Reviewing Value and Being Cheap

Over the past few weeks I have been thinking about value. This is something a little abstract in society as wider forces derive value and create notions of things being cheap through various means. For instance, the approach to the pandemic is built upon value. The value of life, the cost of curing, preventing and treating all play a part. So I wanted to think about value and being ‘cheap’ a little more.

This is a very complex topic. Let's start with the basics: What exactly IS cheap? A person walks into a store, thinking they are going to buy something that will satisfy themselves. The tags on the items in the store tell one price, but when all of goods are collected and at the checkout, another (higher) price is shown! We become frustrated and irritated with what seems like an unfair system… It’s a rip-off and responsibility needs to be taken.

Well, a person is cheap when they do not treat others with the same respect that they want for themselves. People who are called 'cheap' are usually tightwads, and unwilling to spend money on anything that they don't feel they need at the moment.

Now, what I am about to say may be considered offensive by some. This is not my intention, but the way things are. I will go ahead and say it anyway: people who are inherently conditioned to be cheap will continue to do so! It can have something to do with their personality or with how they were raised (or both). They seem unable to spend money on anything other than food and shelter in an effort to amass wealth, perhaps even in the most miniscule scale.

And there is the flip side of this, that some people will do anything for a buck. They are willing to sell anything or their dignity in order to make money and acquire status. This type of person also seems cheap because he/she will never spend money on anyone except himself/herself.

Therefore, I say that people who are cheap are not so because they spend too little money. Rather, they spend too much time worrying about their income and status. They put themselves first over others, which is the essence of selfishness.