Consumption The current economic system requires compulsory consumption to create jobs. Mass jobs requires mass consumption. If people don't consume all that is produced, there would be mass lay-offs. The result is that we are trading our health for jobs. And we are trading the source of life itself - the planet's health - for jobs. A Guaranteed Livable Income is the only way out of the forced consumption trap.
Converting Americans from a psychology of thrift into one of spendthrift proved a daunting task.
"A society in which consumption has to be artificially stimulated in order to keep production going is a society founded on trash and waste, and such a society is a house built on sand." Dorothy L. Sayers in Creed of Chaos, 1947
What would happen to the people whose jobs depend on the
alcohol, tobacco, junk food, soft drink industries?
To the people whose jobs depend on gambling, advertising, entertainment,
pro-sport and video game industries?
What would happen to all those who work in coffee & donut shops?
What would happen to all the jobs in the auto and oil industries?
And if people were healthy, what would happen to jobs in the pharmaceutical and medical industries?
And if peace broke out, what would happen to all the jobs in the arms and military industry?
The messages from society's opinion-makers are: Be Responsible! Don't start smoking! Don't get fat by eating junk food! Get more exercise! Don't be an alcoholic! Save your money and don't waste it on coffee and chocolate bars and movies! And last but not least: Don't have kids if you can't support them!!! This is impossible because if everyone was a 'responsible' citizen and followed these admonitions, then the economy would collapse. Investors in tobacco, alcohol, junk food and medical & pharmaceuticals industries would be in agony as their shares dropped in value. Investors tell their own kids "don't smoke", "don't drink", "save your money", "don't eat junk food", "don't start drinking coffee" etc. Yet they obviously are hoping other people's kids will do all those things and do lots of it.
All these things make the economy grow and create jobs.
Even if we want to consume, there are physical and time limits to consumption. People can only eat so much, drink so much, and their houses (and cars) will only hold so many goods.
Without a guaranteed income, consumption of soft drinks, tobacco, alcohol, sugared foods, fast food, etc. is needed in order to keep millions of jobs in those industries. In effect we are trading our health, and our children health for jobs. See our section on Health.
Having people switch to non-processed foods would not produce the same number of jobs. In addition, healthy diets and lifestyles would also reduce the number of jobs in the health care industries.
Without a guaranteed income, war is needed to keep millions of jobs in the arms and military industry. (See Military Keynsianism) Without a guaranteed income, switching from a car-based transportation system to public transit and alternative transportation is highly unlikely because it would eliminate too many jobs.
Only people who hate the poor would wish for an economic collapse without wanting to put in place a guaranteed income first. The popularly accepted idea that there are "too many people" creates the idea of scarcity, it promotes the idea that there is 'not enough' to go around and justifies leaving masses of people on the planet (predominantly mothers and children) to live in poverty and misery and have their lives shortened prematurely. The idea of scarcity allows the murder of the world's poor. Because in fact, there is not scarcity but the opposite. |
What would happen to our economy if everyone stopped drinking alcohol and soft drinks, stopped eating fast food and junk food, stopped smoking and gambling, stopped buying coffee and donuts, stopped watching TV, stopped playing video games, stopped driving?
What would happen to our economy if people
started walking, cycling, going to parks, having picnics with healthy home-made food? What if everyone made their own art, music, entertainment and fashion instead of filling the malls and bars every weekend? What if there was massive infrastructure supporting public transit and bicycles? What would happen if people became healthier from being physically active and eating healthy foods? 
In this light, the perfect citizen is not the one who has no 'bad' habits and is frugal. It is the one sitting in front of the TV, watching ads, drinking pop, eating junk food and planning their next trip to the mall. As they get older, they smoke, become addicted to alcohol, continue to eat junk food, and buy a car. If they end up in jail, they create jobs for police, ambulance, social workers, jail guards, lawyers, rehab workers, judges and court workers. If their health eventually gives out, they become consumers of the medical and pharmaceutical industries. 
The worst citizen, in terms of the economy, is one who is "responsible." They don't have children, don't watch TV, don't buy music, don't waste their money at coffee shops, movie theatres, bars or shopping malls. They only eat low-cost unprocessed, healthy food like brown rice, oatmeal, beans, lentils, and vegetables. They walk or bike and use public transit and the public library. They buy all their gifts at garage sales. They don't become addicted to unhealthy substances and they rarely need any health care. They are a scourge on the economy, and an enemy to job creation.
Without a guaranteed income, the anti-consumer movement makes no sense and, if it actually caught on, it would first imperil those who are the most economically vulnerable: people living in poverty (especially mothers and children) and people working at all those low-wage jobs retail and service jobs.