I have always thought it was a delicate proposition to be critical of how people choose to spend their money. I think that the person who actually works for their money should be completely free to spend it however they choose. However, when one spends their money they are providing direct support to a company. This essay is not about being smug or feeling superior. The point that I am trying to make is that money has power. When we spend our money we help someone else financially. The recent remarks made by Chik Fil A demonstrate this point. Why would a progressive spend their money at a company that is clearly against progressive ideas? In this essay I will try to offer some ideas that will give your money more power.
I pay my bills and support my family by earning a living as a professional. However, I have not purchased new clothes in about 15 years. Whenever I need a new shirt, tie or pair of pants I will visit the local resale shops, until I find what I need. The reason I do this is because I cannot in good conscious take part in the purchasing of clothes that were probably manufactured in sweat shop conditions. By removing myself from the first line of purchase I am no longer providing direct financial support to an industry which is based on the exploitation of workers. Another benefit to resale shops is that most of them are non-profit organizations which use their revenue to support charities within the local community. For me shoes are particularly problematic. I have not found a satisfactory solution to the problem of buying new shoes, so I do admit that once my shoes are no longer presentable I buy a new pair.
Now think about the idea of buying locally vs. buying globally. I am able to buy my eggs from a very small local farmer who raises her chickens in a cage free setting. The color of the eggs is more vibrant than those found in the local grocery store, and in my opinion, the taste is superior. She charges about twice what the store charges, but I like how she treats her animals and I do not mind spending the extra money for a better tasting egg produced in more humane conditions.
Unfortunately, I am not able to buy the vast majority of my groceries locally. The manner in which our country chooses to produce food makes it impossible to buy all of one’s food locally. So, that leaves the consumer with the choice of buying locally when possible and supporting those companies that produce their products in more humane/environmentally friendly conditions. My daughters are strict vegetarians and find the idea of raising animals for meat obscene. While I support the ideas of vegetarianism, I do believe it is possible to raise livestock in humane conditions. The following links provide more information on how to buy humanely raised food.
Certified Humane
Humaneitarian
In keeping with the idea of spending money locally I try to buy American made products when possible. Again, due to the changes in our economy it is simply not possible to buy everything from a domestic company; however, when possible I think it is worth the extra money. I have found that most domestically produced products (tools, lawn mowers, etc.) are superior to the cheaper imported version. Yes, the product will almost always cost more, but it usually is of a higher quality and will last longer. The worker abuses that take place in factories around the world are extremely well documented. Women suffer both physical and sexual abuse, young children are forced to work instead of attending school and prison labor is even used to produce the goods that end up on the shelves of American stores. If spending a few dollars more means that I can avoid taking part in that process then that is how I want to spend my money. Whether it is tools, clothes, shoes or bicycles there are many domestic companies producing high quality products. The following links deal specifically with finding domestically produced products.
I hope that this essay came across as intended. How one spends their money is extremely personal. However, I think that our money has real power. I believe that a realistic argument can be made that in modern America our money has more power than our vote. Spend your money however you choose, but remember that your money has real power.
Comments
Do you drive a Volvo, you elitist snob?
Naturally, that is a joke.
Excellent essay, and actually something we can do that affects things. When I have time later, I'll try to find a link for the booklet we carry around with us that rates corporations on such things as treatment of workers and environmental practices. The idea behind it is the same, every dollar spent is like a vote.
Those links look very useful. I don't have time to check them out now.
Your reference to your daughters' vegetarianism reminds me of something my girl asked at dinner one night: "Is this killed cow?"
Is this killed cow?
that's funny! Did you say-yes! isn't it the most delicious killed cow ever? or was she too young?
My parents lived in town, but our little town was surrounded by farms and some of my aunts and uncles lived on them. I remember being a little girl falling asleep on a hay bale while my parents helped package that killed cow and watching my uncle Bud take a rooster from strutting to ready for the oven, so I am not at all squeamish about my meat.
The little wise ass was only six
It's only gotten worse since.
I was on a farm when I was young, too. I've seen the chickens running around after their necks were broken. But I'm still a tad squeamish. Of course, most humans would be sickened by the process by which most cattle are slaughtered today. This is why the industry has made it a crime to take photos or videos of their inhumane operations.
We now have a couple of good local sources of beef and other meat. There is a new butcher shop in our town that sells only local meats. I wonder how wide-spread this is. Still, my impression is that it is nearly impossible to find a slaughter house that is acceptable in terms of being humane or careful.
As to the poverty, yep, that affects the power of our voting. I feel this is an under-appreciated aspect of the concentration of wealth and income: not only is it offensive to our sense of fairness, it also represents concentration of power. If we have less money to spend, then voting with our money has less impact. Similarly, concentration of industries and services in just a few corporations has limited our choices so that, once again, it makes voting with dollars less effective. Despite all the hyping of capitalism, competition has been squeezed out of many commercial arenas.
yes, well...
I have another uncle who sent me a 20 minute factory farm video, challenging me to watch it and still eat meat. No, it's not pretty, not at all, but I found the repeated use of phrase "all without anesthesia" kind of ridiculous, what--you want your meat full of even more drugs? The anti-biotics are bad enough. And the narrator also kept repeating "rivers of blood"--um, it's a slaughterhouse, you were expecting rivers of chocolate? Try Willy Wonka's place.
I guess what I'm saying is that was a stupid tactic. Focus on the anti-biotics, the unclean conditions, the sick animals, the bad feed, the all around crap practices and don't go over the top with these things that anybody who knows that meat doesn't magically appear in pink styrofoam and cling wrapped packages are actually what happens to get meat, regardless.
Volvo????????
Oh, that's funny. I don't drive at all, I'm powered by my own sense of smugness! I've never owned a foreign car. My poor father would spin in his grave like twirling dervish if his boy ever bought anything except GM.
When I had the money...
I shopped my conscience. Now, as my good friend Connie (R.I.P.) was fond of saying, I've had to go back to pinching a penny until it shits five more.
I understand that restriction
I hope this didn't come across wrong. Sometimes this sort of idea does in fact sound elitist. I love resale shops and with a little effort I can find very nice clothes at a fraction of the cost. Buying local food products can be much more expensive than buying from the big name brands. Not everyone has the money to buy free range cheese. Spend your money in the manner that makes more sense for you, but if you have the option, and if it makes sense, buy local instead of global. That's all I was trying to say.
Exactly how I feel and what I try to do when feasible.
This was a very good post. Thank you for writing it. I got some great links from it, too.
not at all.
We make good use of the local "Care and Share" store and we have produce sold on the corner just two blocks up, often cheaper than the grocery store and we buy there, all we can.
I also find being a penny pincher can make you just a tiny bit better steward of the earth and you don't even realize it at first. Your kids like that fancy but pricey greek yogurt? Buy a big container of plain yogurt and strain it yourself then sweeten and add your own fruit. Less packaging, less sweetener and real fruit--oh and much less money! That's just one example~
Spending more for things that are worth more
I have a general problem with decisions based on strict cost analysis. You can find even those claiming to be anti-capitalist choosing a cheaper alternative to the detriment of the environment, health, and/or workers. Somehow, it is easier to donate money to a cause than to buy a higher priced item, which is more directly effective because it attacks a problem at its root rather than forming an organization to solve a problem that already exists. This pricing delusion is especially damaging when it comes to assessing the value of such things as insulating homes, using efficient appliances, and buying low-mileage vehicles.
yes, those lightbulbs are
worth more and we do use them, but why does the light they cast have to be so damn horrible?
as usual we are in total agreement
sometimes your personal economics dictate that you just have to buy the lower cost item, but it usually it makes more sense to buy the higher quality item. tools is the perfect example. buy a tool that will last a lifetime. spend the extra money now and save yourself a lot of headaches in the longrun.
tools, that is true.
I've been using the same all metal sewing machine for thirty years. I'm sure I would have blown through several cheap ones by now. Once you've done factory sewing you can't go back. And scissors, cheap scissors aren't worth a damn, same with cheap knives.
Wand waved.
You can take a look in edit mode and see ;)
Thanks!
Thank you so much. Really appreciate all of your help.
For most of my life I've purchased GM cars.
But now I refuse to ever buy one again after having major problems with every car but one.
the best car I have ever owned is a Chrysler
I can do quite a bit of my own car repairs, and my son (who is actually a certified mechanic) does the bigger things I cannot do myself. I have found GM cars to be reliable and quite easy to maintained. However, the best car I have owned is actually a Chrysler. It's almost 16 years old and shows absolutely no sign of stopping anytime soon. I'll be pretty darn happy if I can get that car to the 20 year mark.
that brings up a conflict on American vs environment
I'd like to buy American products, manufactured here (because, you know, some "American" products are manufactured in Asia), while at the same time, I want to have a car that doesn't use an insane amount of gasoline.
We chose to get a Prius. Toyota has moved some manufacturing to the U.S., although our model, a 2005, wasn't built here.
In this case we had the two issues to contend with, and the solutions to each were incompatible with each other.