Note: Before reading the following arguments, please understand that they are not what I believe. On Wednesdays, I deliberately argue for wrong ideas, challenging my listeners to call and defend the obvious right answer, which is usually far harder than one would expect. This is a summary of what Wacky Andrew will be arguing, not a representation of what real Andrew believes.
~The economy depends on people spending money, but thrifty people don’t spend.
~Thrifty is just a nice way of saying miserly and stingy.
~Being careful with your money makes you more aware of your money than you should be. Trying never to waste any fixates you on it all the time.
~Having gotten a great deal, you then worry about protecting the thing too much because you know you can’t replace it at that price.
~You sneer at the price gouger charging too much, but the thrifty person is just the price gouger on the other side of the transaction.
~Thrifty people develop a great sense of pride for this trait, thinking it makes them better people.
~Thrifty people often judge others who spend money more easily as being inferior and may even let their foolishness justify not helping them in their time of need.
~Philosophically, buying used things still presupposes lots of other people foolishly buying new things. This is economically parasitic.
~Even when you do spend money, you feel guilty about it.
~You can spend so much time trying to maximize and leverage your spending that you wind up investing far more of your life into things than even the profligate spender might.
~One of the common reasons for being thrifty is to maximize material pleasure with limited resources. This is every bit as much greed as someone who throws his money around. It’s just greed with a hefty dose of rationality added to it.
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