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  • From: <eureka AT hctc.net>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] Living the good life on 5000 a year
  • Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2008 16:49:25 -0600

I know an ecologically minded couple (authentic hippies) that run a cottage industry and probably live on $5K a year. When you look at their living, eating, driving, clothing, and entertainment habits of the last 30 years, I'm sure they'd rank up there with many 3rd world inhabitants on ecological footprint.

However, their roof leaks, their house is falling apart, they freeze in the winter without insulation, and bake in the summer so they are always sick, they have almost no social life, relatives (including their kids) shun them, and they get by on charitable help and donations of food and clothing from neighbors and a nearby church, which they don't belong to. They have no health insurance, and last year she had a heart attack, which is costing them a fortune now. They will tell you all about their dreams for the place, and that they are the happiest people in the world, but they are always complaining, fighting, depressed, or anxious and blaming others for their troubles. I want to admire them, but in reality I could not live like that. But then, I would have made different choices, even on $5K.


On Tue, 25 Nov 2008 16:43:58 -0500
EarthNSky <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net> wrote:
I've thought about this guy almost all day. I wondered about his
family...there are articles out there that mention that he has one, yet
this states he lives alone. I wonder if he has high speed internet. I
wonder what kind of bicycle he owns. I wonder if he makes his own
clothes, and how he affords health care if he has insurance. I looked
at a few sites, but did not see too many about him personally that are
recent. He's probably close to retirement age by now. Here's what one
of my friends wrote about it:
To have all the things that we deem as necessary, like refrigeration for our food and access to medical care require a HUGE interdependent
network of technologies that wouldn't be in place if everybody tried
to live on $5000/yr. I suppose we could all go back to living like
the peasants in China and India, but why would anyone want to??

Larry, in case anyone is interested, lives in Utah and is as
environmentally minded as the next person-probably more so.
Merkel is definitely radical, but I can't help but wonder what his life
is *really* like.

Bev, wondering why the list is so quiet

Tim Oppenheim wrote:
http://www.alternet.org/environment/108461/living_the_good_life_on_%245%2C000_a_year/





Merkel decided not only to quit the business of war but also to stop paying federal tax dollars that could fund government weapons. To do so, he aimed to live on an annual income less than the U.S. taxable level of $5,000.


--
“Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to
hate. Hate leads to suffering.” Yoda
http://www.myspace.com/tervetuloa13
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