Ah, labor day, time of celebrating our nation's workers by watching politicians who hate unions and think that lower taxes for the higher classes ("trickle down theory"), less regulation, and less public assistance are the keys to a prosperous society.
Because it worked so well last time, under Bush. *sigh*
Crazy hair-pulling (and Tasha actually yelling at a van with blatant lies about Feingold on the side) aside, labor day is a time of sales on new stuff. Mostly made in China. You know, because we need to celebrate the near-slave conditions that the Chinese labor under too! Who said Communism and Capitalism were mutual contradictions? (Seriously, if people want to know what the end result of rampant capitalism with little to no oversight and regulations looks like.. look at China.)
There I go again, with the politics and social justice and pointing out the obvious. Anyway... the whole point is that labor day is a great day to buy "stuff." I was bombarded with 15%, 20%, 30%, 40% off flyers. Some of them were pretty tempting too, but I managed to avoid them. So far the only thing I've bought besides groceries is supplies for making our wedding invitations (consumables); they are made of recycled paper, with seeds in them, and are meant to be planted and produce wildflowers.
This whole exercise has me taking a close look at all my consuming habits. For instance, I really would like a 6+ quart enameled cast iron dutch oven. My ideal would be a Le Creuset, but at 250 a pop its too rich for my blood - at least, for a new one. Lodge Logic makes a nice one -- but it's made in China. When it comes down to it, once I'm back to actually buying new stuff, I think I begin saving money to buy items that are made in the USA, or have been made by fair trade deals, or made in countries where people are paid a decent wage. The more local however, the better.
Next time: what ever happened to the TV repair man?
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