You Aren't What You Own

For a while now, America's economic growth has been fueled by consumption, and that consumption was enabled largely by growing public and private debt. Though Jimmy Carter was ridiculed for his lecture to the American people about the dangers of such pervasive materialism, he had a point, it turns out.

Now there is a movement among some segments of the populous who are rejecting the rat race, the pursuit of flat screen HDTVs, multiple homes, and fancy cars. And they're happier because of it. Money, it turns out, only buys happiness up until a certain point of comfort. Once we have achieved a moderate level of wealth, able to pay for good food, shelter, nice clothes, and entertainment, it doesn't take too much more to make us pretty miserable.

There's a great (and popular) article in this week's New York Times about the people who are leading a movement toward frugality. And they're happier for it.

I Drink at Home, YEEEEAAAAH, With Somebody Else

Alcohol sales are historically recession resistant, but not at bars anymore. It's way cheaper to buy some booze at the store, invite a few buddies over, and have a little party. If you live somewhere awesome like Miami, you can enjoy views of palm trees and water. If you live somewhere on the boring side, at least you can hang out outside during the summertime. Maybe play some bean bag toss and listen to music with a few beers. Good times.

From Time - 

"Sales of alcoholic beverages at bars and restaurants fell 4.6% in 2009, while sales at liquor stores, supermarkets and other retailers for "at home" drinking rose 1.2%, the report said. Americans are gulping 10 drinks on average each month at home, compared with only 5.7 drinks in bars and restaurants, the report notes."

The article goes on to discuss a proposal by New York's governor, David Patterson, to allow wine sales at grocery stores. I don't know why that guy gets such a bad rap. I think he's great.

Mass Health

Massachusetts is often at the leading edge of healthcare reform because of the high quality of its medical facilities, and therefore, the high cost of medical services and insurance in the state. Harvard Business School senior lecturer and Brookings Institution senior fellow, Robert Pozen, has articulated some good ideas in today's Boston Globe.

Meat Good

Give human energy. Make smart. You read NPR.

"Food For Thought: Meat-Based Diet Made Us Smarter"

Fun(gus) Times

I hope that all of my readers need to be concerned about bacterial infections at the gym, because that means that you go to the gym. If you don't, then you have much more worrisome problems to consider, like heart disease and cancer. That will render less horrifying this article from the New York Times about "MRSA...athlete’s foot, jock itch, boils, impetigo, herpes simplex and ringworm, all of which you are rather likely to be exposed to while working out."

So, make sure that you keep your dirty clothes separate from your clean ones (and keep them in different bags, like maybe a plastic one from the grocery store), wash your hands before and after you work out, and shower off well when you're done. If you don't think you're likely to be exposed to something nasty, consider this -

"At any given time, he said in an interview, one person in three in the United States suffers from a skin disease that can be spread to others, even while in the incubation stage."