Amish people and communities are unique in many ways. To most outsiders, they’re known mostly as soft-spoken people who live a simple life, don’t use electricity and don’t drive cars. They’ve also had just enough bad press to make some people wary. No matter what your opinion of their beliefs, the traditional Am...
Crazy question, perhaps, but do the Amish use the banking system? Do they sell their goods to non-Amish?
In most areas, the Amish do deal with selling goods and trading with the Amish. An Amish construction company built our barn. Around here they have bread and produce stands, sell quilts, make custom quilts, do custom sewing, construction, RV repair (most RV’s in the USA are Amish made in Indiana and Michigan), carpentry, custom cabinets, well digging, horse tack and wagon repair, horse shoeing, child care, lawn care, midwife, one guy comes and sets up your garden for you-then requires monthly to help you weed it, we have a German tutor and more…..
Yes, they do use banks.
Amish are the ones who do NOT drive cars. Similar dressed german Baptist and Mennonites drive cars. Many people get them confused.
One more unrelated question…why do you guys refer to Amish as “Amish Community” and not as “Amish Tribals” the way anyone and everyone in Iran and Iraq and Afghanistan is referred to as a tribal ? When does a community become a tribal and when does it not ?
I listened to a fellow worker slam on the Amish one day. She felt that they don’t pay any taxes and it wasn’t fair. We both started listing pros and cons to the financial lifestyle. I commented on her pride and joy brand new Mustang car. I said she paid more than the amish would for 2 horses and their horses would produce a baby horse and hers would not. All laughed, including her. They have large gardens and can produce. She pays someone else to do that everytime she grocery shops. The closest she gets to a field is when her boyfriend plays baseball and she watches him in the outfield. The conversation went on humerously until we all went back to work.
The Amish around here do baking, sell baskets homemade items and fruits and vegetables and homemade wooden sheds and other items and yes they do sell to non Amish. (They also do services like housecleaning, carpentry, tilling gardens, etc.) And I would rather buy those things from them if possible even if they are more expensive (usually they are pretty reasonable however)than buy something that’s marked “Made in China”! I am not one hundred percent sure they pay taxes but I think I have heard that they do pay property taxes here. They’re a lot more self sufficient than the vast majority of Americans…even if I don’t agree one hundred percent with them we can learn from them I think.
The Amish do pay taxes. I don’t believe they pay into (or recieve) social security but all other taxes are the same.
The Amish also do not use health insurance. For any needed medical care, they pay cash (or within a community barter for it), but when an expensive hospitalization comes up, they whole community pitches in and raises the cash for the person’s care. when I was still working we had a young Amish man come in paralyzed from the neck down. The community paid $50,000 upfront with more to be paid as needed. He went home needing items that would require electricity and for that the family was allowed to use a generator. When was the last time one of us had surgery or a hospitalization and the whole town pitched in to help with the cost? We have a lot of Amish in our area and they are a hard working lot, friendly if you talk to them, but generally keep to themselves.
Don’t know why they would be called a tribe. These people show community at its best with forgiveness and caring towards others as part of their code of living. I don’t think some of those ‘tribes’ you mentioned could have that said about them.
Thank you for adding some important points, Gail. Wouldn’t it be nice people in other communities were as eager to take care of each other? Barter is another important part of their lifestyle that we could all benefit from. I’ve always been willing to trade services with the people I deal with and it’s saved me lots of money over the years.
Yes, the Amish have many traditions that are great.
One of their biggest sellers are dogs.
They are livestock and the Amish make some pretty good cash off of their puppy breeding.
Some have accused them of running puppy mills.
Hi Valerie,
The alleged puppy mills are the bad press I referred to in the article. I don’t condone any sort of animal cruelty. Unfortunately, inhumane treatment of animals is prevalent in many societies. However, this article is about lessons in frugality, not animal cruelty.
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