There’s a disturbing report in Dubai that I read in the Arabian Business. It says that thousands of Dubai expatriates who are living luxurious lifestyles that they couldn’t afford had to abandon their cars at Dubai Airport and fleeing home rather than risk of being jailed for defaulting loans. This is the result of Dubai’s fading promise of a better life. Police says that it found more than 3,000 abandoned luxury branded cars in recent months.
This is the downside of market driven economy that is fueled mostly by greed. Market capitalist had for the past decades advertised to entice people to buy products that they could not really afford. If you keep up the lifestyle that you can’t afford, there’s no other way but down to the quagmire. It’s not bad to dream and live a luxurious lifestyle as long as you have the money to spend.
I also dreamt of driving my own car but the disadvantages of owning a car outweighs the advantages. First, I can’t afford it. Second, I can’t afford the maintenance cost. Third, I don’t need it since our driver gives me a ride everyday. I have nothing against people who want to buy things / cars as long as they can afford it. However, I’ve seen fellow kabayans here in Saudi who owned cars but could hardly afford to buy their meal. It’s a case of vanity and stupidity.
The present global economic downturn was fueled by greed. Bail outs from governments all over the world may help ease the strains but would not solve the problem. People all over the world should manage their resources well. Government bail outs alone could not solve the current crisis. People should start saving money, only buy things that they really needed in CASH and should refrain from buying things that they could not afford. This is the time for the CASH economy to flourish.
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