Welcome to nonsume!

Definition of a nonsumer

The appearance of the nonsumer is very similar to the much more common consumer. Average age, height, weight and education level are comparable. Only upon closer inspection can the distinctive features of each species be detected. The textiles which cover the nonsumer are usually of slightly higher raw material quality which can be measured as a percent of natural fiber which make up the garment. Small amounts of spandex or elastin (up to 5%) which are acceptable as comfort increasing measure, can be ignored in the classification process. The color palette of the nonsumer is more subdued with limited patterns. Females display less bright pink or neon colored clothes than their consumer counterparts. The male color schemes of the two species are so similar that differences are essentially undetectable for the amateur observer.

Both species are equally mobile and a multi-step process is required to classify accurately. There is virtually no difference when we look at pedestrians, speed, intent and direction can be identical. Both species have been observed as using bicycles for accelerated movement from place to place but at this point it is only a hypothesis that there may be statistically significant differences in model year. Further research is needed to confirm this point. Past sample sizes for analysis have been too small to pass peer reviews. The picture changes drastically when motorized vehicles are included in the assessment. The nonsumer actually turns out to further split into two subcategories.

1. Vehicle rejecters – persons who live in households in which neither they nor another member of the household has unrestricted access to a two axle motor vehicle. These nonsumers can most often be find in densely populated urban areas which provide ample access to reliable public transportation. A large portion is voluntarily housebound and is not relying on daily commutes to observe their main duties (child rearing or work from home arrangements).

2. Minimally motorized – this distinct but very broad category is not thoroughly researched yet and can therefore only be described in very general terms. It includes owners of one axle motorized vehicles who move with velocity of up to 25 mph. It also includes owners of traditional cars, usually older model years, which barely show differences to those owned by consumers with respect to make and model but do have a distinctly higher rate of being fully paid off and not collateralized (two distinction which don’t lend themselves to unobtrusive/observational research). The mileage is usually lower on nonsumer owned cars as there is a large overlap with the car rejector category and car ownership is at times accidental (inheritance, divorce left over).

The key for proper classification of objects into the proper category (90% accuracy) is eventually the fiscal personality and fiscal profile which unfortunately is not observable or only deductible from a variety of clues.

Fiscal psychology is a very young field of study but some very promising early findings are available. The consumer generally displays a neutral to slightly positive attitude towards any purchasing decision. This decision bias is significantly increased if the momentary credit card debt can be eliminated within receipt of one or two paychecks. Placed into similar decision scenarios the nonsumer is generally unwilling to make a positive purchase decision. The nonsumer also uses a very different set of criteria to evaluate the need for or the necessity of a purchase. The following list is by no means complete and the listed criteria are not to be interpreted as the opposite ends of a continuous spectrum.

Nonsumer	Consumer
Durability	It’s the latest and greatest
Neccessity	Not applicable
Not applicable	Penetration in peer groups
Experience	Ownership
Quality	Quantity
Environmental factors	Not applicable

It is reasonable to expect that this results in long term effects on fiscal status but unfortunately all data has historically on been collected on total population. The research community expects to find lower average credit card debt among the nonsumers, lower principal for owned homes as a percentage of total home value and higher levels of retirement savings as compared to consumers of the same age group. Completely unrelated is the expectation that the nonsumer has lower cholesterol levels.

Summary:

The nonsumer was until recently such a small portion of the population that researchers were barely aware of his existence and only very limited grants and means had been made available to conduct research. Investments in foundational and advanced research are therefore needed to better understand this growing species. The nonsumer, though quite harmless as an individual, does pose a serious threat to Western civilization. If the population grows at the current or an accelerated speed the mechanisms of consumer based economies would be undermined, which would affect taxation, funding of federal programs and all aspects of life. A thorough threat assessment is therefore recommended.