Some consumers shop till jaws drop

[durablend]

www.azcentral.com/news/articles/1221luxurygifts-ON.html

"Luxury all of a sudden has become the hot item," says Marshal Cohen, NPD senior analyst

- Autos. Lexus, Infiniti, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar and BMW are pushing luxury on wheels as gifts - and people are buying. December, in fact, is Lexus' best month. "Affluent buyers feel as if they owe themselves something," says Mike Wells, vice president of sales.

[Ruffhowse]

1. Never underestimate the greed of the wealthy in America. Spending

all their money they got from their savior and patron saint, George Bush.

[Skittles]

3. greedy bastards

nt

[Just Me]

2. Yeah. I took note of those commercials as being pretty sick.

Even the very affluent people I know,...paused at the trivialization of human worth by such blatant materialism.

[Mabeline]

4. Saw on the evening news that mink was being bought big this year too,

not just coats, stoles or capes, but rugs...rugs? WOW, gotta get me one o'them..(going for sarcasm there.)

[SoCalDem]

14. Yep.. they must really enjoy walking around on the skins of

a bunch of poor little electrocuted animals whose only sin was being born soft and fluffy..:(

[LibDemAlways]

5. The concept of the two Americas

hit home last night in the parking lot of my local market - jammed with automotive excess. I wedged my little car in between two behemoth SUVs and was immediately approached by a homeless man asking for "anything you can spare." I had nothing except my checkbook at that point, but I cashed a check in the market and gave him some money on the way out. I was embarrassed by his "God Bless You and Merry Christmas" response. I didn't do anything more than any decent human being would have done, and actually felt guilty that I wasn't in a position to do more to help him out.

Meanwhile, those who have the most lavishly treat each other to expensive crap that they don't need, while the poor man in the parking lot will spend his Christmas trying to stay fed.

And millions of those who are just a paycheck away from that guy's plight voted with the millionaires. Go figure.

[Stinky The Clown]

6. Its amazing isn't it? My head seems to be forever moving left to right

as I shake it "no" at what I see.

The sad part is, those folks who you imply are rich really aren't. At best, they're upper middle class .... and the First Asshole is doing NOTHING for them .... not a damned fucking thing. This class warfare crap is being payed on them by the fucking RIGHT ...... by inflating their self-absorbed egos into thinking they're rich too.

Even these seemingly well off assholes are just a (relatively) few paychecks away from homelessness. They're all just wage slaves as dependent on the truly rich as any one of us.

When we speak about "morans" getting a clue, it applies to them as well.

And God bless you for helping that man out.

[driver8]

8. It is amazing...

I look through the Sunday paper at all of the "sales" for more worthless shit that no one needs and I think, "there has to be more to Christmas than this." I absolutely hate this time of year and the bombardment of commercials telling us to buy, buy, buy! I saw some commercial where a guy bought his wife a Lexus for Christmas...what is up with that?

Here at work, we always sponsor a couple of families and purchase gifts, gift certificates, etc...so that they can have a Christmas. This year my wife and I took the money we would spend on each other and used it to buy gifts for these families. It really hit home yesterday when the woman at work who organized this sent us all an e-mail. The e-mail said that when she delivered the gifts to one of the families, our gifts were the only ones that they had under their tree. This is a family with two small children. I got all choked up reading that...no child in this country should have to do without on Christmas. I think my wife and I will make NOT giving gifts to each other a tradition.

[Just Me]

7. When I go grocery shopping, I always have a "care bag" ready,...

,...with basic canned fruit, vegies, soup, juice, and a candy bar,...

,...at least, I did,...where I used to live and needy American human beings were ALWAYS around the grocery stores in the Seattle area.

I am still amazed that, there was rarely ever a visit to the beautiful parks in and around Seattle where a struggling person was NOT in sight.

I'll never forget this one beautiful day where all the beautiful people were enjoying the green and the sun,...a man in cloth-drawn boots walked right up to my blanket and asked me if I could spare some food. I saw that Marine insignia,...the one that had been plastered upon every gift my youngest brother bestowed upon my only son,...I saw that insignia tattooed on that man's forearm.

I fixed him a plate of food and gave what loose chips and cookies I had to him.

He said: "Bless you."

I choked and responded: "Bless you back."

I knew what real "compassion" meant, in that moment. I also felt the full force of empathy thereafter because,...to this day,...I feel connected with that man!!!! I also know what it is to care as I :cry: about such unnecessary suffering.

[driver8]

9. Just me...bless you

That is a wonderful story. I believe in karma and good karma is coming your way!!

Last week my wife and I were stopped at a light and looked over and saw a man eating food out of a garbage can. My wife pulled the car over and said, "We have to do something." I had seven or eight dollars in my pocket and I jumped out and caught the man as he was walking away. "Sir", I told him, "this is for you." He looked at the money and said, "Thank you so much."

The look in his eyes killed me. You could tell that this was a proud man who hated that this was what he had to do to eat.

[cliss]

11. Thank you for doing that, J. And a vet, at that.

I was on my way out after work to finish up on my Xmas shopping. I really haven't done that much. Everyone will have to be happy with what they get.

Not far from downtown Portland, I see this young man with a cardboard sign. He was looking for handouts. I pulled over and gave him some money. I just couldn't help it! I told him he was much to young to be out panhandling.

My heart just broke looking at him. After I drove off, I ended up worrying about him all evening.I didn't give him very much, but tomorrow after work I'm going back to see if he's there. If he is, I'm going to see if there's anything more I can do for him.

And just think, this is the Compassion of the Conservatives. They believe that poverty is actually a GOOD thing, because it brings out the best in us. It is a power which forces us to pull us up by out bootstraps and "make something of ourselves". Bastards.

[Johnny Noshoes]

17. You did

what you could which is more than what most would have done. You acted with right intention and shouldn't feel embarrassed.

"When you trade your values for the hope of winning, you end up losing and having no values....so you keep losing." Howard Dean 2004

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. Well we talked my dad out of replacing the 20 year

old Beemer... she still runs very well thank you and that engine still has a good 60K miles in her, at least. She has been babyied, and quite frankly I don't want another beemer. Oif those cars are expensive to maintain and insure.... he got it twenty years ago, and I know it was and still is a status symbol.

Instead we did replace the Honda Accord (14 year old car that was starting to give us way too much trouble), for a Honda Civic Hybrid after almost ten months of looking for a good deal. We still have our 14 year old Toyota 4 by 4... and people look at us weird since we are driving these two very old vehicles... (the Beemer is my father's and he is eighty so it is to a point his baby).

Now what exactly did we spend our money on this holiday?

We are gamers, and I have moved some of our now quite meager gaming budget towards feeding two homeless vets in a very ritzy tourist area. Every week we get them some coffee and some food at a LOCAL coffee shop... (my parents have the money and they worked for it, but we don't and my husband just spent a year unemployed, and I don't make enough anyways, but we still make do with what we have, and the car we did not buy it, my parents did, I could not afford it... though we insisted on the Hybrid, believe it or not just on gas my finances are a tad better now)

Oh and today, we took phone cards to the troops at Balboa... damn it those troops don't have any other way of calling home. So our Christmas giving was buying some cards for those troops, and I guess Thursday I will buy our two adopted vets something more substancial for dinner. One of them, has that thousand mile stare, he is starting to open up to me. One day I guess I will be able to seat down and do something needed, listen to him and maybe help him deal with some of his demons, and that may help him get back on his feet.

What gets to me are some of the tourists, they have the ever so popular suport the troops magnets, but they are always shocked since they allowed "the trash" into the park... oh well, they are right, but it is not these two vets who are the trash, truly.

[MileHiStealth]

12. How ironic is it that all of us liberal troublemakers ...

are out helping the needy and homeless, doing what
we can to help "the least of our brothers" while
the Repugs are buying Luxury cars and trying to
convince everyone that they "own" Christ.

[Johnny Noshoes]

21. All of the posts here

are about people who have acted out of real compassion. People who don't have to wave their beliefs, like so many RW alleged christians are so fond of doing, as some badge that proves they're somehow better human beings. You act because it is the right thing - the HUMAN thing to do - because you can't NOT do something.

"When you trade your values for the hope of winning, you end up losing and having no values....so you keep losing." Howard Dean 2004

[Oversea Visitor]

13. The story are moving

We dont have vets in our country, We dont have war, Its sad when people get turn into soldiers and send to war, sadder still when they come back and cant live a normal lives because of their experience. The WAR in Iraq will see a flood of these vets, can l call it a WAR, There wasnt any resistance, but now its growing ....
How can you win again people who hate Americans so much they willing to blow themself up just to even kill a few....Why would they want to do that?
Was the Iraqies responsible for 911, was the Taliban responsibile for 911, was Al-Queda responsible for 911,
Read your official story report.... on 911.
Who is responsible for 911?

How long before all this madness end, when will it end, how will it end. OR ARE WE ALL BY OUR SILENCE WILLING TO WALK THE PATH TO ANOTHER WORLD WAR.

Like many people in world we cant only take to the street to protest agains the war. Like many we can only protest again Bush when he visit.

I pray that this Jan 6th will make a different. I pray hard for all of you people at the frontline of this battle against MADDNESS, HATRED, FREEDOM, GREED and CORRUPTION. Can the world afford another 4 years of GWB. Time will tell.... please please dont let another country be invaded.

I have been following all this since Nov 3rd. and I beleive the election was rigged.

[DS1]

15. There's another angle to this story

A lot of these people are likely to end up just as screwed as the rest of us, only after never learning how or why to save money they'll fall much harder.

[DemBones DemBones]

16. People have always liked to buy luxury items, including

luxury cars, at Christmas -- and anytime, really. Where has this guy who said "Luxury all of a sudden has become the hot item" been all his life that he thinks this is "sudden"? Next he'll discover people prefer steak to Spam.

People buy luxury cars because of their quality as well as because they're status symbols. The first BMW owners I ever knew lived in a tiny rural town where we lived and taught for a few years in the late sixties-early seventies. They were the father and son owners of a small grocery store, staffed by themselves and their wives. Like many in the area, the men habitually dressed in denim bib-overalls and their wives dressed equally simply. It always made us smile to see these overall clad, tobacco-chewing men tooling around town in their diesel BMWs.

[proReality]

18. You've all got it wrong...

Those wealthy buyers are doing their patriotic duty by shopping till they drop (huge wads of cash), just as their great and glorious leader has instructed them to do. The rest of us are worthless scum, not fit to walk in their shadows or shine their overpriced shoes. And we're certainly not worthy of standing along the inaugural parade route. So let's just get over it and die a quick death, then they can get on with their spending without having to walk around us as they're doing it.

[KingChicken]

19. Good, i'm glad they are speending, buy all you want...

It's better that the wealthy spend all they can so we can properly pump money back into the system, the dangerous wealthy people are the ones who keep their money and reinvest, those are the ones who will accumulate power over time.

Encourage the luxury buying, let's see if we can get them to take their amex out.

[0007]

20. The good times may be coming to an end.

[bobbyboucher]

22. Where are all the whining Christians, what?, this doesn't

matter to you? Oh yeah, liberals are ruining Christmas because they say "Happy Holidays" but the wealthy using this holiday to further their gluttony while the majority are hurting.

Where's the outrage?

[ausiedownunderground]

23. you are all great people!!

When i was young i was taught that kind caring and compassionate people like you - Go TO Heaven. Well done!!! The rest of the world is eternally grateful that this type of person still exists in America. We were all seriously starting to WONDER??????