Ditto about people flying everywhere, or driving distances like between towns on a casual basis, paper towels, styrofoam cups, food and everything else wrapped or boxed in plastic, computers (though I use one but admire the people I know who don't), watering anything outdoors in the Southwest except vegetables or fruit trees, junk mail including catalogs, owning many pairs of shoes, plastic bags.
I think deep in our hearts we know that our comforts, our conveniences are at the expense of other people. Grace Lee Boggs
The wasteful practices that bug me are insane financial bailouts of irresponsible, sociopathic corporations and their leadership. I really think these scurrilous individuals, who should be in prison, do more damage to the environment and our democratic republic than anything else.
On the household front, paper towels, styrofoam anything, and plastic bags.
Neighbors who use the hose to wash their driveway and sidewalk. We're in a drought, folks! And there's never a good time to be wasteful.
On a larger scale, the incredible waste of our prison system. We pay a fortune for incarceration - it costs as much to keep a prisoner as it does to send him to college - to Harvard! The waste of human beings as well as money is incalculable. California is the worst; we need serious prison reform now.
No offense to any teachers on board but there is a great deal of waste in our school systems. (I work at a community college and there is a lot of waste here as well - but nothing compared to the K-12 schools.)
That's one of the problems with the popular, democratic desire to redistribute wealth. You might say that democracy represents the waste of a republic.Originally Posted by redfox
"Things should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler." ~ Albert Einstein
I know Alan the evil democrats are to blame for everything but if the Repub's were in charge things would be wonderfulNot!!!!
It's not a matter of redistributing wealth. It's about changing the system that only benefits greedy people who profit by generating wealth out of thin air in the form of derivatives and hedge funds, etc.. I know we had a thread about Wealth Addiction recently.. Here is the Salon response to that article which I think is interesting.
It's funny how when people are driven by excessive alcohol consumption they are derelicts, but when they are driven by excessive profit and wealth generation for no good other than the creation of more wealth, they are seen as patriots. I saw the Wolf of Wall Street and the Piers Morgan interview with the real "wolf," Jordan Belfort. Interesting to hear it all in his words. A free market economy is one thing. The shenanigans on Wall Street is another.
"Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
www.silententry.wordpress.com
Wasteful practices that bug me: a "save the earth" attitude coupled with precious little knowledge or ability to re-use materials.
Examples: Going to Lowes to buy, for instance, lumber and glass for your coldframes so that you (the generic you) can be all earth huggy but never considering re-using found materials which are all over this part of the city. In this vein DH has beautiful cold frames made with (some) scavenged lumber and completely scavenged glass windows. Building new Eco-friendly houses when renovating an existing urban structure uses significantly less of the earth's resources.
The greenies irk me.
To say the bailouts represent popular democratic desire and a triumph of democracy over republicanism (small d and r) when the calls and letters were running 100-1 against TARP and our "representatives" voted for it anyway is really pretty much a complete negative image of the truth (up is down and down is up). GM I guess had at least *some* popular support for bailouts, but the banks had almost none, and the overwhelming popular will was completely ignored and they got bailed out anyway.
Though it wouldn't be the first thing that comes to mind when discussing wasteful practices. I mean yes corporations are major major polluters and what they do matters much more than individual attempts to cut back. But the banks are just wasting money and money in some sense isn't real (not that they should be getting it but pertaining to the thread title)
Stuff like this are what would come to mind:
http://www.npr.org/2014/01/30/265396...g-up-in-flames
Trees don't grow on money
Not in my school system. They are so cheap they send out a paper every fall showing how much is spent per pupil in the state, national level and in our county. They do this so everyone can see how little they spend per pupil. They BRAG about it.
Pay cut 5 years ago. STILL making less than I was then (and it was low to begin with.)
This is my copy room: First copier, jams. Second and third copiers, won't feed the originals so no back/front. Fourth operates correctly. Me to copy lady: "When are they going to come fix them?" She replies: "He came yesterday. He already did."
I think you're confusing a type of government with the parties alledging to represent each form. That's ok, lots of folks do.I know Alan the evil democrats are to blame for everything but if the Repub's were in charge things would be wonderful
I didn't say that, although there's really not much difference between a government routing other peoples money to bailouts for businesses or subsidies for individuals. If you (the generic one of course) support one, you're also supporting the other. That's what I was implying.
"Things should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler." ~ Albert Einstein
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