Michael Janzen

I got into a little bit of a row recently with the guy that runs Holy Cow Products. We had a little back and forth in the comments section of a greenwash of the week post on The Good Human.

The interaction itself and the little bit of product research I did on green cleaning products started me noodling over the real problem with greenwashing; which is that most people make product decisions based on product packaging and marketers know it. It’s a marketers job to do everything they can to sell products and build positive brand reputations. So it is a natural step for some folks to skirt the edge of what is legal and ethical especially during hard economic times.

I realize that most folks are just trying to realize their own dreams. In many ways I respect this kind of entrepreneurial spirit. The problem is that unsubstantiated product claims and product design mislead people and will eventually cause the business failure as the truth emerges. Failure is not inevitable because guys like me and David (The Good Human) that point out the truth. Failure is inevitable the moment the decision is made to market the product as something it is not.

Choosing to put people and the planet before profit is a more sustainable business model. As the internet and social media become more popular business ventures that don’t adopt a high level of ethics will fail faster simply because the truth will always surface.

I hope more business folks realize that by taking the high road they are choosing to make more money over a longer period of time. If you make a product or are working to build a brand put a focus on ethics, people, and the planet, and your profits will be longer lasting. Social media is here to stay… well at least until the power goes out permanently.

This bubble burst is one lesson I will never forget. Today I got my monthly report from Zillow in my email inbox. It brought more bad news. On the positive side I can already see some good indications coming in from elsewhere that say the economy is beginning to turn around. It just doesn’t look like it by looking at my home’s recently reported value.

Below is a screen shot of a report on Zillow.com for the Sacramento, California housing market. Looks pretty bad. You can also read the full report.

Below is a snapshot of my home, local market, and the national market. As you can see the Sacramento area has been hit very hard. My take is that this is what happens when McMansions go up like mushrooms and then the roof figuratively caves-in.

I’m no economist but while we see positive trends in consumer confidence and in other areas I don’t expect to see any real economic rebound until all our homes get a little less upside down. Too many Americans feel like they are stuck in debtors prisons. When people begin to feel less stuck I’m certain that overall consumer confidence will rebound and spending will return.

While this is sad for the rest of America, (more spending means more debt), it will have a positive side effect for those of us that are looking to downsize. We will be able to make our move, literally. Until then we sit patiently paying the piper for our past presumed prosperity.

(Sorry… I couldn’t help the allure of an awkward alliteration.)

Below is my letter to the school administrators who banned The Story of Stuff. Please write a letter too. Read the call to action that inspired this letter.

Hello,

The evidence is overwhelming and pollution and the economy are not partisan issues. No matter what personal or political beliefs each of us holds dear we’re forced to face these challenges together. We’re stronger together.

Humanity is consuming natural resources at an increasingly rate. Waste of all kinds is being produced at alarming rates. Pollution is spiraling out of control around the globe as nations require more energy and consume more natural resources to produce more consumer goods. But lets not focus on mother nature for a minute and instead turn to the immediate impact on humanity.

The economic meltdown was triggered by an over-extension of credit at every level. The abundance of credit fueled an artificial increase in the economy, like air filling a balloon. When the balloon popped, banks stopped lending money and corporations began to fail because the margin they had built their business on had disappeared. This collapse triggered repercussions throughout our economy. But all this should go without saying, we all know what happened.

The underlying problem seems to be that the American dream has shifted from real freedom to one built on visible material wealth. Borrowing money has become the norm. Mortgages, auto loans, and credit debt seem perfectly natural today and it’s almost unheard of that someone actually owns their home and is debt free. Over consumption has destroyed freedom through its reliance on debt. The majority essentially live an existence of voluntary indentured servitude simply because there’s no obvious alternative.

The Story of Stuff tells this story and quite clearly shows how consuming at an unsustainable level steals our freedom. The film is not about eliminating commerce but simply encourages us to do a better job of living within our personal and planetary means. By labeling The Story of Stuff propaganda and banning it from your school you are in effect condemning your students to a life of debt, not to mention a world filled with trash and a future full of trouble.

Please reverse your decision and give your students a chance. The Story of Stuff is not propaganda. It is a lesson in protecting freedom and our future.

Regards,
Michael Janzen

http://www.michaeljanzen.com

We’ve been shopping at Raley’s and Safeway for years. Last week we tried shopping at  Winco Foods for the first time… it’s one of the bag-it-yourself discount grocery stores. My head is still spinning at the savings. Last week we spent only $60. This week we spent $85 for our food for the week. We have a few bulk things already like beans and rice but for the most part the three of us will eat well for a week on just $85.

I’m totally amazed because I’m pretty sure that same shopping cart and 5 bags of food would have been between $200 and $250 at raleys. I’m so happy we have switched stores. Right now every penny helps get us toward our goals a little faster. If you are still shopping at the expensive stores… stop and try employee owned Winco.

I saw this CBS video the other day that focused on Obama and the economy. One of the things he said strait-out was that he’s working to avoid total economic collapse and a depression. This is not news of course but to hear him dance around the d-word was a bit of an eye opener. It’s one thing to hear our media talk about it and another to hear him say it.

I hope the work he’s are doing today will actually help us avoid more trouble. But I’d argue that we the people shouldn’t wait for the official announcement of a full-blown depression or our own personal financial demise. We should change our lifestyles today, live frugally, and prepare ourselves for the possibility of harder times. Here are some things you can do right now to prepare:

• Always work to improve your personal health.
• Buy bulk dry food (beans, rice, grains) and always have a reserve.
• Learn to cook creatively with beans and rice.
• Learn to bake from scratch.
• Switch from coffee to tea, it’s so much cheaper.
• Plant a victory garden.
• Raise chickens, if your community permits them.
• Downsize everything you can.
• Sell possession you don’t use or need via craigslist, garage sales, and ebay.
• Create additional revenue streams by monetizing hobbies, blogging, etc.
• Prepare a worse case scenario plan (job loss, homelessness, etc).
• Build a tiny house on wheels.

For optimism’s sake lets say we’re not headed for the second great depression. In any event this advice is good advice. By preparing for the possibility of a depression today the worst result is that you’ll be better positioned for the future.

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change that survives.” – Charles Darwin

I was just reading the news this morning on Google and ran across another sad story about our collapsing world economy. This time it’s Nissan announcing major cutbacks. 20,000 jobs will be lost. But that’s not the part of the story I wanted to point out. Take a look at what the CEO of Nissan said:

“In every planning scenario we built, our worst assumptions on the state of the global economy have been met or exceeded, with the continuing grip on credit and declining consumer confidence being the most damaging factors.”

Get it? Even the people running the most successful corporations are getting blind-sided by the collapse. Their worst case scenario planning is being surpassed. Has your worst case scenario planning been surpassed yet? Do you have a worst case scenario plan? No matter what your plan is, or your prediction for the future, you might want to spend a few minutes thinking about what you’d do if you lost your income.

I know that’s a dark topic, so don’t dwell on it, just ask yourself what you’d do differently today if you knew that you might loose your job or house in the near future. It’s not paranoid anymore; it’s prudent.

Just a quick ramble on an unavoidable truth… what we perceive to be real becomes reality. The news media seems to have a corner on this market and the stock market exists based on this simple truth. The imploding world economy and the devaluing of our assets (cars, homes, jobs?, time?) also seem to prove the fact that no matter how big and strong a balloon looks it is still filled with air.

The most important life lesson for the rest of us is to try an remember to take everything with a grain of salt and try to stay focused on what is really important like family, friends, shelter, water, food, and of course our freedom, which is often taken for granted.

I guess I’m thinking about this more today because the ill-conceived perception bombs are too close for comfort. Instead of getting caught up in the blindness I’m going to refocus on the positive and know that the real truth and know that the storm will pass and truth will eventually prevail.

I ran across this little post on Inhabitat via materialicious this morning. I’m glad more people are beginning to think that less (consumption) is more (freedom). It’s too bad it’s taken the worst recession since the great depression for many people to figure it out.

I don’t think boycotting the holidays is the answer though. Why rob ourselves of tradition, memories, and time with family? Why not simply choose not to exchange gifts or better yet make/do something for each other! I bet Christ would approve.

I got another email on my home’s value from Zillow.com this morning and it shows the curve making a turn upward! These numbers could simply be a market fluctuation due to a temporary increase in home sales. It is fall after all, a traditional time to make last minute moves before the school year begins. But I’m hopeful that maybe it’s a sign we’ve hit bottom and might start to see a slow climb back up. As you can also see these numbers aren’t reflective in the US (dark blue) or California (light blue) chart lines, just my house (dark green) and Sacramento (orange).

I get a newsletter from Zillow.com regularly with an update on local home values. There has been no good news for a long time, home values continue to drop here in California. Below is a chart that shows the most recent numbers. When you add this to the overall outlook for the economy it looks like millions of people are going to be stuck in their homes or seriously considering letting the bank take it back simply because the climb back up is looking longer and less likely.

Another option I’m still keeping in the back of my mind is adding onto the house simply to raise the value. I definitely don’t want any more house myself… I have too much as it is… but I can see adding on right before selling. But for now we’ll just continue to hang on and hope for the best.