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This article looks at how consumers are running the economy. When did Christmas shopping become a patriotic duty, the contemporary equivalent of collecting tin cans in World War II? The media pores over the mall receipts for Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, the way Roman augurs inspected the entrails of pigeons: Will America have the" consumer confidence" to spend its way into prosperity? Isn't there a better way to run the economy than by hectoring people into buying expensive, unnecessary items in order to exchange them with others who have done exactly the same thing? Instead of buying more sweaters individually, in the hope that somewhere down the line jobs are created, housing is built, property taxes are paid and eventually a school gets money for new library books, why not skip the sweater and buy the books, right now, while the kids are still alive? There are other ways to spend those holiday dollars, especially now that web-based organizations like MoveOn.org, and the Democratic presidential candidates' websites, make donating as easy as impulse shopping. Here are a few small-scale, low-to-no-overhead projects that could do a lot with a little: Fahima Vorgetts, a Maryland-based Afghan refugee who is on the board of Women for Afghan Women, is the guiding spirit behind HAWCA and HOOWA, nonprofits focused on giving Afghan women the education--basic, advanced and vocational--that they need to become self-sufficient. Next time you're on the Internet, go to www.donorschoose.org and browse among proposals from classroom teachers, almost all based in poor schools serving minority students, and contribute to whichever one appeals to you. The Canadian Harambee Education Society, a secular humanist project, pays tuition for poor girls who have done well on the entrance exams and provides the help they need to succeed in school.
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