Posted by
John Dick on Monday, August 25, 2008 9:56:02 PM
After reading a recent article by writer and blogger A.C. Cargill, posted at her “Sounded Good at the Time…” blog, titled “Free Houses Aren’t Free”, I thought about just how much of today's news media reporting is oriented towards, and so focused on, the "hardships" of "consumers," and how terrible it is that so many people don't have enough income or "money" to be able to "purchase" and "consume" all the great, wonderful things available to us, all produced and provided for by our "terrible, mean, cut-throat, dog-eat-dog" economy and society.
Rarely does the media, however, point out that it is our fabulous, wealth producing, profit loving, freedom oriented, peaceful, division of labor, capitalist society that actually makes possible, and provides us with, all the wonderful products, goods, and services that so many consumers have access to. And without such a system in place, only poverty and some sort of political tyranny would exist.
As A.C. Cargill’s article points out, though, perhaps a lot of the "hardships" experienced by so many consumers is actually due to their own ignorance and/or lack of interest with finances and economics in general. Whether a person has truly fallen on hard times (such as, due to job loss or bad health), or is just financially irresponsible, the context is that, either way, they cannot afford to engage in activities or make decisions that will only further harm their already precarious financial situation. This would include entering a contest to win something "big" -- like a house worth over a million dollars -- that has the real potential of causing a truly devastating personal financial crisis, if the person entering the contest is not prepared to deal with, or able to pay for, the “real” costs associated with winning the “big” ticket item -– costs such as income and property taxes, fees, insurance, maintenance costs, or utilities.
If such people choose to be financially irresponsible with "eyes wide open," then they have no one else to blame but themselves, and are responsible for the consequences of their decisions, choices, and actions. Such folks need to stop making such foolish decisions, and keep their “eyes” -– and their minds -- focused on reality.