Quote:
Originally Posted by DiapDealer
What a thoroughly disgusting apologia for privilege. I can't imagine anyone who ever needed to bargain shop having the temerity to declare that the time spent saving dollars wasn't productive or worthwhile.
You can't spin frugality as wasteful. Can't be done.
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You don't seem to have understood what an opportunity cost is. Let's say you spend 8-12 hours per week clipping coupons for a total savings of $50-$70. Your effective hourly wage for that time spent is between $4.16 and $8.75 an hour. That is unambiguously a waste of time from the perspective of economic efficiency. Better to get a part-time job, or to upgrade your education to aim for a promotion, or to learn a revenue-generating or -saving skill (such as woodworking, canning, sewing, &c.). This is without considering the loss of intangibles such as time spent with family and friends, relaxation, fun, self-edification, and so on.
One can tackle the problem of purchasing power/affordability from two directions: reduce cost of goods or increase wages. It is a particularly modern affliction, especially in North America, to focus exclusively on the former while ignoring, and even vilifying ("unions are evil, teachers are overpaid, etc."), the latter. As should be clear by now, the former even comes at the expense of the latter. Yet perversely, those who critique this system are attacked as defenders of privilege and enemies of the poor.