Shopaholic Reform: Spectacular September

Thursday, October 7

Spectacular September

Another month gone, and here's the damage...

Total: $2,100

(approximately, I'm not entirely sure how much money I spent in Athens but I just factored in how much I converted and ran with that)

The Breakdown:
Travel - $1,325 (this includes money spent and the hotels once we got there, only a portion of them were paid before we left, I just buy $1,325 worth of stuff while we were away, that would be a tad excessive)
Gifts - $200
Entertainment - $91
Bars/Restaurants (including bars at weddings) - $84
Gas - $82
Random Crap - $82
Clothing - $79.95
Health and Beauty - $67
Groceries - $51
Maggie Mae - $26.55
Coffee - $11.78
Snacks - $1.25

So I realized that I made a slight omission in my frenzy to get ready to leave on vacation. I purchased the Alibi special being offered on Rue La La a ways back and never reported it. It was for two signature drinks and a bottle of wine for two at the Boston bar/lounge Alibi, if you haven't been there before it's a pretty good time, granted it gets a bit crowded later in the night on the weekends. It cost $39, the exact amount of the credit that I had sitting in my account, just waiting to be spent. Well friends, I spent it.

We all knew this was going to be a heavy hitter of a month, given the fact that I was traveling for a decent portion of it. I counted everything that was spent in Greece on this month's tally just to make thing easy for myself.

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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)