...And the "have-nots" probably don't, won't or ever will. At least that's what the luxury retailers are touting today. Our economy with it's ups and downs never seems to bother the wealthy, and I suppose that "might" be a good thing. I mean SOMEONE has to keep the economy afloat, because it's sure not the MIDDLE class...not with all the "taxing" situations we find ourselves in these days.
Montblanc (makers of quality writing implements to the uber-rich) recently sold a PEN for a WHOPPING $700,000!!! Now I don't know about YOU, but I really don't have the "need" for such drivel, nor do I have occasion that would require me to have SUCH a waste of money in my pocket merely to SIGN something. And in spite of my excellent credit rating (let's just say we're in the 800's), even MY "John Hancock" ain't worth so much that I need a $700K pen to apply it! Where the hell is my cheap-ass, always writes in any temperature BIC?
Then there's the luxury cars...ahh, those cars. Whether it's Lamborghini, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Bugatti, or even something a LOT more exotic than those, there is ALWAYS a market for something that goes from 0-60 in less than FIVE seconds, costs close to a million bucks, AND gets LOUSY mileage! We won't even get into the maintenance costs or insurance either, because, like my Dad used to say: "If you have to ask, you can't afford it". And Dad was always right.
Funny thing is...we live in pretty much a "disposable" society. It's disposable diapers, disposable lighters (if you can still afford to smoke that is), and ALL those disposable bottles and cans that fuel the retailing juggernauts across America. Nothing is really "made to last" anymore, and if it IS, it's probably way out of reach of many people's price range. That's why we keep CHINA running, buying all our goods from THEM, and even THEY are feeling the economic problems that once plagued JAPAN, when we were buying all THEIR stuff.Hell, we've even got disposable people now. Don't think so? Then just ask all the SENIORS on fixed incomes....society paints them as pretty near disposable the way they're treated by pharmaceutical companies. And what about those living at poverty level? Isn't it akin to Dickens when many state: "Better for them to die and decrease the surplus population"? Seems the harder people try to make THEM more equal, the more it costs every one else, right?
SO where IS the equality in that?
And those of us "have nots" seem to be pretty much OK with that. Well, most of us anyway. I don't really count myself in that number. I'm one of those that swims against the current here. I don't HAVE to have all the fol-de-rol that comes with the latest, greatest, most innovative, and expensive. And it's not because I can't afford it (which I can't anyway), but I like what WORKS...and works WELL, and for a LONG TIME. I don't believe that things are meant to be "tossed out", especially before their time, whether it's a TV, a car, or yes...even a person. We always prided ourselves in keeping (and holding onto) what we valued, so why stop now? Dad had another axiom for that: "What's worth having is worth working for and keeping, and what's worth keeping is worth taking care of".
Amazing what one learns from one's father, isn't it?
It has to do with NEEDS vs WANTS.
What I need is a lot different that what I want, as should it be for everyone. Problem is, many folks have blurred THAT line between the two...and the worst part is, they don't even know it. That's all well and good if you're rich out the ass, but for way too many of us... we're just NOT as fortunate. So we go into several types of HOCK to get what we want (or what we think we need), and to what end? Sure, let's re-mortgage the house to get us a plasma TV, an iPhone (or two), a new Lexus, and a puppy....!
We can always worry about eating LATER, right?
There will always be a "best of" as well as a "worst of", but somewhere in the middle is a TON of crap that's good, solid, and costs a helluva lot less in many ways. All we have to do is look for it...and not buy some $700,000 pen to sign our lives away in the process.
But that's just MY opinion...
2 comments:
That $700k pen has got to be the WORST sign greed I've ever heard of!
I thought the $1k jeans or $200 heels I heard about on the "Fashion" channel were bad.
SHEESH!
It's all about money. Gotta have MORE! MORE!
Sometimes I tell David "Wouldn't it be great if the world was like it was like it was in the Ice Age? Just lived off the land, made things when needed, and when we wanted something extra special, we would make sure that it was made to last for a LONG time and was WORTH the time and effort put into it?"
I wouldn't mind wearing leather and fur. If PETA was around, well, they wouldn't have lasted long, would they?
;)
Funny thing to all this big-buck stuff...it ALL breaks or wears out the same damn way.
That Mercedes worth $500K will crumple JUST AS WELL as that 10K Kia Sorrento...
And that $700K pen WILL run out of ink...they ALL do, even that 29 cent BIC!
People just don't get it.
B.G.
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