New York Renovator

“Our enormously productive economy… demands that we make consumption our way of like, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction, our ego satisfaction, in consumption. We need things consumed, burned up, replaced and discarded at an ever-accelerating rate.” Victor Lebow, 20th century economist, about the American consumerist capitalism created in the 1950s.

Hat tip to Strawbale House for directing me to a terrific video called The Story of Stuff. This video is a MUST SEE! When I went to the site and saw that it was 20 minutes, my heart sank a little. But it is very much worth it, and the video is so well done that 20 minutes seemed like 5 minutes! Really, this is a must-see. In the video, Annie Leonard shows how our consumerist economy is wrecking countries, families, communities, and individuals. She makes the clear case about corporate butt-kissing by our government. It’s a very impressive story, and an eye-opener. And she also explains the conspiracy behind our goods– why we have to buy a new vacuum cleaner every 6-8 months, why we have to buy new shoes and new computers and new cell phones: planned obsolesence. And we cannot sustain such rampant consumerism for a long period of time.

This video details exactly what has been on my mind– and what I have been blogging about for a year now: that the materialistic consumerism is a direct agenda by government and business linked together; is unsustainable; and is fatal for the “serfs” (that’s us). This system is creating a serfdom where consumers, while thinking they have “liberty,” are actually slaves to a system that is eliminating their worth in the system when the resources have expired. We MUST return to community-based, sustainable living and local economies.

Really– give your children and grandchildren the gift of watching this video. I found a few teaser trailers to give you a taste of what the video is about.

I saw this video at Sustainable Backyard and just HAD to post it here. What a terrific idea! It’s called Eat The View, and it’s a “grassroots” (literally) campaign to get small vegetable gardens growing everywhere, and especially at the White House.

Chief Justice John Marshall once said, “The power to tax is the power to destroy.” I’ll let that sink in for a minute.

I was at the gym a week or two ago and saw the most appalling “infomercial” I have ever seen in my life. (No, it wasn’t for maternity clothes or acne treatments!) It was John Beck’s “Free & Clear Real Estate System.” I’m not going to complain about what bunk the “system” is and how it’s a rip-off– I’m going to bellow at the top of my lungs the absolute tyrannical immorality of the governmental system that John Beck is using. I am still so angry about something like this!

Here’s what happens: a homeowner gets into financial trouble, for whatever reason. The homeowner cannot pay his property taxes. The homeowner may be keeping up with his mortgage payments, but not the property tax payments. In such a case, the government (usually the city or county) can confiscate the ENTIRE property and auction it off for tax default. Any capital the homeowner has gained from paying years and years of mortgage and tax payments disappears. The homeowner is evicted from the home and the government sells it. Usually, the property sells for a very low price, because all the government wants is the back taxes that are due.

This is absolutely unconscionable. I am outraged– apoplectic- that this can happen! What happened to property rights in this country? In all essence, there are NO property rights. If you do not pay your taxes, the government can take your hard-earned property and turn around and sell it to a speculator. (That’s where John Beck’s “system” comes in– he snaps up those properties and resells them at market value.)

The infomercial feeds on the greedy “small-business” American speculator. But no one stops to ask– Is this justice in America? And what old lady or impoverished family is being evicted, so that I can buy my new house real cheap? And a lot of times, it’s the government or banks that snap up the foreclosed property. It happens right here in Utica, NY. The government forecloses, owns the property, and sells it for a hefty profit. Criminal!

This tyrannical confiscation of property is not American. It is socialist/fascist. Let’s not pretend here– it’s the government that really owns all the property. If you don’t pay the “rent” in the form of their high property taxes, then you are thrown out into the streets (or jailed or fined, or both) and you lose EVERYTHING you have built on up to then. What kind of system is this? This is more akin to serfdom- slavery– where the lord is the government and we are the tenant farmer serfs. And the government works hand in hand with the banks and credit card companies to do this. And what’s worse is that the property tax is after the income tax and the sales tax, and all the billions of little taxes on top of that! There are so many taxes in this country that we lost the concept of what it means to be free. We are slaves to the taxation departments, the government, and the banks. What a hateful system.

“If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.” Thomas Jefferson

…one man’s misfortune is another man’s fortune. That’s what the “housing crisis” is here in the United States. Selling your home will not reap in the big bucks in most cases. However, if you are a bargain hunter or have been looking for a good time to buy, this is probably a good time.

Companies like MyHouseDeals.com allow you to shop around online for discounted properties. They have listing of properties in Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, South Florida, and etc. This site caters specifically to investors looking for properties without an agent or a broker. There is a membership fee to view detailed property information, but they are offering a free 30-day trial. Click here if you are interested: myHouseDeals.com 30-Day Free Trial

Many of these homes are foreclosures (always a sad way to buy a home, but it happens). Please remember that whenever you are looking at discounted homes or foreclosures, many of these houses need work, because they have usually been neglected for a time. I ought to know!

When working with a company, always check their credentials and get some second opinions. A home is a huge, huge investment, and you don’t want to blow it! And remember, if you need any old-house advice, feel free to ask!

I’ve said it numerous times before and I’m still saying it– the economy in the United States as well as the rest of the industrialized world is undergoing a radical change. Our lifestyles of excessive waste and consumerism are rapidly going by the wayside. I think we are going to see a need for more frugal living.

For many years, I’ve watched the demographics of American communities change. Remember in the 1950s, there was this trend of expansion? This was the time of the automobile, the shopping malls, the suburban development, the “plastic” age. Our society was built on the production and consumption of affordable petroleum. It was a big artificial bubble built on a shaky kind of prosperity (foreign oil and foreign goodwill). Things have changed. Now that world governments are ruining the economies and the food supply, I think we will have to change our way of life to adapt.

For example, my nearest grocery store is two towns away. That’s over 3 miles, and I am one of the closer ones! Some people have to drive 30 miles– THIRTY MILES– to get groceries. I’ve heard of some people getting scooters or mules or horses for transportation, but here in the Northeast, it is impossible to go that far to get groceries without a vehicle and gasoline. What happens when owning a vehicle and buying gasoline is no longer affordable (and I believe this will happen)?

Our modern society has been built on the automobile. There once was a small mom-and-pop grocery store down the street, but they closed about ten years ago because they couldn’t compete with WalMart, (just 10 miles, but a whopping 25 minutes away). And my town has “sections” of development that were concocted in the 1960s– a section for shopping (and the traffic is crazy there!), a section for housing, a section for government offices, etc. American state and town governments have basically eliminated the community. Anyone remember when we used to have communities– you know, the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker, lol. You knew who your grocer was, your postman, your doctor, etc, and everyone was close by. You didn’t have to drive 20 miles to buy clothes or 15 miles to see the family doctor. Today everything is so far removed, and cold and antiseptic. I think we are going to see a huge change because this kind of lifestyle is no longer sustainable. I hate to admit it as much as anyone, but I really don’t think gasoline prices, energy prices, and taxes are going to go down.

What irks me is the mindset of so many “greenies.” It’s so very popular to live “green,” to do things the “green” way… but what good is it to recycle your plastics and still drive an SUV? You are canceling out any benefits you might offer. Going “green” is a lifestyle; it’s not a good deed you do once in a while to make yourself feel good or earn a gold star in school. And it’s not a laborless lifestyle, either; going green is HARD WORK.

Maybe I’m ranting a little… but I see an earth-shaking change coming and if we want to make it through, we need to realize that we need to change ourselves. We are going to have to build local communities again, just to be able to meet our basic needs. I think the time of excessive, individualistic living is over.

Oh, I love these things– solar lights for the garden. Whoever came up with this idea was brilliant, lol. I do like lights along my walkways, and I also like to have lights at key points in my vegetable gardens. But I have always balked at the installation of underground electrical wiring, and the expense of the installation; and not to mention the skyrocketing electrical and energy bills we New Yorkers have! Ugh! Solar-powered lights are a terrific invention!

At YCA Solarlights, there is a plethora of choices. There are the typical “little lamps” (contemporary walkway solar lights) in amber and in white, and specialty lamps, like a luminous globe that you can set in the center of a patio table after dark. How romantic! I also love the functional post lights; you can install these on the tops of your fence posts. Those I really like. There are also spot lights, lighting accessories, and a new solar camping lamp with built-in radio; and there are numerous other sorts in a variety of styles. The website is great browsing– perfect for getting ideas for landscaping. And the prices are great! And everything is solar-powered! Gotta love it. Check out the site yourself!