| Splurging for our Country’s future! | for everyone |
Splurging for our Country’s future!
How can you be splurging when many people in our nation are suffering?”
To be fair, initially it SOUNDS correct; especially when the logic calls us that we should share scarce non renewable resources.
In reality everything we consume is the fruit of someone else’s labor. People organize firms that create products and services to survive. Most products are produced and reproduced on a renewable basis. Contrary to the common saying that splurging is bad – it actually does the opposite. Why are some nations rich? – Because they create and sell more products and services, or the package these products and services. If no one buys- no one sells, then the people become poor. Creativity sells. Creativity makes money.
Example: Japan , China , Singapore and Taiwan
What is needed in our country is to educate the people of the higher spirituality and humanity of consumerism rather than bad rep of materialism promulgated by some of our religious, social and family members. We need to do far less emphasis on charity more emphasis on productive consumerism.
Splurging is good when done within one’s means and when it is used for a fruitful end.
Lets say I indulge myself in a weekend of material delights and I booked a presidential suite at the Peninsula Manila. That Action of mine benefited more deserving people than giving it to your average charitable institution. Let’s do the breakdown.
I check in this five star hotel, running the hotel are employees and managers of the best caliber. They are the most hardworking and productive workforce that create the unique first class hotel experience. To reward these men and women we give them generous wages. Students in Colleges get motivated to strive for the best in their trades because they know that excellent high paying hotels exist and only employ the best. The Hotel employs accountants, chefs’ staff, chauffeurs, managers etc. Most of these people have spouses and at least 1 child dependent on this hotel for their income. This income sends their kids to school, pays the rent, pays for food etc.
Circulating money is good for the economy; it keeps mouth’s fed, production moving and services in demand. I have nothing against saving for the future but really your money actually loses value in the bank, because of inflation and opportunity costs- go ahead research and be more of an investor rather than a saver!
I was reading a book on post was Western Gemany and how they got the economy went back to normal, the finance ministers made new money for circulation and pretty soon this money circulated to build infrastructure and services. We should emphasize this, NO! not emphasize we should take it to a higher degree and we should make it tantamount to salvation- we should proclaim that your consumer habits will be the bread and butter and that when we create creative and quality products and services we give meaningful employment to people.
Let us consume meaningfully, splurge without guilt if it is within your means. Save; invest so when you reap the benefits you can splurge again. Wealth is good. Consumerism is more holy than most of our bishops who rant and rant but never proposed anything concrete; proclaiming a message that they can feed the world when they cant feed a hundred.
on charity:
Charity is good, if it is used sparingly and when targeted to the most promising and deserving yet compromised individuals in our society. If human values were likened to nutrition; charity would be like fats, a little would be great as it is the tastiest and most flavorful indulgence but anything more than that creates problems. Too much emphasis charity makes a population which is needy, incompetent and lazy simply because we let the undeserving marginalize fellowmen survive! Too much charity is an insult to human skill and capability; let me say this fact. All humans are 99.99% genetically alike to each other but our different value system create to 1,000 +% difference in success in life. It makes the class division wider as it reinforces society roles.
In our nation’s example the well off and the middle class are often criticized for being scrooges and uncharitable. Many of our opinion leaders, particularly politicians and some church leaders put overemphasis on charity as the only way to alleviate the sufferings of the poor. For example the recent proposed dole out on families earning less and the subsidiary on electricity and the food subsidies on the poorest families create a culture of dependency. It get me furious that while we work our asses off, the government gives off free lunch to the parasites of society. This gives them incentives to be content with just the way they are and reproduce like rabbits; I would have agreed to the dole out system as long as once they fall in line to the subsidies, castration is the ultimate price.
I will write more on this in another blog entry.
