A tale of two pairs of boots shows how the rich get richer in ways poor people simply can't

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.upworthy.com/boots-theory-why-rich-get-richer-ex1

It's always relevant to post "The Boots Theory". The current complaints about the high price of butter are a symptom of the overall economic pain people are feeling. When you have to toss up buying 1 toilet roll at a time vs a bulk pack (which would be much cheaper), it matters a lot. #BootsTheory

From Terry Pratchett's "Men At Arms"

I've had some time off, and have been using some of it to clean out my closet.

At least 6 pairs of shoes are getting tossed because, while they should have been still wearable, were done for since they were made of pleather/"vegan" leather, which literally falls apart after a few years.

#BootsTheory
#NoMoreCheapShoes2025

@AlSweigart This made a lot of sense to my younger kids when I first introduced it to them and we've talked about it many times over the years.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boots_theory

#BootsTheory

I treated myself to a new pair of slipper boots today. They're dark red and fluffy and soft and soooooooooo cosy. I can't remember when I bought my previous pair, but I think it was before COVID and they've been falling apart!

Related: is there also a Sam Vimes "slipper boots" theory of socio-economic unfairness? 🤔 😄

#Discworld #SamVimes #BootsTheory #VimesBootsTheory #GNUTerryPratchett #cosy

@jupitersigh

“The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money. Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles. But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while a poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.” - Vimes ‘Boots’ Theory of Socio-Economic Unfairness (Sir Terry Pratchett, Men At Arms)

GNUPTerry

#BootsTheory
#Discworld
#EatTheRich