Who Can Afford to "Buy Blue"?

Excerpt:
"As for the matter of campaign contributions, many contributors are bipartisan. In October, preliminary Center for Responsive Politics results revealed that "50,000 contributions who" had "given to President Bush or the Republicans" had "given $10,697,198 in large contributions to Kerry" and that "[e]ven among these 700 [Republicans who contributed money to Nader/Camejo] the Democrats received more money than Nader/Camejo -- $111,700 to $146,000" (Kevin Zeese and Virginia Rodino, "Kerry Receives 100 Times More in Contributions from GOP Donors than Nader," October 14, 2004)."

====> What they are buying is favorable laws and regulations. This applies to "blue", "red" and purple corporations. By spending your money at a corporation that "buys government" you are cutting your own throats in the long term. Next year a higher bidder may come along and purchase new laws that undo what came before, but few individual interests are represented by the government or political parties, so regardless of whether the election winner is red or blue, you lose.

Recommendations:

1) Boycott all corporations in the S&P 500 or the Fortune 1000 or 2000.

2) Spend nothing that is not essential for your needs and learn to enjoy things that are free or that involve assets that rarely need replacement (ex. a wood-working tool that lasts a lifetime serves the craftsman well and provides endless hours of pleasure.)

3) Learn how to conserve pennies, nickels and dollars. Instead of using your last $10 bill to buy a frozen pizza and a 6 pack of beer, put it aside for the future. It requires savings in order save money later: bulk purchasing of "inventory" requires savings, and investing in quality products that last requires an extra up-front expediture but save money in the long run.

4) Look inside and see if you have a spending or shopping addiction! Many people go shopping when they are bored, or unhappy, or to celebrate something. Others go shopping every day and just pick up whatever shiny products magically appear under their hands at the store (generally speaking, anything that needs to be advertised is not essential to an individual and can be shunned.)

5) Plan ahead. Conserve gas and time by consolidating shopping trips. Walk when possible. All of these are savers because you can reduce gas, oil and maintenance costs as well as time -- and avoid impulse purchases. (Few gasoline companies did not donate to Bush, by the way.)