A policy is just another word for law, rule, regulation, etc. They are supposed to help prevent problems, but sometimes, just their very existence creates more problems than they are worth.
There are a lot of things policies and laws could or should do, but often don’t. My personal opinion on laws (policies) are that they should only be used when there is a demonstrated and clearly explained reason for their existence and they should motivate people to become better or discourage people from becoming worse. There are good laws and there are bad laws both in terms of the intent behind them and the application (enforcement issues, funding, etc). My main concern, in this post, is in the intent.
Overall, when it comes to intent, I think laws should encourage people to “become better”, that is, do things that help preserve their freedom, justice, human rights, health, help the environment, and encourage them to become self sufficient (including saving money and not getting ripped off by huge corporations). There are probably a lot of other things that laws do (including settling disputes), but for the purpose of this post, I am talking big picture here. What they SHOULD do. They should also DISCOURAGE things that take away from these ideals. Of course, many times laws may come into conflict with one or more of these ideals, and these ideals make a lot of assumptions about people’s core values. And that’s where controversy comes in. But I’m not going to talk about very controversial laws, I am going to talk about basic, common sense laws that should exist, but don’t, or laws that shouldn’t exist, but do.
For instance, did you know that in Colorado, there is no license to sell tobacco? It’s only one of 7 states in the US that doesn’t require one. But you have to have a license to cut hair, you have to have a license to sell alcohol, and you have to have a license for your dog! But the deadliest consumer product, no such thing. Most people already think this law exists, but it doesn’t.
And as for an example of a bad law: how about not allowing front yard gardens, or backyard chickens? Don’t we value people’s ability to be self-sufficient, or to use their own property in a way that they so desire? It doesn’t harm anyone else to allow these things, except in people’s 1950’s view of the world.
How about not having bike lanes? A lack of a law is still a law. It is the norm, it is the default setting. By not requiring bike lanes (but having plenty of roadways) we are saying that we value cars more than bikes. Shouldn’t we be encouraging people to get on bikes what with the obesity epidemic and global warming buzzing all the news outlets?
We recently experienced a good example of a bad policy in place, an example where too much regulation has made doing the right thing harder. My husband has an old Corvette. We decided not to drive it to save gas, maintenance costs and for other reasons. Since he hadn’t used it for about 8 months, when the registration paperwork came in, we decided not to do it. Why pay another bill on something we weren’t using? We had effectively taken a vehicle (a not-so-fuel efficient vehicle I might add) off the road. Shouldn’t that be a good thing? Fewer emissions, less gas consumption, saving money, etc, etc. Well, his commuter car recently ended up having some troubles, so he needed to drive his Corvette in order to get to work. But before he could, he had to re-register it, right? Because we have to keep track of all the vehicles on the road (for reasons that I don’t think include the ones I think listed, but I digress…).
Well, the car was off the road for about 5 months without registration, shouldn’t you only need to have it registered for the time that it is on the road? Isn’t that the point? But no, they decided to charge DOUBLE the cost (a whole slew of fees/fines) of the registration fee that we had a few months ago BECAUSE we hadn’t driven it (or registered it). Simply, it was a money grab. I get tired of laws that are simply money grabs with no good reason behind them. You should be required to demonstrate a serious need for a law instead of just some randomness or way to steal money.
After situations like these, I can see why some people would just make a blanket statement that we need “less government”, or “more personal freedoms” and I agree to a point. However, I also know how good laws, policies, legislation (whatever you want to call them) can influence people for the better -often by regulating the humongous corporations or even the government itself! The huge corporations know this and they work very hard to pass policies that will enable them to make more and more money, or to block policies that may affect their businesses – often times at the cost of many of our ideals. They even send their high up execs to serve on governmental cabinets and in quite a few cases to run for office themselves! You can’t just say government is corrupt any more than you can say a corporation is inherently driven by greed…They are one and the same, and they make these “rules” we live by. A former CEO of a chemical company might run the EPA for example…or a former oil man turned vice president might encourage us to go to war to secure an oil region…or the entire banking industry may back certain political parties so that they can get bailed out…etc, etc.
Individuals need to know the power of policies instead of making blanket statements about “more education, less legislation” or “less government” or any other iteration of this. Policies serve a purpose. Policies are powerful (but usually mainly to those in power). They change behaviors for better or for worse. The unfortunate effect of too much regulation or bureaucracy is that it often hinders people from thinking creatively outside of the box in order to solve problems or become innovative, and so, overall, they need to be used carefully, selectively, and not as broad spectrum controls of people. When everything you want to do is illegal and you aren’t hurting anyone, then the line has been crossed with policies.
I heard it best said that bureaucracies are there to control people when we don’t trust what they are doing. If you trust your people, you are more willing to allow a certain level of vulnerability -and therefore creativity.
People should question each policy or law or authority. There should be a certain level of rebelliousness that is allowed in society because laws need to be able to change with the times. Slaves that ran away from their masters broke the law, but they also questioned the law and eventually the law was changed. Don’t be afraid to fight unjust laws, change laws, or make new ones. It is really the only way to regain some of your power from “the man”.
After all of these discussions about where our industrialized system went wrong and how the corporate giants and government came to rule all of our lives, why don’t more people get out of this system? Why aren’t more people leaving this endless rat race? Why aren’t more people living fruitful lives? Well, it is fear. Fear of losing your job, fear of losing money, fear of not being able to take care of yourself, fear of having to actually provide for yourself.
Don’t buy into the Fear
Why do we deliver babies in the hospital? People have been giving birth to babies, well, since mankind began. We have outsourced our power, our energy because we fear that the baby may not be healthy, we fear that we may not know what to do.
Why do we eat food from grocery stores and restaurants instead of growing and cooking it ourselves? We fear we might catch some disease from some animals, or that we might not have enough food if we do it ourselves. Then we fear that the grocery stores might run out of food and if there is any kind of emergency because we have never learned to feed ourselves…the most basic things, we fear.
Why do we go to work for someone else every day? Because we have bought that we have to have a job in order to live. Someone must pay me wages so I can pay my mortgage (to some huge corporation) and pay for my groceries (to some huge corporation), and my entertainment (to some corporation) in order to try and escape from this crazy race we’ve made. We are then afraid to speak our minds at work, we are afraid to confront authority, we are afraid to question the status quo.
And what is another word for fear? Terror. We live in a time where terrorism of the mind reigns supreme. We should worry about the media sensationalized “terrorists” much less than the terrorists that currently run our country and therefore our lives. We live in a construct of terrorism. We live in the Matrix, but instead of harvesting our brain waves, they harvest our life energy in the form of money, that they tell us we can’t live without.
Well, I say again, turn it around. Challenge the status quo. Challenge authority. Be bold. Take risks. And LEAVE! Leave the trap. Get out, as fast as you can before your mind becomes too accustomed to not thinking for yourself. And do it quickly before it is completely illegal and socially unacceptable to have your own babies your own way, grow and raise your own food, or bring your own ideas to life instead of working for someone else’s.
I read a great quote from a cup of tea at home the other day: “The First and Greatest Commandment: DON’T LET THEM SCARE YOU!” You are powerful, you are full of creativity, you do not need “THEM”. Fear is the opposite of abundance and creativity and of being ok when you make a mistake. Letting go of the captivity of fear, or what we call “reality” may be difficult, but you will – never -be – the – same- again. And you will free your mind.
Going grocery shopping has become more difficult in this day and age, but it is becoming more and more important to get this part of our lives right. Diet related diseases are surpassing tobacco related diseases as the number one killer of Americans with 2/3 of Americans now overweight or obese. Without some major policy changes, these numbers are likely to only get worse. In fact, Type 2 diabetes in children was basically unheard of a generation ago and now is becoming a serious problem. Because of the childhood obesity epidemic, projections estimate that children born after the year 2000 are likely to live a shorter life than their parents! This needs to stop.
But because of the system we have built from the minds of food scientists and food industry execs interested simply in making food last longer on the shelves and to get people to eat more (spend more), it is getting harder and harder to eat right. I have just started reading the Food Rules book by Michael Pollan. It is a quick short summary of how to maneuver this crazed food system. It is actually quite sad that we have to have rules like this to avoid the land mines that are in our field of food. And more and more land mines keep getting set by the food industry. It’s amazing that even 1/3 of Americans are not overweight with the maze we have to juggle just to eat healthfully.
First of all, avoid fast food altogether. If you need a steadfast rule, this should be one of them. This should be even less frequent than a “treat”. Do not even think of fast food as food. Think of it as a stimulant. It has been so hyper processed to stimulate receptors in your brain and stomach that it is more akin to an addiction once you are hooked. For some people this is all they eat, they are called “heavy users” by the food industry. Is that a joke? Heavy users (if they aren’t heavy yet, they will be eating there at every meal). Avoid “convenience” foods. As mentioned in the liabilities and assets section, the price of convenience if awfully high. These include prepackaged snacks and especially soda. Think of fast “food”, junk foods and convenience snacks as you would cigarettes, that is, not good at all!
The grocery store is a little better place to find real “food” instead of just empty stimulants. However, before you truck off to the grocery store, think about where else you might get your food. Farmers’ markets are great! So is your own backyard, or a community garden. And if you have the world’s best pet, you will have your own fresh eggs! The less you need to go into any store, the less you will be tempted to buy non-essentials.
But maybe you haven’t gotten completely self-sufficient or it is winter and you need a few extras for your delicious home-cooked meal in addition to your fresh home-canned or garden foods. So you go to the grocery store. But even before you leave, think about which stores you are supporting with your dollar. Ask yourself whether you want Wal-Mart to grow bigger and more powerful with your help? If so, are you ok with all grocery competition in the area to dry up because Wal-Mart or some other big box had lower prices? Remember that they will only be lower so long as there are other stores to get lower than. Once the competition is gone, so are the low prices. Or do you want to support a local (and probably struggling) independent store? (I do!) You should think about these things before even leaving your house.
Once you are in your favorite store, you still need to watch out for those food industry land mines! The best advice I heard and give is to avoid the center aisles as much as possible. The heavily processed foods more than likely are in much higher quantities there. And why are heavily processed foods not good?
Well besides the awful nutrient deficient ingredients and preservatives, they cost a LOT more than the raw materials it would take to make them, even though they are heavily subsidized (especially the corn ingredients). They are what the industry calls “value added” foods which is opposite land speak for “nutrient subtracted” that adds a LOT of value to their stockholders. Take potato chips. A 20 oz bag of potato chips costs maybe $3. How many potatoes could you grow in your garden or even buy in the produce section for $3? A lot! And even if you added in a little olive oil to fry them up at home, you would still be saving yourself a great deal both in terms of health and money.
So stick to the periphery of the store to avoid these traps as much as possible. Get your produce (stock up on fruits, veggies, nuts, beans and mushrooms), milk products (without added sugars and preservatives), whole breads, and unprocessed meats and fish. Then if a few stimulant foods happen to creep in at the check stand, at least you made it out of the store relatively unscathed.
Also watch out for coupons. Coupons are a great way to save money at the grocery store, and many offer doubling or tripling of coupons, but there is a hidden catch. Most of the coupons are basically advertising campaigns for the largest food corporations out there, and what that means is that they are generally not going to be very good for you. Rarely do you see a coupon for a whole watermelon or a bunch of broccoli!
Another grocery tip I use is to bring reusable bags with me on the grocery trips. I have even started to use reusable produce bags. Not only does this cut down on waste, but many stores offer .05 cents off per bag. That’s not a lot, but it’s better than nothing! This is definitely a win-win type Fruitfulista situation (less waste and make a little money!).
While it may be a mine field in the grocery shopping arena, there are things you can do to eat healthfully as well as save money when getting your food.
As requested, I thought I would talk a little about what I mean by liabilities and assets especially when it comes to consumer items and other daily purchases. These are key concepts in the Fruitfulista philosophy, so I hope to explain them clearly. When I refer to liabilities and assets, it may be different from what most financial advisors may say. Usually, this is what you might hear when people talk about liabilities and assets (taken from this site):
Assets
An asset is anything of value that your company owns — including cash. Assets get recorded on the balance sheet in terms of their dollar values. Even if you used credit to purchase an asset, you still own it. Its full dollar value gets recorded on one side of the balance sheet as an asset, and the amount you owe gets recorded on the other side of the balance sheet as a liability.
Liabilities
Anything a company owes to people or businesses other than its owners is considered a liability.
Break through the Chains
While these are useful starting places, they usually don’t do the average person looking for financial freedom any good. So, I’ve made a chart that is basically a continuum from liabilities to assets in our daily lives. I tried to think of most categories that people spend money and time in (food, housing, clothing, education, transportation, etc) but it could be for nearly anything.
Most people have some of each of these, but I would bet that the majority of folks don’t have very many items in the far right column (Fruitful Living and Innovation) and probably have way too many in the far left column (Subscriptions and Modern Conveniences -that actually aren’t too convenient). The two categories in the middle, what I call One Time Purchases or Neutral and Frugal Living or Saving, basically are net-zero type activities or purchases. They don’t really harm you and they don’t really change your life too much. Certainly, however, on a continuum, if you spend more time in the Neutral land and not much in Frugal Living, you will never move up to becoming Fruitful or Innovative. So that is why Frugal Living is an asset instead of liability.
But it should be said that it is easy to get stagnant in Frugal Living. So many people who have managed to get out of the liability section remain stuck in Frugal Living. This is not necessarily a bad thing, and for some people, such as those who are retired and ready to put their creativity to rest, this is a comfortable, safe place to stay. However, for those who are ready to move forward and live a fruitful life, it will entail some risks, adventures and innovation. You must be careful to not turn ruthless in this last step. Basically, on the left side, you are a slave, on the right side you are the master. You must be careful to rule as “master” in a way that helps to set others free as well, rather than enslaving a whole new group.
When you move from just buying things after falling for slick marketing -especially unneccessary subscriptions- you start to look at buying things just once instead of over and over again. This is when you move from the worst liabilities (Subscriptions and Modern Conveniences) to the minor liabilities (One Time, Neutral Purchases). Then you start to think about whether you even want to buy it in the first place! And you look for ways to save or not spend money. You might start clipping coupons, going to the library, gardening and canning and other ways of saving. This is exiliharting because you have found a way to live without giving up all of your money for what is sometimes the exact same thing for very little or nothing. You have moved from the One-time Purchases to Frugal Living. You are free in more than one way. But this is not where you should stop!
That is the mistake so many of the tightwad, budget, frugal advice gurus. This is great that you got there, but you need to take it one step further if you really want to reap the benefits. You were in a casino, playing in their game of money. Turn it around! Open your own casino. As a master rather than slave, you control the world. Make it a better place. Help others get off the merry-go-round. Start cooperative projects. Not all ideas from the current “masters” are bad. Use them to your benefit until enough people have reached that level that you can all work together. You, together with others who use and apply this information, will change the world for the better. But it starts with you!
Figure out where you spend most of your time on this chart. The vast majority of people will spend a little bit in each section, and that’s ok. Work to gradually spend more of your time on the right side of the chart rather than the left. If you are just starting out, you might be spending a lot of your time getting set up, finding a place to live, furniture, a job maybe. As you get settled in, you will be able to move to becoming more free and fruitful. Try to spend as little time in the “subscriptions” section as possible, even if you are just starting out. You can become frugal at any age and that will give you the platform of savings to jump into exciting opportunities to multiply your money.
Think of your money as “freedom fighters”, each time you spend one does it die right there? Or does it go out and recruit more freedom fighters for your cause (your freedom)? If you are ok with being a slave to the system, being in debt, worrying about money, then don’t change a thing and enjoy your “modern conveniences”, but if you want those freedom fighters to bring you freedom, put them to work in the places where they will grow and thrive, or at least stay safe (saved).
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