another excuse to buy a bunch of stuff we don't need. woe is the environment.
A refreshing attitude here in this forum where we brag about how many miles we earnt on an insanely long trip to London via several different continents.
We don't need to travel, we don't need much in the way of possessions, we don't really need to work at all, really.
And for those who can minimise their environmental and moral footprint, good on you, I say.
But, like Mr Packer who reckoned that if he didn't minimise his tax, he'd be a right galah, making the most of your resources is just good thinking.
Many things are cheaper overseas than here in Australia. Find sufficient savings, enough to cover the cost of the travel, and you come out ahead.
Or do what has been done for as long as there have been human beings - travel to another place, buy goods which are cheap and plentiful in that place, take them to a place where they are scarce and expensive, sell them and enjoy the profit.
We live in a time when the global market is not a perfect one. Goods are cheaper in one place than another. We live in a time where travel is quick, convenient and relatively cheap. I never fly across the Pacific without reflecting on the difficulty and hardship of the early mariners, taking months and years out of their lives, and here I am crossing a vast ocean without needing to visit the bathroom.
I'm going to make the best of my opportunities. There's nobody in overall charge making sure we all do the right thing, whatever that may be. There are local governments and international associations and multinational corporations and they all have different rules and different ideas of what makes for a perfect world.
In the end, I am my own Prime Minister, my own CEO, my own god. I'm going to do whatever I reckon is a fair thing. If I buy goods at prices set by others who are making a profit at that price, then I'm not going to lose any sleep. I'll decide if I need or can afford those goods. If I consume energy and resources and output carbon dioxide and waste, I'll certainly ponder my part in the global environment, but I know that others are managing this on my behalf, whether I voted for them or not, and I won't worry about it.
Of course, I could reduce my consumption of foreign goods and international travel, but if I don't buy these things, someone else will. The airline will find someone else to buy the empty seat. That warm Columbia jacket will not go unworn. The champagne and cologne will not be poured down the drain.
We live in amazing times. We only get one lifetime. I intend to make the most of the few years I get.
