Posted by
AuntieD on Thursday, August 07, 2008 1:38:20 PM
Diane MacEachern, author of Big
Green Purse: Use Your Spending Power to Create a Cleaner, Greener World,
wrote an article in National Wildlife Magazine encouraging women “to buy less
and to reuse what they buy. Clearly, nothing will get manufacturers’ attention
more than consumers who decide to keep their money in their purses. Corporate
needs for profit give consumers power. And because women spend 85 cents of
every dollar in the retail marketplace, we have a whole planet full of power.
By intentionally shifting our spending to products that offer the greatest
environmental benefits, we can use our purses like bright green tethers and
pull manufacturers in a safer, healthier, more eco-friendly direction.”
It occurred to me that Corporate
America is not the only entity taking notice that consumers are spending
less. Our government measures the health
of our economy by measuring how much American’s are spending and government is
clearly worried. The “r” word is
beginning to be heard above a whisper. Many
American’s are hurting financially and worried about the future. They have had no choice but to change their
spending habits.
Lately I have been contemplating the
Libertarian philosophy as I have a very smart niece who tells me I have "leanings." I have read
their party platform agreeing with a surprising number of statements and
listening to Libertarian’s speak in various forums. On the one hand I embrace as little
government as possible intruding into private lives. But the reality of our country today is that
government is very intrusive, spends an unfathomable amount of tax payer’s
money and has put our country at great risk by incurring an historic and despicable
deficit. It is no wonder that “change”
is the watchword of the day.
What if the real revolution we could
create was to change the measuring stick?
What if our economy was based instead on how happy American’s are or how
much money we didn’t spend but saved for the future, or how healthy we are, or
how clean our environment, or how peaceful our world? How would the decisions of government change,
and how would the priorities shift? My
mind boggles at the possibilities – the Department of Transportation becomes
the Department of Mass Transportation, the USDA becomes the USDOrganicA, the FDA actually works for the people instead
of the drug companies, the Pentagon becomes the Peaceagon. Whew!
So, what kind of change can we reasonably and
realistically expect to create? I
believe it begins and ends with our own behavior if we want our government to implement
change. Focus on what we can control, what we can
directly influence. Make the choice to change our spending habits. Government and Corporate
America will follow the money. (Opps,
maybe I am a Libertarian - Let the marketplace be the agent of change.) (But I still think socialized medicine is a
good idea.)