Word: spending
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...McKinley and his friends decided to try a radical experiment. They urged congregants to spend less on presents for friends and family and to consider donating some of the money they saved as a result. At first, church members weren't quite sure how to react. "Some people were terrified," remembers McKinley. "They said, 'My gosh, you're ruining Christmas. What do we tell our kids?' " The pastors had to reassure people that they weren't advocating a Grinchy no-gifts kind of Christmas, but rather one in which people spend a little less and think a little more, expressing...
...growing group of Christians, the focus on the commercial aspect of Christmas is the greatest threat to one of Christianity's holiest days. "It's the shopping, the going into debt, the worrying that 'If I don't spend enough money, someone will think I don't love them,' " says Portland, Ore., pastor Rick McKinley. "Christians get all bent out of shape over the fact that someone didn't say 'Merry Christmas' when I walked into the store. But why are we expecting the store to tell our story? That's just ridiculous...
Over the past four years, churches that support Advent Conspiracy have donated millions of dollars to dig wells in developing countries through Living Water International and other organizations. McKinley likes to point out that a fraction of the money Americans spend at retailers in the month of December could supply the entire world with clean water. If more Christians changed how they thought about giving at Christmas, he says, the holiday could be transformative in a religious and practical sense...
...Joel Waldfogel of the Wharton School. Waldfogel, the author of Scroogenomics: Why You Shouldn't Buy Presents for the Holidays, insists his theory is solid economics, not bah, humbug. "As an institution for 'allocating resources' (getting stuff to the right people), holiday giving is a complete loser." If you spend $50 on yourself, he explains, you'll get something worth $50 to you. But if your Aunt Bernice buys you a $50 Christmas gift, she's likely to buy something that's worth nothing to you. In economic terms, that's a "deadweight loss." But if you fail...
...People from developing countries have pretty good immune systems, so I’m not personally going to freak out over this outbreak,” said Laila Kasuri ’13, who feels that the severity of the H1N1 pandemic has been exaggerated and plans to spend her break at home in Pakistan...