If It Isn’t Digital, It Isn’t Disposable

We were already heading for a recession before the coronavirus hit but now we’re definitely in for a rough ride.

Americans are about to learn what things are worth, and what things cost.

For 71 years after WWII we coasted on our good fortune of being the only major industrial nation to emerge intact, using that to leverage global dominance in economics / politics / commerce / culture.

We sold our birthright for a mess pf plastic, letting the slickee boiz gut America for their profit, conning us into going along by telling us we could buy our cheap plastic crap even cheaper by shopping at bog box stores supplied by foreign manufacturers at the expense of domestic producers and local businesses.

Well, that bill just came due with a mammy-jammin’ vengeance and we’re gonna pay a lot more for a lot less in the coming decade so suck it up, buttercup.

Out of sheer necessity, we’re going to return to the thrift based philosophies of those who survived the Great Depression and WWII -- and believe it or not, the hippie-dippy era from the Summer of Love in ’67 to the fall of Saigon in ’75 (45 years ago today, compadres).

So what are these lessons?

USE IT UP  
WEAR IT OUT
MAKE IT DO

Out of necessity we’re going to return to a less disposable, more utilitarian lifestyle.

If it isn’t digital,
it isn’t disposable.

Grow your own food:
You don’t have to grow enough to be self-sufficient, but some tomatoes or squashes or beans can stretch your food budget and take some stress out of the system.

Buy more durable goods:
We need to start demanding products that can be fixed, not simply tossed aside because it’s cheaper to buy a new one.

Stay closer to home:
Travel and tourism will take big hits in the coming decade.  There will still be a lot of it, but less pleasure jaunting.  Amusement parks will suffer, but traveling carnivals and fun fairs will do better.  Entertainers will play smaller venues but do more touring.

More home crafts:
Practical items such as clothes and household goods, not just geegaws and trinkets.  Home 3D printing is a boon, but even using more conventional materials and tools we can still turn out a vast array of items we need.  Make your own toys for your kids. 

(And oh, by the way, kiss your collectibles “retirement” good-bye.  Nobody’s going to be buying that junk, the post COVID-19 world is going to actively shun everything that came before it.)

We’re in for some hard times, folks, but we can’t become hard in response.  Tough, yes, but not hard.

We’ve got a country to rebuild,
a future to reclaim.

© Buzz Dixon