Posts
You know
what is funny about life? No matter how
much money one has you cannot buy something that does not exist. Did I mean funny? I meant obvious.
In the last
few months the 99% Occupy movement has taken to the streets in numerous major
cities and state capitals. The ultimate
ideology, demographics, and really anything about the movement beyond its
presence is a bit up in the air. The
general idea that motivates them is this, "Too much is in the hands of too
few". For the most part this is
correct, but in many ways it isn't.
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| If you can find more than two signs that say the same thing... |
No matter
what rung of Western civilization you happen to cling to over the abyss of
death, fact is, you got it pretty sweet.
Think about this, the richest person/family in the world right, CarlosSlim now has about 70 Billion dollars according to wikipedia. that is a lot, no human being could ever
spend that much in any meaningful fashion, they would have to burn it Joker
style to get rid of it.
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| It's not about the money, it's about the funny. |
Now that
being said, I took a look at J.D. Rockefeller who held a vast financial empire
during the Great Depression, and then looked at how inflation would affect
it. Again, just with wikipedia, JD would
have the modern equivalent of 660 billion dollars. More than the top 10 billionaires of today
combine. Hold that amount in your mind
and then realize, that JD, couldn't buy cake mix, because it hadn't been
invented yet. He could not have bought a
microwave oven for a billion dollars. JD
could not send an email, could not call a mobile phone, he could not look up
his own value on wikipedia, none of that existed.
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| He also could not afford a decent hair cut. |
While a lot
of what exists is in the hands of a very few people, and that is not really
right, a lot of things exist that have never existed, and that make all the
money of yester-years meaningless. And
this trend will continue, the disparities we see today will seem silly in the
future when 20 years from now everyone lives to be 200 and can take for granted
information in its entirety.
And this is
why the 99% don't have a real list of demands, because I don't know what the
disparities are. What do the rich have
that I need? What do they have that I
should have for a reasonable price? What
opportunities are being denied to me that I need? I have no idea, I'm kind of happy with things
in that regard.
If I had to
come up with something, to be a banner cry to what is really wrong that needs
fixing, it would not be the distribution of wealth (yeah I would like a
mansion, but I would settle for not having to worry about essentials and the
ability to project that security to my theoretical future offspring). I would like to change the way my society
looks at jobs in general. People are
defined far too much by their jobs, because the pursuit of money causes them to
spend as much time as possible in the job.
I would prefer a world in which people are allowed to define themselves
by a myriad of interests and are given the time to go after those interests, to
spend time with their families, and to maybe read a good book and watch a good
movie.
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| Or play a decent video game. |
So here are
my suggestions:
The work
week should be defined as 30 hours, you then earn time and a quarter for hours
31-40, time and a half for 40-50, and double time for work beyond that. This would compel companies to higher more
workers and to break up the jobs being done into more shifts, but still allow a
flexible amount of time for certain key employees to work longer for the
purposes of training. Truth is, people
should work less over all because that means fewer stress and fatigue related mistakes,
and it grants more time for exercise and additional training outside the work
environment.
I think
that health insurance should be required for everyone, and treatment never
refused to anyone who needs it.
Communicable diseases are a threat to everyone, not just the people who
cannot afford treatment, and having improper and uneven care creates new
diseases that cannot be effectively combated.
I think
that the minimum wage should be raised every year to match inflation or 4%,
whichever is higher. Wages have been
frozen for far too long and are outpaced and marginalized by inflation, if we
are going to have a minimum wage in the United States it has to be functional,
up to date, and of a value that makes a difference in the lives of those
working for it.
I think
that everyone should pay taxes, regardless of how much or how little you earn. You are a citizen, you use the services, you
must contribute, and the amount paid should be a uniform percentage of wages
(the exact number is up for debate).
Uneven applications of payroll taxes create loopholes that are utilized
only by those who have the money and time to seek them out, not by the typical
person, by making everything uniform, there are no loopholes to exploit.
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| And if there is one thing the wealthy know how to do, it is exploit holes. |
I believe
there should be a minimum amount of vacation given to all workers, you earn
vacation time just like you earn a wage, regardless if you are part time or
full time (this amount should insure 4 week long vacations a year minimum for a
full 30 hour work week). People need
more rest, and we have a workforce capable of doing so much in such a short
period of time that we can afford to have people take time off to actually see
the country they are building.
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| Yes... more time to see... the countryside. |
