I grew up in a poor neighborhood that had a very bad infrastructure, particularly sewer infrastructure.

Our house was one of the oldest on that street, when the sewer overflowed it was a disgusting experience, and unhealthy too.

I remember thinking to myself, when I grow up I’ll be rich enough that I will have a better house that this will never happen to it.

Well, If it did happen, I’ll hire someone to deal with it, no way I’ll take it and do nothing.

Did the adult me make as much as the child dreamt of? no

I made even more, a lot more.

You see, I grew up so poor I couldn’t fathom how much can be made by an average worker in a high-paying job.

Now what’s the problem? capitalism is great and the poor child can (and did) escape poverty and make ends meet.

The problem is that nobody likes this job.

Sewer, coal, mines, cleaning puke on the store’s floor, or cleaning bathrooms.

People don’t do it because they love society and want to help it, a mom would avoid doing her own baby’s disgusting care chores if she could afford to pay a stranger to do it.

People do them because otherwise, they will be homeless.

Because some people own the land, the properties, the mines, the farms, and the rest of us have to work for them to survive.

Capitalism doesn’t allow making more money by working hard, capitalism creates a class of poor people and makes sure they stay poor because that’s the way we force them to do the dirty work.

If someone is paid 150 times more than you do, there’s no way they work 150 times harder than you do, they barely even work.

Capitalism keeps on extracting wealth. One way to stop that is to not buy.

I invite you to not buy a Christmas tree and throw it in the trash, maybe plant a tree instead (or do something else, I’m sure you’re creative).

I invite you to ask your friends what they need before you get them a gift, maybe donate in their name to a charity of your choice as a gift if they don’t need something.

I invite you to fill your heart with a community (neighbors, friends, family ..etc) instead of helplessly trying to fill it with merchandise.

I have been there and let me tell you, consumerism was not fun and I couldn’t be more glad to have broken out of that habit.