My Argument with A.

A. and I have a huge argument when I come home and tell him about my "experiment." He thinks calling it an "experiment" is really stupid and small-minded to think about myself individually, I need to think about all the social problems that cause Americans to be ridden with debt.

He says that Americans are saving -1% every year, which means they are all spending more than they make. Virtually no one is saving money. He says we should look into housing co-ops; however there aren't any in LA, unless you are a student at UCLA. There is a food co-op, but it actually doesn't seem to be worth it.

He says that it's not really your fault that you have all this credit card debt; you
just graduated and spent four months being unemployed with another five being underemployed. Yes, my student loans are high (about $90k)but that wouldn't even be as much as what we spend a day on the war in Iraq. For the approximate $20 billion lost/mismanaged in Iraq, we could have paid off everyone's student loans. But even that is not good enough. He said, Elizabeth, the reason why you have to think about not buying things is because someone down the street has millions of dollars more than you.

I decide he's right. However, I point out this is an involving project and really I'm a poet at heart. Also, part of my reason for doing this is because I am an environmentalist; buying or scavenging used goods is helpful to the environment.

I rethink my project. For some reason he likes the word project better than experiment. I think that is because I have a degree in psychology and he's working on a project.

Part I.
Assessing the things that I buy. What is necessary?
Noting all the really cool shit there is to do in LA, for very little money or nothing.

Part II.
Embarking on freeganism; dumpster diving!

Part III.
Start a revolution, i.e. Why are there so many people living on the
streets in LA when there are so many empty buildings in the downtown?

etc.