That's not true at all. In another comment of mine I discussed this. They generally get their equipment outside of the community. They are no longer self sufficient in the sense that you think they are. They might make some shit but for sure go to Costco and stuff like that. The costco close to where I live even has a place for their horse and buggies(which should be outlawed IMO. The cruelty to horses is undeniable and the Amish don't even pay road taxes).
You have a big misconception about Amish. They are not minimalists in any sense of the word. Don't let the button thing fool you. They're just a shitty cult at this point.
What are "road taxes"? Where I'm from, highway infrastructure is funded with general taxes (property or development taxes in municipalities, or federal/provincial income and sales taxes). There are additional taxes on fuel, but that covers only a small part of roaid maintenance.
And the Amish definitely pay taxes, even for schools which they don't use. (An exception is social security in the US because they were exempted from the very start, but they can't collect it either.)
Also, how is having horses pull buggies cruelty to animals? Horses are working animals, and it's no great hardship for them to pull a buggy or a plough. They can be overworked or treated roughly, but so can any animal.
They have people drive them to Costco and the court. They take buses and it is not uncommon in an Amish Community for one of them to have a phone line in a barn for emergencies.I have seen them use farm equipment that they technically shouldn't use and plenty of them just farm out the labor to someone who will use the equipment. They usually have "go to" people outside of the Amish sect that does shit for them that technically goes against their beliefs.
I have lived around Amish people my entire life. I am in a county that is famous for them. They are in no way self reliant. They are a cult that at this point, only half asses their own ideology.
That's absurd. If you don't like to cook or you aren't good at it, ordering food is not lighting money on fire.
That's like saying that you're lighting money on fire when you play video games or watch tv. You could have just went to the library and rented a book for free. It's the same logic and could be applied to almost any aspect of entertainment or really anything that could ever be considered "extra."
You're lighting money on fire by cooking all that food. Eat rice and chicken broth and take a multivitamin. You're probably getting more nutrients that way than most of America anyway. So anything extra would be lighting money on fire right? That steak cost way more than those eggs, that bread costs more than rice; light the money on fire.
See what I did there?
Just because there is a cheaper alternative out there does not automatically mean that the more expensive option is a waste of money...
You have a big misconception about Amish. They are not minimalists in any sense of the word. Don't let the button thing fool you. They're just a shitty cult at this point.