Shopaholic Reform: Thursday & Friday's Damages

Saturday, May 8

Thursday & Friday's Damages

Thursday

$3.35 - Dunkin Donuts (morning coffee and bagel)
$10 - some solar panel raffle at school (they were smartly blocking the entryway to school...sometimes it's easier to just buy the ticket than try to come up with reasons why you can't part with a measly $10)
$20 - Donna's (Antioch eatery)

So my professor's birthday was today and he generously allowed each of his student to get something at Donna's and to put it on his tab. Super nice, BUT it's his birthday...he shouldn't be buying all of us treats, we should be getting him stuff...right? So I paid off $20 of his tab a surprise anonymously...although having to post it takes some of the anonymity out of it, huh?

Friday

$44.77 - Lush (fancy soaps and lotions)
$31.88 - Pandora (charm)
$7.86 - Trader Joe's (snackages)
$164 - Capital Grill (Aaron's belated birthday dinner)

So apparently I am expected to buy my Godmother, more affectionally known as Auntie Ree and my Nana a mothers day present as well. Keep in mind that my mother bought presents for my brother to give each of them...he is 31 years old. Amazing, right? So anyways there was some last minute shopping to be done and I of course rose to the challenge.

A little advice from my shopping excursion...if at all possible avoid a Pandora storm like the plague. They are overrun by obnoxious teenagers whining about everything possible in the tell tall valley-girl dialect...so in short, they are WAY too much. WAY, WAY too much.

Lush however was delightful. Their products are wonderful AND they gave me a free hand treatment, which left my hands feeling smoother than they have in...forever. Their products are made by hand, using little to no preservatives, lots of fabulous organic ingredients, do not test on animals, don't over package their products, and give back through their "charity pot" products. Love them.

Also I should note that I had a $150 gift card to the Capital Grill and I didn't have any cash on me so Aaron threw some money down to cover a portion of the tip (I know, I know...it was HIS birthday dinner, but it's weird to just put a tip on your debit card when you're paying with a gift card, right?). So really his birthday dinner was free! It should be noted that I am a vegetarian and was given a gift card as a little bonus from work. I find it hysterical that my employer thought it appropriate to give a vegetarian a gift card to a steak house. I mean really, priceless.

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Something to Chew On...

The downside to Globalization

1. “The general complaint about globalization is that it has made the rich richer while making the non-rich poorer. It is wonderful for managers and investors, but hell on workers and nature.”¹

2. Multinational corporations are accused of social injustice, unfair working conditions (including slave labor wages and poor living and working conditions), as well as a lack of concern for the environment, mismanagement of natural resources, and ecological damage.

3. Multinational corporations which were previously restricted to commercial activities are increasingly influencing political decisions. Many think there is a threat of corporations ruling the world because they are gaining power due to globalization.

4. Opponents say globalization makes it easier for rich companies to act with less accountability. They also claim that countries’ individual cultures are becoming overpowered by Americanization.

5. Anti-globalists also claim that globalization is not working for the majority of the world. During the most recent period of rapid growth in global trade and investment, 1960 to 1998, inequality worsened both internationally and within countries. The UN Development Program reports that the richest 20 percent of the world's population consume 86 percent of the world's resources, while the poorest 80 percent consume just 14 percent.

6. Some experts think that globalization is also leading to the incursion of communicable diseases. Deadly diseases like HIV/AIDS are being spread by travelers to the remotest corners of the globe.

7. Globalization has led to exploitation of labor. Prisoners and child workers are used to work in inhumane conditions. Safety standards are ignored to produce cheap goods. There is also an increase in human trafficking.

8. Social welfare schemes or “safety nets” are under great pressure in developed countries because of deficits and other economic ramifications of globalization.

As manufacturing continues to decline, so does our ability to innovate. In the long term, this means fewer well-paid jobs, lower productivity, declining wages, declining living standards and low economic growth. Globalization is a big part of this decline and will affect all jobs and all sectors of the economy. From the point of view of multinational corporations and Wall Street investors, globalization is probably viewed as a wonderful phenomenon with many opportunities. But from the point of view of American manufacturers, manufacturing workers, the middle class, professional service workers and overall economic growth, I think the disadvantages far out weigh the advantages.

-Mike Collins, The Pros and Cons of Globalization (2010)