How many people could it have fed?

I saw this posted numerous times around the internet.  Lets talk about it.

"A guy looked at my Corvette the other day and said I wonder how many people could have been fed for the money that sports car cost.

I replied I am not sure, it fed a lot of families in Bowling Green, Kentucky who built it, it fed the people who make the tires, it fed the people who made the components that went into it, it fed the people in the copper mine who mined the copper for the wires, it fed people in Decatur IL. at Caterpillar who make the trucks that haul the copper ore. It fed the trucking people who hauled it from the plant to the dealer and fed the people working at the dealership and their families. BUT,... I have to admit, I guess I really don't know how many people it fed.

That is the difference between capitalism and welfare mentality. When you buy something, you put money in people's pockets, and give them dignity for their skills.

When you give someone something for nothing, you rob them of their dignity and self worth.
Capitalism is freely giving your money in exchange for something of value.

Socialism is taking your money against your will and shoving something down your throat that you never asked for.

I've decided I can't be politically correct anymore. (I never was, actually)"

First off. He is right.  Buying that corvette it helps the economy.  He spends money and so many people benefit from that. Once.  They benefit one time.  Realistically, how much money did each of those people make with him buying that one, $60,000 car?  Probably not that much, except the salesmen or the dealer.  It takes a whole lot of people buying corvettes to help sustainably feed people and support an economy.  And even then, it's not just corvettes, it's all of General Motors.   But the dude with the corvette is not going to get off thinking by buying a corvette he's some kind of super humanitarian by buying the car alone.

Second.  I've learned that by simply avoiding spending money on stuff doesn't equal feeding people.  Even if you did and you fed hungry people, you'd still have only fed them....once.  Just like the corvette guy.

Third paragraph.  Simply buying something from someone doesn't give them dignity for their skills.

Fourth paragraph.  When you give someone something, it is a gift.  You rob nothing from them.

Fifth paragraph. Socialism is the roads and bridges you drive your corvette on.  But I guess you could have just bought a Hummer if the roads never got built.  Socialism - a political and economic theory of social organization that advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole.  Socialism and capitalism can get along just fine together.  It doesn't have to be all one or all the other.

The first two paragraphs could have had a great conversation.  But instead it is to be about capitalism and socialism.  It's gotta get political.  The guy that asked the original question, only asked a question.  He didn't imply that buying the sports car was a bad decision at all.  He only wondered what good could be done with the money it cost.  And an answer was given in a way that was very open.  If someone would have answered me that way, it would have continued the conversation.  I didn't always look at the purchase of something expensive that way.  And he politely answered.

Oh...if dignity and self worth is tied to how much money we make or how much is given to us, we've got some bigger problems.