Shopomania

 Paul Berton is the editor in chief of the Hamilton Spectator.  "Shopomania" is subtitled "Our Obsession with Possession." The world is facing many difficult problems and over shopping has been identified as a contributor to current and future global concerns.

Seemed a whimsical format, but well thought out.  Anecdotes about shopping peculiarities but also normalities.  How can we build a more sustainable society?  Shopping at one level is a necessity.  We need to do it in order to survive and society needs it to have a functioning economy.   

The Covid 19 pandemic forced new shopping patterns.  Jeff Bezos at Amazon is worth more than some countries.  Small businesses did not fare well with many closing.  J.B. MacKinnon " Since the turn of the current century over consumption has become the biggest environmental threat to the planet."

Shopping is part of many social conversations with some bragging about how smart they are (or wealthy).  Buying forbidden products is exciting for some with ivory being one example.  Buying frenzies are regular events such as Black Friday, Cabbage Patch dolls, toilet paper, etc.

City locations have had a geographic component such as rivers but underlying a lot of decisions has been trade routes.  Now some decisions are based on shopping.  A good example is Dubai which is basically a desert island that has turned itself into a shopping mecca.  

One of the inevitable consequences of increasing consumption has been garbage.  Cities in the wealthier nations are wrestling with landfill sites.  On a bigger scale the wealthier nations had been sending large amounts of garbage to poorer nations.  China in 2018 refused to accept more foreign garbage recognizing health hazards.  Within a year garbage exports to Africa has quadrupled.  The United States in 2019 had sent over  one billion pounds of plastic waste spread over 96 countries.

I thought I was above consumerism, but this book reminds I am not.  At one time I found it very difficult to walk out of a book store if I had not bought a book.  I have curbed that habit, by relying on the library to feed my reading addiction.  I am reluctant to part with any of the books cluttering my home and I still judge people by how much they display books.

Berton contends there have been efforts to deal with the problems of shopping while admitting that our economy is a delicate balancing act.  As individuals we should ask ourselves three questions:  1.  what do we really need?  2.  what do we really want? and 3. how do we achieve these things?

The three R's of the environmental movement are Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.  The emphasis has been more on recycle, but needs to be more on the first two.  One of the drivers of shopping is the desire to own things (guilty), but part of solution could be sharing and renting things you only need occasionally.

One future possibility could be with self driving cars that we could easily rent for the times we need to get out--it should be relatively cheaper and easier on the environment.  The author also suggests that a partial replacement for manufacturing would be repairing goods.  Mankind is approaching various crises that are mostly inter-related and we need to grapple not only as individuals, but as nations.

In his acknowledgements Paul Berton notes that this book necessitated a lot of research, most of which he didn't do.  Of course there are a lot of facts that need to be organized to make a point.  He does a really good job of it.  I am reminded of his father, Pierre Berton whose writings take up a lot of space on my shelves that he was able to hire researchers to gather up information that he organized into easy to read chunks of significant Canadian history.  The thinking and organization of father and son have enriched more than just Canadians.

Coronavirus lessons: how one makes money

The Coronavirus pandemic is already disrupting our lives and seems likely to hurt in more unforeseen ways.  Will we learn anything?  There will be many things to learn such as how much we contribute to global warming or other ways to amuse ourselves besides the established entertainment platforms.

Many years ago I used to train newspaper carriers.  Many of them wanted to make a little extra money either for some immediate desire or for a long term savings project.  To me the core value they needed to learn was how one actually makes money.  We are now at a point where this will be of greater concern to more people as many jobs are going to disappear or be stressed as more people stay home.

A question is the best way to start a lesson.  A good one might be "How do you think you make money?"  The most common answer is to work hard.  Another is to work smart.  Another is to develop a skill or talent.  And of course another way might be luck.  Although they all can be helpful, none are the real answer.

My answer is that you have to find someone or someones who have money and want or need what you offer more than keeping the money or spending it somewhere else.  Of course society has organized our desires into patterns that we in some cases take for granted and sometimes make an effort to discover.

One of my favorite examples is a famous well paid athlete, at the time Wayne Gretzsky was a good one.  You could argue athletes work hard and smart, develop a skill, maybe have a little luck.  Individuals are always looking for ways to amuse themselves and often spend spare cash for entertainment.  Sports have an attraction and when focused on winning give motivation to those who crave being on top.  If they have money someone could organize a team to compete against other teams and to promote an audience to watch.  To attract money they need to identify players that can help the team.  How many and how much depends on resources that an individual might have or more likely today can stream from many sources such as television or inter-net audience.  If the numbers are right large numbers of athletes can make a living, some of them spectacularly.  From this, other supporting jobs can be generated.  It takes more than a wealthy individual as a paying audience is required provides the necessary leverage.  This all assumes there is money left over after the bare necessities are taken care of.

A curve thrown at me by a carrier's mother was to pay to help a severely physically disabled person.  The truth is still that someone has to convince some one else that it is worth while to help this person.  Unfortunately not everyone is successful in that effort.  But others have appealed to our conscience or fear that we might need help in the future.  Too often politicians heeding wants of taxpayers resist efforts to help those who cannot contribute to their well-being, but on the other hand they are anxious to cater to what voters are most concerned about.

What about "regular" jobs?  All jobs result from somebody willing to buy whatever product or service is available.  If for any reason less money is available there is less ability to buy anything.  This could happen as people are taken off work and also if people are not able to get out to buy.

We live in a consumer society that depends on economic growth to  provide jobs.  With the Covid 19 pandemic (panic) people are not spending money the way they used to which means they will not be providing money making opportunities the way they used to.  There probably will be new opportunities related to health and for the many adjustments of ordinary people.  Delivering food is one example that may have long range effects to avoid large crowds.  If money does not circulate with most people using money to meet their wants and needs then jobs will likely diminish.

The economy really spins around what masses of people do.  If they do not spend money, all jobs are precarious.  If they decide their (economic) priorities change, job opportunities will shift.  As a collective entity it is more important to encourage the people very much including those with limited resources to spend.  For that to happen they have to feel secure.  Unless large companies are willing to spend money to employ people there will not be economic activity that benefits us all.  Yes, this is a time when what the government decides to do can save the day or end up creating a jungle.

If you aren't willing to spend money then no one will benefit and no jobs will be created.  Jobs require many people spending a little or some spending a lot.  One night class instructor pointed out that everything starts with sales.

WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER.

THANKSGIVING deserves more focus

There are a lot of holidays that we look forward to.  A lot are excuses for indulging--Christmas, New Years Eve, Canada Day/Fourth of July.  Thanksgiving is one where the focus is on what we already have.

The original Pilgrims (one of my ancestors was on the next boatload) celebrated in October 1621.  They survived  difficult winter with the help of natives.  90 natives attended the three day feast and 53 (of original 100 Pilgrims) attended carrying on a religious tradition.

In 1859 Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving to be the last Thursday in November.  In 1939 Franklin Roosevelt was confronted with five Thursdays in November.  He decided to make the official Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday in November.  It was during the Depression and he felt merchants could use an extra week for Christmas shopping.  Up until then it was unacceptable to start any Christmas ads before Thanksgiving.  There was resistance to Roosevelt's notion, but eventually Thanksgiving came to be celebrated on the fourth Thursday each month.

Some Canadians lay claim to an even earlier first Thanksgiving.  Martin Frobisher in 1578 was so grateful  to have survived a journey in the Arctic that he declared Thanksgiving.  In reality back in 1859 some Protestant ministers campaigned for a Thanksgiving holiday.  In 1957 Canadians decided on the second Monday in October to create a long weekend.  Canadians celebrate a month ahead of the Americans as their harvest is earlier in the season.

Secular holiday, excessive food--great variety--feel obligated to try them all.  Coming from a more British background one joy for me was cranberry sauce which struck my Italian/Ukrainian in-laws as strange.   In the last decade or two cranberry has increased in popularity as a healthy food and interesting flavor.  Pumpkins Pie used to be mostly just at Thanksgiving, but recently pumpkin flavor has become popular a greater part of the year.  Turkey seemed normal, but pasta (which I love) and peas and mushrooms were usually included.  We usually celebrated on Sunday.  This past year circumstances conspired for a Monday dinner which helped coincidentally resolved a lot of conflicts with in-laws who preferred Sunday, but were happy to join us for their second celebration.

Thanksgiving is now a major shopping turning point.  Black Friday (the day following the American Thanksgiving) has been the scene of hysterical American shoppers.  Canadian merchants feel they have to compete particularly near the border as many Canadians cross over to take advantage of bargains..  

A movie, "Beyond the Lights" is an interesting enough movie, but what I most remember is a song called, "Grateful."  A young singer went through some rough times before her life turned around.  Song expresses gratitude not only for the ways things turned out, but also all the painful steps along the way.   Rita Ora sings emotionally backing up the star, Gugu Mbatha-Raw

We live in a consumer society and more of us are realizing that is not helpful or as satisfying as it once might have been.  Just as pumpkin and cranberry flavors have expanded hopefully a feeling of gratitude and enjoying your family and friends will also spread.

GENERATION BABY BUSTER

This documentary film presented an interesting topic: why more women are rejecting the idea of becoming mothers.  Terra Renton took on this as a personal quest to do with her own life.  At age 32 she had put off the choice and now was wondering if she really wanted to stick to her resolution.  She had been involved with a tv show "Mantracker" and has some expertise and resources to really delve into it.

Before too long the choice boils down to the pros and cons.  The cons seem pretty frightful.  Your life is taken over.  Spouses and close friends tend to be neglected.  Careers are curtailed.  Lifestyles are altered.  On the other side is some parental and society pressure and buried in there are that you live for someone outside your self which is supposed to be fulfilling.

Along the way we uncover some trends.  I have observed and participated to some extent in these trends.  Fathers are now getting more involved in parenting, but are still dealing with their masculinity being questioned.  Previously fathers had been expected to be the bread winners and kept separate from raising children, except perhaps for discipline.

For myself I had accepted some of my father's habits and when my daughter was born, I didn't change diapers except in an emergency.  I did very little housework.  I did work long hours for a number of years in circulation departments of morning newspapers.  I developed habits of getting up early, around 5 or even earlier and often had to work late.  Later in life I ended up being a traveling salesman often leaving early and returning late and sometimes going away for a week at a time.

In the meantime I had a son born and things had started to change.  It had been pointed out to me that my brother-in-law, ten years younger and now my boss changed diapers and I found myself doing that a lot more.  I also did a little more housework.   I found myself not only getting involved with my children's extra curricular activities (dance, swimming, soccer, water polo), but also got involved in reading bedtime stories and even taught both of them to read.  Read about my volunteering http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2013/06/my-career-as-sports-volunteer.html  Here read about my proudest achievement teaching my kids to read.  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2012/10/my-proudest-achievement.html

In the film young women are portrayed as wanting to avoid all the encumbrances of child rearing.  It seems that consumerism impacted their choices.  Having a child would interfere with lots of things--vacations, entertainment and material goods.  All that is true.  Everything has a cost.  I didn't really think of parenthood before marriage and even in the early days after marriage it wasn't something I looked forward to.  But now I feel life was very selfish before and now is more meaningful and fulfilling.

My parents married young and I had been told they tried to have a baby right away, but I made them wait over a year.  Then they relaxed and my sister was born only a year and a half later.  Altogether they had six children with my youngest sister born 18 years apart from me.  I was told she was not an accident.  Still I had no wish to duplicate my parents feat.

There are a number of different angles  One point is that the role of men is changing and needs to be supported.  The United States is the only industrial nation not to have paid parental leave and thus conscious decisions are more difficult.  Parents have become over protective

One interesting example was given by Lenore Skenzy who was a reporter with a nine year old son who felt over protected.  He wanted to take a subway in New York to his home in Queens by himself.  Lenore and her husband were a little fearful, but finally they decided to give him the opportunity.  As she realized fear is overblown--violence is actually down unless you watch too much tv.  I remember being  a little fearful that my son (probably about nine) was sometimes the last one out of the house for a family trip and resented that we didn't trust him to lock the door.  Eventually I found that my son was worthy of trust.

It is universal that birth rates are declining.  At least two factors are important.  One is urbanization and the other (pointed out in the film) is secularization.  Fundamentalists whether Christian, Jewish or Muslim tend to have more children.  For us secularists it is frightening to think the world will be taken over by fundamentalists.  Consumerism is another foe for increasing the birth rate.

The family itself is losing its strength.  Many of us grew up with brothers and sisters and even more likely with cousins and aunts and uncles all of whom influenced us.  Without the one child China policy more of our Western cultures are producing fewer brothers and sisters and therefore fewer cousins and aunt and uncles.

The goal of everyone is to find the right balance.  Now that women have a choice it is not hard to understand why many prefer not to have the burden of motherhood, especially at a young age.  Society to survive has to have replacements, but unwanted babies end up causing problems.  For the individual they need to really think about this most important decision.  How this is accomplished should be a much higher priority

Terra is extraordinarily honest.  Conscious of the ticking clock she decided to examine the issue from all sides.  She talked to a wide variety of experts from Canada, the United States, Europe and Australia.  Music was provided by Dorothea Tachler

There is a Facebook page you can keep up to date with: https://www.facebook.com/generationbabybuster/

POPULATION CRISIS

As the world modernizes the birth rate is dropping.  Many think the world is over populated and that that is the root cause of pollution and climate change.  The population decline is basically in westernized countries and as that culture expands the population decline also spreads.  A declining birth rate also means an aging population and less people of normal working age to do the work which will increasingly include taking care of the elderly.  Immigrants fill in a lot of gaps, mostly at the cheap labour end, but also in many cases technical.  Many residents resent different cultures being imposed on them.  Japan is leading the world in using robots in manufacturing as one way of avoiding immigration.

There is a very complicated  set of dynamics at work.  Education, contraception and inequality are amongst factors that lower birth rates.  Women are increasingly getting better educated and looking for fulfilment outside maternity.  In other parts of the world we are developing an unhealthy gender ratio with men outnumbering women.  This is partly due to new technologies increasingly available that determine sex before birth.  Eventually, this results in not enough women for marriageable men.   In China where they have had a one child policy for many years the situation is acute.  When there is a shortage of females, males tend to be more aggressive and although it might seem to give women an advantage it doesn't always work that way.  Prostitution is one unhappy solution to the scarcity.

Women are still held down and restricted in many cultures while in western cultures economic forces many women to work long hours, especially those who want a career.   Those wanting to have careers lose out if pregnant.  If they decide to go ahead it is too often the case that childcare suffers.  If you get down to root causes, one has to do with wealth and income being concentrated at the top.  At the same time that the economy seems to depend on consumerism we now need both parents working to maintain an acceptable standard of living.  Financial crises occur when credit is over stretched in this struggle, often aided by greed and fraud of those who control commerce.  Business requires expansion to grow with a heavy emphasis on consumerism.

Some experts are waking up that we Westerners need more babies to manage our economy, but women are not co-operating (often with their husband's blessing).  Even a temporary absence from the labour force can impose hardship and having more mouths to feed increases pressure.  Some governments feel threatened that their enemies are breeding faster than they are, after all we still need soldiers to intimidate and even sometimes be sacrificed.  Businesses need a steady stream of new consumers, especially since babies assure greater, unquestioned expenditures and the aging cut their spending as they anticipate retirement.

Many governments are aware of the need and have offered incentives.  Sometimes cash bonuses.  The most effective incentives are family friendly policies.  Paid maternity leave might well have the most impact on first borns.  Some countries are very flexible and allow part of the leave time to be used by fathers called paternity leave.  This would allow mothers who sometimes can make more money to get back to work while being assured their newborn is taken care of by their husband.  Some fathers are happy with this arrangement.  In the United States as I understand it some companies who are able to afford it and feel it is in their best interests offer an unpaid or limited paid leave but most companies consider it too expensive and risky.  It is really a society problem and a government program paid through taxes can spread satisfaction that promotes productivity and better childcare which is a good investment in our overall happiness. ,

That is one step, but another important one is child care.  Quality means training, space, flexibility and of course that costs money.  In reality the costs would be more than a typical family can afford.  Of course this conundrum has costs that will be borne by both businesses with stressed employees and society with stressed children.  It is conceivable that the solution of having the tax payer bear a big part of the costs could have other benefits.  Trained child care workers could be part of a jobs program as our economy has less need of human labour.  They would be tax payers and consumers.

The whole tax structure needs to be family friendly.  We have deductions for having children and for child care (that is if the provider is willing to disclose their income).  We should also be thinking of the costs of education.  Education is normally free in the public system until about age 18 and then further education can be very costly.  Also the pressure to get ready for post secondary education leads many parents to buy tutoring and other educational aids.  All that needs to be examined.  One alternative would be to offer free high education to those who qualify.  A big task that somehow has to be paid for.

An irony is that future trends point to greater inequality.  Not only in income and wealth, but also in hours worked.  Some will work so hard they burn out and others will scramble to get any paying work.  Is this what we want?  Does this benefit the most people?  Can the very rich accept sharing some of their resources with the less fortunate?  Can the poor resist abusing their ballot box power which at the moment they seem ignorant they actually have?  With our increased efficiencies can we not give everyone an opportunity to work and to have more leisure time?

So far globalization has mostly meant a decline in the power of labour.  Demand too much money and the job is easily shipped overseas or replaced with automation. or someone more desperate.  Money can be concentrated and wired anywhere in the world where it can earn the most return.  There are other forms of globalization in that people of all incomes are more aware of one another and of their common interests.  Divide and conquer tactics are still being used effectively, but for how long?  If too long everyone will suffer, including the wealthy.  Pollution, climate change, disease are only some of the dangers.  A bigger one might be violent revolution on an unimagined scale.  All these things are pushing forward, but can be stopped by humans realizing their common goals and working together.

To me more important than government bureaucrats deciding details of our personal lives it would be better to encourage education.  Education that not only teaches us skills to survive as productive citizens, but encourages us to think about global problems as well as local ones.  This may seem like a Utopian dream, but there are elements working towards a better system.  Let's hope that they can forge an effective global force before it is too late.  Education is a very big topic and difficult for large agreement.

Prejudice against women is ironic as it only takes an absence to make them more valuable.  Unfortunately many women are deliberately kept ignorant so they won't interfere with male priorities and so their wisdom is lost.  In some cultures a women who can earn an income is even more valuable.  It is still another step for women to be valued for who they are.   The role of women is key--they need to be valued and respected, not just good in the kitchen and bedroom.

In many countries it has become difficult for parents to make enough money and to spare enough time for their families.  This is at a time when corporate profits are rising and typical wages losing power.  Decisions will have to be made by those who presently control the political and economic levers or they may find the forces of nature will severely limit their options.

One of the primary goals is to ensure that every baby is wanted and can be properly cared for.  We need a sustainable population where there are always some contributors to replace those who are not able to contribute while at the same time respecting the wisdom of age.  There are too many unwanted babies born or to those who cannot or will not give reasonable proper care.  Contraception can largely replace the need for abortions.  Ironically access to contraception is one factor in ensuring the birth of wanted babies.  One child policies should be unnecessary to restrict overpopulation.

Greed is often of only short term value.  Even the very wealthy need people to care for them.  They need customers.  When diversity is lost, so is the enjoyment of life.  So while parts of the world are aging, other parts are over worked.  No suggestion or policy will undo the mess our lack of a sustainable balanced population has brought us to, but we can  make a start.