The Growth Dilemma

https://quillette.com/2020/01/09/the-growth-dilemma/



I read this recently, it scares me.

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"I applaud your elaborate system of denial"

You'd probably get more attention and responses on the Politics and Religion board.

The world population grows at a rate of just over 1%/year. The US population grows about the same, but part of that is from immigration.

Advances in technology has made it possible to have increased standards of living with a reduction of consumption of energy and other natural resources. The automobile industry is a perfect example of this. Frau Putzer's 4200 pound, 2018 BMW X3 gets better fuel economy than my 1900 pound, 1976 VW Rabbit did. Automobile emissions started being regulated in the US in 1986. Modern cars produces a fraction of one percent of what that baseline 1968 passenger car did.

Our house is due for a new heat pump. The original one was a 10 SEER unit, replaced with a 14 SEER unit fourteen years ago. The next one will be 20 SEER.

Globalization and Third World industrialization are increasing demand for natural resources, but also putting downward pressures on the standard of living of the U.S. middle class. Wong and Pedro want the same things that Billy Bob does. If Wong and Pedro can do he same work that Billy Bob does, their living standard will go up and Billy Bob's will go down.

Energy is cheap in the U.S., especially motor fuel when compared to the rest of the industrialized world. If we're paying $2.50/gallon for gasoline, we're gong to use more than somebody in the UK who is paying $6.50/gallon.

Autoputzer is basically correct. Canadians got a good taste of reality in the last two years. Per capita credit loading in an attempt to sustain their standard of living has been increasing at too fast a rate. To sustain a consumer based economy. Credit is almost being force fed into the consumer based economic system currently. Like I have never seen before. Historically Canadians have carried heavier per capita debt loadings than Americans.

New car sales have declined. I have been watching for any signs of credit saturation or people starting to think. Inflation and pretty static wages have been a major cause of this. Home ownership has been priced out of reach for far too many alone. In several areas of Canada.

Rents have also increased plus the newer cost of food now has hurt many substantially in Canada. People that had been living paycheck to paycheck are filling in the difference with more credit use I suspect. Or actively reducing their standard of living. Both senarios amount to the same thing.

I look at our purchases in the last year. A used Volkswagon diesel Passat buy back assembled in America from other countries parts . A heat pump and a new larger television made in Asia. Just about all other incidental items from there as well. Only food, utilities, fuel, and insurances where supplied by north American producers. With some concerns about the source of fuels in our region.

I have been suggesting to young people locally. Buy a house now. As I see immigration into our area starting. I think prices will rise to average national costs quickly as a result. In response to supply and demand issues. They have been rising anyways.

So what did I buy in the last 12 months?

Other than food and travel, next to nothing. Gas for my car. Utilities. Some clothing, but not much. When we do buy things, I look for things that last, and look to buy American where possible. We bought a washer/dryer. Whirlpool is made in the US, so we bought that. Is it better than others? Cheaper or more expensive? Don’t really know. New washers and dryers work. The price was middling, so that’s what we bought. It should be in the house longer than we will be, that’s for sure.

Things just don’t wear out as fast for us.

That's good to know ~ I thought only Speed Queen was still making them in the U.S. of A., we just bought a matching pair and SWMBO balked at the price of the Speed Queens although I'm confident they would have out lasted the both of us ~ because of the Foster boys were tend to wear one out every 4 ~ 5 years and she'll only buy a matched pair s a broke neighbor always gets the good used survivor .

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-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

Somewhat OT but the person who thought of this was a marketing genius. Almost all of us who are married end up replacing a perfectly good machine (washer or dryer) when the other one goes tits-up. They have to match!

Our Whirlpool washer and dryer (bought in 1993) both died within a year of each other (2019), "death" being caused by specific parts no longer being available. We now have a Speed Queen set. We's 60 years old now. So, it's a toss up as to who will last longer... the Speed Queens or us.

My wife is also a ‘matched pair’ buyer. The laundry is her purview, so whatever she wants, she can have.

I don't have any problems doing laundry ~ apart from clean up and chili I'm useless in the kitchen .

As the old saw goes : if Mama ain't happy, ain't no one gonna be happy..... .

I lobbied hard for the Speed Queens but no .

This time we got two ENORMOUS Samsung's ~ so far so good .

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-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

I cook. My mother was a great cook, her mother not so much. So my mother taught her how to cook.

Just like any old-time cook, her initial instruction was useless. “How much do you put in?” “Enough but not too much”. My wife is smart, so when my mother would measure something by seeing it in her hand, my wife would whip out a measuring spoon to get the numbers right.

“ Cook it until it’s done” got translated into check it after X minutes, look for such and such.

Whirlpool, the wives newest dishwasher.. Claims. Proudly made in America of Chinese parts. We purchased it because of the performance ratings. The first fault was at one year and a month or so. So out of warranty. Reset of the electronics. No cause found. Service tech said next service call for the same issue will be 400.00. To replace the main electric/electronic board. If this fault occurs again with no detectable cause. It does wash dishes better than all the previous ones we have owned though. Taking about a four hour cycle to do it. You have to subscribe to get service information now on new appliances. No freebee sources.

As for the 5 year old now whirlpool washer. A serious fault at about the third year. I engineered a run around of the problem. All was fine until the spin control unit also failed. Found the issue and my local appliance guy sold me the part used. He asked me I could repair them as the failure rate and cost is high on their brand with that part.

I took it apart and told him no. The electronic board inside that is part of the drum rotation detection system was non repairable.

I have adjusted to the reality in general. That in a consumer based economy not to expect what once was for durability. At low maintenance costs.

Same as cars and many other commodities. There may be an appliance still built with all north American manufactured parts out there. I would not really bet on it though.

Overall I just view it as a major change and have to accept it. I do not believe in extended warranties in general. Yet the parts are so expensive on the heat pump we just installed. I brought one. That extends all parts and includes labor out to ten years. The normal warranty is 7 years on the compressor and 2 or 3 years on parts but no labor warranty at all.

I asked the son in law to register it in the local daughters name. As the extended warranty is not tranferable. And at 77 I felt all bets where off. That I would be around to repair it myself sometime. We also just replaced a Samsung large flat screen Television at five years of age.

All these things are no big deal as long as you are not just barely getting along. I suspect it does concern perhaps fifty percent of the society here to some degree. The average earnings for fifty percent or more of the population have not kept up with the changing realities.

If I am picking up a few incidental groceries for the wife. A grocery cart full in front of me in line will average 350-400 dollars at the checkout. People that live in Canadian border towns probably slip across the border to buy their food.

The large food corporations in Canada just got charged with price fixing. The penalty costs are going to be in the billions of dollars to them has been reported. I had been wondering about the high food cost increases here. I knew people where complaining but no indication in America of similar complaints.

This would have continued other than under our laws an offender that comes forward and reveals what they have been doing. Escapes the maximum penalties.

Thanx .

I had a 1964 Maytag washer that sat out side and worked flawlessly until 1987, I didn't know how to diagnose it, I'd replaced the water valves and other small parts over the years, I'd still have it if I could have .

Before the fire we had some $1,000.00 + new range that had a chip inside it fail, the part alone was $500 and they said it wasn't worth fixing even though it looked new.....

I understand the U.A.A.'s economy is built upon endless consumerism but not making quality products is not the answer .

Were the funds coming out of my pocket instead of SWBO's I'da figured out how to pay for a Speed Queen commercial machine .

Maybe even used .

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

Appliances come to my house to retire. No matter how fragile the technology, I stubbornly find a way to keep it running. My cars average more than 20 years. I have a dryer that's seen nearly 40 years of service. My washing machine has 24 years so far. Dishwasher about as old. In the case of the dishwasher, parts NLA have been reproduced using parts from more modern machines and a little ingenuity. I refuse to let them die.

I surely wish I had your skillset .

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

My current dryer - plastic coated clothes line - hasn't failed yet going on 25 years!