In my neck of the woods a Single Mother of two boys was called out for buying items from local thrift stores. She was accused of cleaning, repairing and reselling the items on local classified pages.
This caused a bit of debate, which left me scratching my head. We are going to "Shame" this person who has found a way to earn a living and take care of her kids without government support, she is "hoarding candle sticks"..? Oh no!
Actually the complaint was she is buying things that poor people could be using and increasing the value and reselling, thus inflating the prices and making items for difficult for "Poor People". - Yeah, I don't get it either.
Here was my response:
Remember when you were a kid and parents and societal wisdom said...Stay in school, go to college, get a good job, don't do drugs, work hard so you can get ahead and be successful? Nobody said go to school, start a business, work hard so you can give your stuff to the people who didn't.
In this case a mother finds a great way to support herself and her children. We should hold that up and celebrate it. It seems we have lost the idea that part of freedom is being able to support yourself. We have a responsibility to contribute to society. If you are sick, hurt or having a rough time, we have safety nets, they are not meant to be a lifestyle and we can't continue to support them forever. I love stories where people have found a way to make a living.
Who is harmed when 2 or more adults enter into an agreement to trade. That means two adults come together and make a decision to buy and sell. Both parties are considered to be of sound mind and free to engage in business. The concept of Buyer Beware gives the purchaser the responsibility to research the value of the purchase. Stop attacking individuals who have figured out how to do this.
It is getting harder to make a living due to the shrinkage of the middle class, but it is still possible and respectable to get ahead.
Celebrate it. Do it.
I say good job Mom.
What do you think?