Yes its that time again when I have been thinking, reading and listening to ideals, moans and opinions. Many would say that I am wasting my time but I do like to spin these thoughts round my little brain and then put forward a take on those thoughts.

Well I have been listening to all the moanings about the young living beyond their means, households struggling to pay bills, too many loans, carsbeing bought on finance and spending on credit cards and only being able to repay the interest.

I have also seen quite a few articles about people living off grid, well within their means and foregoing on material trappings. Time and happiness are far more important commodities than modern day crap or earning vast wealth.

So there we have the basis for a very good debate. Things versus Life.

First off, if everyone lived within their means then credit companies would go bust overnight. Banks would suffer.

Okay not so bad.

So what happens when one goes back to the times when making do and mending were a common attitude? One doesn’t take up the latest mobile phone, the must have designer clothes or the even bigger television. Laptops remain on the shop shelves, the brand new registered cars sit in the factories or in fields gathering dust. People only buy what is essential. That sounds sensible no?

But just stop and think about it……….

Manufacturing slows down, travel declines, money remains in piggy banks for longer and demand drops. So then does the number of jobs and working people. Taxes increase to pay for the unemployed. Even less money about.

The economies would grind to a halt in a short period of time before things could be sorted out.

Now you and I know that this will never happen because people are fundamentally greedy, competitive and selfish.

we couldn’t all go off grid. The resources wouldn’t allow it as there would be too little produced naturally to go round. Fights would increase as one person steals anothers and so on.

Our whole being relies on folk that do and folk the use.

However, just take a look around yourself now. How much is surplus to requirement? How much could you give away and not miss? How much is pure rubbish? How much is repeated in a subtle way? Just in this one room of mine I could dispose of fifty percent on the things or more and I guess I would not know they were gone.

A question was posed the other day. “Would you prefer a Fifty Percent pay rise or a reduction in work by Fifty Percent?”

It probably depends at which end of the pay/work scale you are but I think most would be happy with the latter as a pay rise without time to enjoy the larger income is a bit pointless. Whereas more time could result in slightly less stress and more happiness or two better jobs.

Well the main points I can see from this situation are that debt, buying things, competition and keeping up to date is good for the economies, fat-cat bosses and technology giants but bad for the everyday man on the street but if it ceased to happen I feel the results would be far worse.

So Mr, Banker, Boss, Industry Mogul and Government Chief you should be thanking the masses who keep you in the wealth you have become accustomed to.

As for the off grid crowd. They can live in peace and harmony so long as it doesn’t encroach on the mighty’s estate.