Living cheaply; why you'll have to
The increased exercise is really starting to have a positive effect on me, though, as all those energising endorphins kick in. Studies have shown that cycling for at least 30 minutes a day gives you a level of fitness equivalent to being 10 years younger. I'm cycling nearly two hours a day at the moment, 82 miles so far this week, so if I keep this up I'll be fit as a fiddle in no time.
[…]
Living on £1 a day isn't easy, and is certainly not for those of us who enjoy life's little luxuries. But clearly there are ways to save money and escape the cycle of consumption without becoming penny-pinching militants.
The day after my challenge ends, I meet the human-rights campaigner and Green Party member Peter Tatchell at his south London council flat. In spite of his media profile and obvious earning potential, he survives on a mere £7,000 a year. "By British standards I'm poor, but by global standards I'm rich, so I count myself lucky. I've had opportunities to earn quite a lot of money, but material wealth has never been a motive. I'm driven by my idealism, not by a desire to keep up with the latest fashion or consumer durables," he says.
Tatchell sums up a point I've been struggling to get to grips with all week. "Not only is antimaterialism good for the soul and good for the planet, but it shows how we could all get by on much less if we had different priorities. I appreciate that not everyone can live my kind of lifestyle, but if we all reduced our consumption we'd be well on the way to tackling global warming and ensuring a more equitable global distribution of resources."
Meanwhile, complete US bankruptcy near
Most Americans, including the presidential candidates and the media, are unaware that the US government today, now at this minute, is unable to finance its day-to-day operations and must rely on foreigners to purchase its bonds. The government pays the interest to foreigners by selling more bonds, and when the bonds come due, the government redeems the bonds by selling new bonds. The day the foreigners do not buy is the day the American people and their government are brought to reality.
This is not the financial position of a superpower.
Will what happened to Lehman Brothers today be America’s fate tomorrow?
SQUIBS
2 videos succinctly explain financial fix we’re in
Crash! Shares tumble with Lehman
A Brit view of where collapse takes us
Rewarding failure
Kunstler had it laid out…
...but average Americans still have not a clue
posted by Tom Nadeau at 8:28 AM
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