To follow up on yesterday's musings about the Canadian dollars parity with its U.S. counterpart, this page has seen a number of media outlets over the past 48 hours acting as cheerleaders for the Bellingham (WA) Chamber of Commerce. Reporters who would otherwise be covering picket lines or police incidents are gleefully pulling their best Bob Barker...er...Drew Carey impression in telling us how Right the Price is.
The problem for this page, is that the cheerleaders are all waving the same pom-poms, as if my material needs and wants are identical to who they perceive as their audience. Here's a graphic from today's Globe and Mail which lists a comparison of 'key' items (I assume that outside of Vancouver, it would be jeans instead of yoga pants). After going through this list, I'm convinced that the best way to save money in these days of dollar parity is not to buy anything.
Why would I buy an IPod Nano? IPods have a typical lifespan of six months and Apple doesn't deserve a cent from me for their efforts in marginalizing the open source MP3 format. I still contend that the Harry Potter books are more about branding than actual literature, so I can give them a pass. Yoga Pants? Sorry dude, my metrosexuality stops at the man purse, damn it. Starbucks coffee? Coffee is a commodity I need BEFORE leaving my house, and I can grande brew it myself, thank you. As for a litre of gasoline and a Chevy Impala to put it in, what the hell do people think it was that got the U.S. in trouble to the point where Canada's dollar equals theirs? Could it be, I don't know, slaughtering Iraqis and their own troops for a steady supply of gas to put in their Chevy Impalas?
If one uses the advice of this page, your total savings by not shopping for the Globe's featured items in the U.S. would come to $28,455.25 US. If you just stay home and not go shopping, that goes up to $35,944.54. It's that easy.
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