Fixing things

Thanks to the labor of unfortunates all over the world, replacing most items is more economical than repair. Many small business repair people cannot give free estimates because they need to live and if they are honest on other charges, they simply cannot make enough to exist. So our dumps grow usually leaking hazardous material. Perfectly usuable appliances need to be replaced with more attractive, current models. On the homefront, World War II was fought with the slogan: Use it Up, Wear it out, Make it do! Our Labor and our Goods are Fighting. How different from the current war on terrorism that demands we shop more. How can opposite ideas both be true. I'm not an economist.

Another school of thought is to never fix anything. Get an old car for a couple hundred bucks and never put anything into it. Door leaks, adjust. Windows don't open properly, adjust. When the thing finally breaks down, haul it to the scrapyard and get another old car. Read a really funny essay on this once, I think in The Whole Earth Catalog. If I can find it, I will copy it for you. We old hippies still read this Survival Bible.