Abshopious New Year
Published on 31 Dec 2006 at 3:00 pm.
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Filed under Politics, The Economy, Good Manners, Words, Credit Cards.
I’ve coined a new word for the New Year: abshopious. I’m going to try to give up (ab) mindless shopping in 2007. Ab-shop-ious.
Derived from one of my favorite words:
ab·ste·mi·ous [ab-stee-mee-uhs] adjective
- sparing or moderate in eating and drinking; temperate in diet.
- characterized by abstinence: an abstemious life.
- sparing: an abstemious diet.
[Origin: 1615–25; < L abstémius, equiv. to abs- abs- + tém- (base of témétum intoxicating drink) + -ius -ious] Related forms
ab·ste·mi·ous·ly, adverb; ab·ste·mi·ous·ness, noun
I don’t recommend this for everyone. In fact, I strongly urge you not to follow my advice. It would collapse the U.S. economy, which is teetering on the point of consumer spending. A downturn in consumerism would be bad not only for America, but given the balance of trade, bad for the whole world.
And it would also prevent the U.S. from raising interest rates again. That would be both good (stimulating to the economy) and bad (we have huge deficit to fund). Higher interest rates would attract more buyers for U.S. debt, and more domestic money from the stock market and into bonds. But it would not be great for the stock market, for wages, or for production.
If you’re conflicted, as I am, about supporting this economy by buying one more cashmere sweater from Target, do us all a few favors in the new year. Here are a couple of relatively painless ways to help yourself and the country without consuming wastefully:
- Pay down your debt.
- Buy a hybrid or electric car.
- Buy locally-grown food, even if it costs more.
- Support women-owned and minority-owned businesses.
- Contribute to local and international charities that consume American-made goods, like Habitat for Humanity and One.
- Buy goods from the companies supporting Product(Red)
Product(Red) is a brilliant project that links the most popular consumer products and good works. Product(Red) has built a coalition of powerful brands (iTunes, Gap, Motorola, Converse, and even American Express—the only credit card I carry) to provide anti-retroviral drugs for people with AIDS in Africa. It makes spending good work, and good works hip.
My niece, Kate, turned me on to One, and bought me Product(Red) iTunes this holiday. It was the perfect gift, creating joy for the recipient, satisfaction for the giver, royalties for the musicians, profits for Apple, money for health care in Africa, and not a scrap of waste anywhere on the planet.
That’s the perfect amount of consumption, in my abshopious world!
Buff