Re: news of the day

Well Marge, as usual, you hit that nail right on the head. I too hope
this trend has maxed out and will be brought under control. Send all
these fat cats to live in a third world country for a month w/out their
plastic. Talk about a paradigm shift!!


LOL   

---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
From: "Marge Talt" <mtalt@hort.net>
Reply-To: gardenchat@hort.net
Date:  Mon, 10 Nov 2003 01:06:33 -0500

>Well, Pam, I think greed has been with the human race since we
>started walking upright.  Just seems there are fewer societal
>restraints on it now than there used to be - or maybe just more
>opportunities for people to indulge.  Being greedy used to be frowned
>upon; now it seems to be the norm.
>
>I also think that the relative wealth and size of our "middle class"
>encourages greed - as does our consumer oriented society.  Used to be
>- for the vast majority of people - that ' use it 'til it wears out,
>then do without' was how things worked.  
>
>During the depression, my Mom had 1 dress she wore every day to high
>school - it had removable collar and cuffs - think she told me there
>were 2 sets - she washed them out every night and alternated them. 
>Before her time, few but the upper classes and  wealthy had more than
>one garment for every day wear and one for 'best'...the old "Sunday
>Best" (even when I was a child, we still had our "Sunday Best"
>outfit; worn only on Sunday or for very special occasions).  Today,
>people have closets bursting with clothes and keep on buying them
>although what they have is perfectly good.
>
>Now, we have a throwaway society in this country; all closely tied to
>our entire economic operation - and that operation is now closely
>knit to the rest of the world economy; was just reading an article in
>the paper today about how almost every Christmas decoration or fake
>tree sold here in the US is made in China; so if we don't buy new
>Christmas goodies, it now adversely affects some poor Chinese person
>earning a big $100/month.  Sort of an unending circle.
>
>When society operated on a cash basis, people could only get what
>they could actually afford to pay for up front; most did without. 
>Once we got a credit based society, everybody can get about anything
>if they have plastic and people do...so we're always in debt (at
>least a lot are) while accumulating lots of 'stuff' that we really
>don't actually need, but providing thousands of jobs in hundreds of
>related industries.  If everybody cut back to getting only what they
>needed; millions would be out of work all over the world...
>
>The reverse side of this coin is that all the greedy consumerism
>provides better paying jobs and higher standards of living to more
>people than ever before in the history of mankind.
>
>So, how do you strike a happy medium....keeping up people's standard
>of living but eliminating the greed as SOP factor?  Can it be done? 
>I would hope that we - as a society - can at least put some curbs on
>the current trends.  The scandals about salaries for the big
>corporation CEO's is a small start - if it doesn't just fizzle out.  
>
>Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
>mtalt@hort.net
>Editor:  Gardening in Shade
>-----------------------------------------------
>Current Article: Variegation on the Green Theme - Part One
>http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/shade_gardening
>------------------------------------------------
>Complete Index of Articles by Category and Date
>http://mtalt.hort.net/article-index.html
>------------------------------------------------
>All Suite101.com garden topics :
>http://www.suite101.com/topics.cfm/635
>
>----------
>> From: Pamela J. Evans <gardenqueen@gbronline.com>
>> 
>> Bonnie & Marge, I've been turning that soapbox over for years.
>Don't
>> understand greed, never have, but it is evil and is undermining
>every
>> society it touches. Priorities these days are severely messed up.
>The
>> sooner ALL get hip to that, the better off we'll be. But try to
>preach
>> that sermon and people look at you like you have two heads or
>sprouted
>> horns or something. My cousin and her husband just returned from
>Russia
>> where they were picking up their newly adopted kids and she told me
>most
>> Americans would be appalled at the conditions these people live in.
>Even
>> as simply as I live, my little cottage/shack would look like a
>palace
>> over there. Wish more people could see that for themselves. Might
>wake
>> them up a bit.
>> 
>> 
>> I can dream, can't I?
>> 
>> ---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
>> From: "Bonnie Holmes" <holmesbm@usit.net>
>> Reply-To: gardenchat@hort.net
>> Date:  Sat, 8 Nov 2003 07:31:44 -0800
>> 
>> >In my mind I can point to the time "greed" became the mantra for
>corporate
>> >America.  I was working in D.C. in a large law firm in the late
>1970's. 
>> >Ringer's book, "Looking Out For Number One" was on the best seller
>list and
>> >required reading for managers of many large firms.  It seems to me
>that
>> >from that point forward the emphasis was on self...what one could
>acquire,
>> >how much one could spend on cars, houses, etc., buying the best
>and
>> >bragging on it.  Problems of those less fortunate didn't concern
>those on
>> >this track unless they were directly involved.  The thought of
>giving back
>> >to the community whose structure and principles allowed great
>success was
>> >completely lost. 
>> >
>> >Enough...my soapbox just turned over. 
>> >
>> >Bonnie Zone 6+ ETN
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >> [Original Message]
>> >> From: Marge Talt <mtalt@hort.net>
>> >> To: <gardenchat@hort.net>
>> >> Date: 11/07/2003 9:07:17 PM
>> >> Subject: Re: [CHAT] news of the day
>> >>
>> >> > From: "Bonnie & Bill Morgan" <wmorgan972@ameritech.net>
>> >> > > May we someday wake up and go for more renewable, cleaner,
>energy
>> >> sources!
>> >>
>> >> I'll second that!  However, I very much fear that money is what
>> >> drives things the world around and as long as those with vested
>> >> interests in keeping the status quo are the ones donating
>mammoth
>> >> sums to election campaigns, I can guarantee that renewable
>energy is
>> >> going to stay firmly in the rumble seat.  When you stop and
>think
>> >> about the vast network of businesses that depend on oil in some
>form
>> >> for their existence, you can see that the vested interests are
>large.
>> >>
>> >> Until some disaster occurs, this nation seems set on reaction
>instead
>> >> of proaction, and then seems to waste time, money and energy in
>> >> trying to point to fix responsibility on some entity - witness
>the
>> >> eastcoast black out this year -  (I guess so people can sue
>them)
>> >> instead of saying "Hello..it's time to do something about
>> >> this"...just too much power in the hands of a few extremely
>> >> short-sighted and profit-motivated persons.
>> >>
>> >> Now, I don't have anything against making a nice profit in
>business
>> >> (only wish we could manage that), but there is profit and there
>is
>> >> greed; today, greed is winning hands down.
>> >>
>> >> Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
>> >> mtalt@hort.net
>> >> Editor:  Gardening in Shade
>> >> -----------------------------------------------
>> >> Current Article: Variegation on the Green Theme - Part One
>> >> http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/shade_gardening
>> >> ------------------------------------------------
>> >> Complete Index of Articles by Category and Date
>> >> http://mtalt.hort.net/article-index.html
>> >> ------------------------------------------------
>> >> All Suite101.com garden topics :
>> >> http://www.suite101.com/topics.cfm/635
>> >>
>> >>
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>> 
>> --
>> Pam Evans
>> Kemp TX/zone 8A
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> --
>> 
>>
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--
Pam Evans
Kemp TX/zone 8A



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