this post was submitted on 05 Jul 2023
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Based on the excerpt from this Discworld book, what other items do you use regularly that would fit in this theory? (Boots and shoes are fair game!)

Text transcript for people who want it:

[The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money.

Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles.

But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.

This was Captain Samuel Vimes 'Boots' theory of socioeconomic unfairness.]

Bonus: suggest ways you can repair/restore your item/other people's items.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

The explosion of dollar stores in the U.S. is like a boot that keeps pushing stomping on poor people to ensure they have to way out and this theory perfectly describes the situation.

The way forward is not to replace dollar stores with Targets, it's to move beyond capitalism and it's base of exploitation and move toward a base of cooperation.

Some ideas:

  • Make and grow stuff (food, weed, soaps, furniture, etc. and give it away, consume stuff your neighbors make and grow. Everything you avoid buying is power you don't give to the capitalists.
  • If you have money, help those that don't to buy quality boots (without seeking to profit, such as from a loan)
  • Fix things, value things not for being brand new, but for working and having history.
  • Buy used (tho if you have money, take care not to buy up all the nice things at thrift shops leaving the scraps for those who the thrift shops are their only choice)
  • Become reslilient at the community level - start out by making friends
[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (4 children)

In 2021 I rented a car and did Uber for about a year. At $316 a week, that car was costing me 1200 a month!

Eventually I lost the car as I couldnt afford to pay.

Now I’ve got a job, been building my credit, gonna buy a car instead. That car will be about $300/mo. And all because I’ve got the credit and cash to buy instead of rent.

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[–] GregorGizeh 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The system is set up against the poor. Not only is long term quality something you usually cannot afford for your purchases as with the boot example, things that were normal goods are now commodities people must have a subscription for (or buy the quality version). All the late fees, overdraft fees, fixed rate parking tickets, anything is set up to fuck over the little guy and keep him poor and running in his hamster wheel.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Fixed rate fine based penalties for "crimes" really bother me. Not that I have a better solution, but that is inherently unfair.

[–] hOrni 1 points 1 year ago

Boots, same as Vines. I used to buy boots every year for 200pln and they gave out mid season. Bought a pair for 700pln and it lasted 6 years. Also I have a 15 year old backpack which I wore almost daily.

[–] tallwookie 1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

the same concept is true for many other items - ultimately, it comes down to "you get what you pay for".

I had to get shoes last week, the ones I had previously had lasted 9 years and the rubber soles were beginning to crumble. they're now relegated to yard shoes & won't last another year. new shoes are 100% leather, with rubber soles, cost $90 & were on sale (normal price was $140). they'll last at least another 9 years without any issues.

most of the things I buy, I always look for sales but I never buy the cheap/cheaply made products. cheap stuff might last a year & it's just not worth it. expensive stuff is usually cheaper in the long term.

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Tyres

In a subtle way. Go cheap and you may total your car in ugly weather. Go reliable and you may stop in time.

Of course you don't have to feature in c/idiotsInCars

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Thats what the concept 'conscious spending' tries to address and set up protocols to get out of the negative feedback cycle of having to constantly buy cheap shit only to have to replace it and double your cost.

https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/conscious-spending-basics/

The link above has much more details on this if y'all are interested.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago

A key component of Vimes' theory is that he buys cheap boots because he can't afford the expensive ones. Conscientious spending assumes the person has a choice; it isn't an option for Vimes, or for many people.

There are many things that it makes sense to simply buy the cheap version of: things that'll be used infrequently, or which usefullness is unknown. Gadgets which a friend loves and recommends, but which end up being simply unused.

I haven't read the book you recommend; maybe it says all this. I do think, though, that for all the evils of cheap consumer goods, they've put much in the hands of people who would not otherwise be able to afford it.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago

as explained in our book, I Will Teach You to Be Rich.

Yeah, no.. that's a pass from me.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

I would say it's not so much that they managed to, it's that they could afford to spend less money. You cannot afford good food, so you eat crappy food and get sick, so you have to go to the doctor. You cannot afford good insurance, so you have to spend a ludicrous amount to get good care that will fix the problem, but you cannot afford that, so instead of a one time charge, you now have the worse prescription that still costs a bit, and it doesn't even keep you healthy, it just keeps you moving forward, barely. Because of your condition, you now can't even work as well as you could, so you get paid even less, all the while your health is deteriorating because the medicine you can already barely afford isn't actually what you really need.

How the fuck do you get out of that on your own?

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

In the UK you have to pay car tax which basically is a tax on vehicles which obstensively covers road maintenance.

If you pay monthly then you have to pay 12 units for one year.

However if you can afford to pay one lot all in one go then you only have to pay the equivalent of 10 units. Essentially you get two months for free.

Now presumably this is because it is easier to account for your budget if you get it all in one job lot right at the beginning of the year. So it is worth them giving you a economic incentive to do that. But loads of people cannot afford that so they end up paying more money.

Most people keep a car for what five ir six years? In that time the effectively pay an entire extra years worth of road tax if they pay monthly rather than yearly.

Boo.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I don't live in the UK, would you be willing to give an example of what the yearly lump sum is vs the monthly fee? I'm genuinely curious!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

It depends on vehicle emissions.

Bagels which put out more carbon dioxide get taxed more heavily. This has always been the case but it's how it's always been worked out as long as I've been driving. I'm not sure how it worked historically.

My car is a diesel. So it's output is worse (greater) than a petrol car.

My yearly tax is, paying monthly, £180 per year. My yearly tax is, paying yearly, £170 per year.

Not much for my car, but then again it's a boring ass people carrier with suspect electronics, because I'm 180,000 years old.

[–] [email protected] -4 points 1 year ago (2 children)

It's a true point, but am I the only one who finds the writing style genuinely cringe? It's all I can think everytime I see this quoted.

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