Letters to the Editor
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I can't believe it would be that huge a disaster
"Someone made a comment here about what would happen if we followed the so-wise advise of many here: the U.S. and probably the world economy would collapse."
This presupposes that the whole of western civilization is artificial bullshit, that the whole thing is a house of cards, depending only on everyone believing in it, like Tinkerbell, and I think I dispute that. The food is actually grown and distributed, houses and apartment complexes are built, people are cured of real disease, and all the people who provide these services are compensated adequately in currency which they can use to enjoy their lives. That's not bullshit.
I believe that only the bullshit part of the economy would collapse. While many people do, most people don't work in bullshit jobs doing bullshit things. The food would still get grown, and houses would still be built if people actually started saving money and stopped living on credit, and those people would be paid. Maybe not as much, but they'd get paid, and they'd keep doing it. Someone would still make TV shows, someone would build office and computing machines, etc. We'd still have cops and mailmen. Life would go on.
Our existence in this country is simply not as silly as all that. The Russians survived communism, because most of the function of civilization is simply in providing basics, and they could do that as well as anyone, because the basics just aren't that hard.
Retail would certainly change. I've got to figure companies like Best Buy and Circuit City thrive on credit spending, especially with come-ons like "Last chance to buy this 65" HDTV before the big game! 36 months no interest!", would cease to exist overnight.
The retail outlets that remain might be the ones who've been calmly plodding along for decades, like Sears.