running in that weel that spins round and round. Running faster wont make the weel stop. Only if the mouse found another intrest. The weel represents our economy. And the mouse represents a human being

 

i think you have a bad analogy my friend

 

Just heard a radioprogran about how people take morgaches to keep up the race. Then one day the economy colapses....

 

some people. most know better than to sell what you're living in to buy the newest xbox.

 

Maybe I'm beeing over dramatic. Just thinking of what it whould meen to me if the economy collapsed. Like in the 20ies 30ies

 

More consumer spending would likely help in improving the economic conditions somewhat but the fact is - those who have the money to spend are holding on to it and those that don't have the money...well they don't have the money to spend. A government whose economy is too reliant upon the consumer to survive probably needs to look for a different model or at least a fall back model in lean times for consumers. At the very least they should consider not making matters worse by supporting efforts which are detrimental to their own consumer base.

I'm not sure if or how this addresses your question but I can't think of any lifestyle we as consumers can adopt that will improve an economy already too reliant on consumer spending. Changing our habits when we have the money to spend might serve to force a rethinking of our current economic model but I don't see how it will improve it, as it is.

The current crisis, at least here in the US, was not caused by a lack of consumer spending or by too much consumer spending. It was caused by the irresponsibility of financial institutions. And blaming those who were lured into taking on mortgages they couldn't afford is just plain ludicrous. Like blaming those who buy property at the base of a volcano for the eventual eruption.

 

I try to follow your English, and I think I understand. My thinking leads me to: the speculation in economy, putting investments in projects which seems to be confident. That's how it collapses. When the banks put all their capital in speculative buisness.

 

Yeah, that's what happened leading up to 2008. It probably wouldn't have been as bad as it has been if the Germans hadn't convinced themselves that no one would game the system in the way that many of the American investment banks did. But the Germans kept shoveling money into the CDO's, and that helped the Greeks, Irish and the Spanish to dig themselves in even deeper, not to mention the Americans.

It's fine to say that the system is broken, but you're not offering up any solutions, just pointing out a problem that I think most of us already knew exists.
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All investments, are by their very nature, speculative. There is no such thing as a guaranteed return on any investment. Those would try to convince you otherwise are simply trying to steal your money. Even the US Treasury Department, which represents the soundest investment on Earth, will tell you that. And that is the reason for the downgrade of the US a few months ago and the European countries last week.

 

The solution I'm offering is consciousness of mankind. Art, culture, education. Not shoping.

 

When I invest, I do so with the full knowledge that I'm gambling.
--- merged: Jan 19, 2012 6:55 PM ---
consciousness does not solve problems.. action solves problems

you can mix the two together, but alone, they merely counteract the end result into a spiral of failure.

 

Being economical, and holding back on spending is a great verture and meditation.
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I don't invest in that way. I consume to have an appartment. to eat. to have clothes

 

What do you think happens to companies if people don't invest in them?

That's right. Failure.

 

Fine. If someone has sinsere to offer or company who doesssn't think of profit first, they shall survive a crisis.

 

Sorry bow, but we are not going to get ourselves out of our current financial state through mass meditation. And there is nothing wrong with spending in moderation, for what we need to survive and to enjoy a modicum of comfort in the process. As long as we continue to accept that our economies are best served by capitalism or forms of social capitalism, we will need to spend in order to keep the gears running smoothly. Spending less on junk? Yeah, I'm for that.