Economic Stimulus Plan or The Bullshit Reduction Strategy
The daily stress levels are at an all time high, Bullshit has also reached an all time high, (about waist level), and since the main cause of stress is "bullshit", maybe it's time we got out the ol' shovel and went to work.
The Main tenets of our constitution are "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness";
Life, (beyond the obvious), should include the right to a reasonably comfortable existence, free from the worries of whether or not you can keep a roof over your head, feed your family, put gas in your car, heat your house, or maintain the health of you and your family. The survival of the fittest concept of our primitive origins no longer works with a world population as large as we have today. We also should be aware of the obvious fact that capitalism, as we know it, does not really work in the long run. The concept only fosters greed, (our basest human fault), and the accumulation of personal wealth at all costs soon creates a cost that society as a whole must pay with blood, sweat and tears. If we are to be a truly social world society then we must be to some extent socialists, and by that I mean that the welfare of society in general should be more important than the welfare of the individual.
Let's look at some of the bullshit creating the problems we have today;
First, because the minimum wage is set at a level far below the poverty line, a single income family cannot survive, therefore they must rely on some form credit to maintain a minimal level of existence. This "need" for credit is in reality "indentured servitude", the creditor keeps taking more and more of what you don't have, and forces you to work for them in perpetuity. The facts are well supported that the credit institutions receive the vast majority of their profits from the lower income levels. SOLUTION: Raise the minimum wage to at least match the poverty level "after taxes". A family of 4 has a poverty level of $20,650 by U.S. Federal guides, that is a minimum wage of $10/hr before taxes, approx. $14,450 or $7/hr after taxes. Subtracting the average rent, (500x12=$6000), the average transportation cost, (250x12=$3000), and the average cost of food, (200x52=$10400), the family of 4 at $10/hr, ($2.50/hr higher than minimum wage), is now $4950 in debt. We have not counted clothing yet, nor have we included any amenities, or basic utility costs. Lets say $100/month for electric, and our family of 4 being frugal only uses $50/month in clothing needs, our family is now $6750 in debt. Oh and don't forget health care, 10% of yearly income for that, (that is if you have insurance) $8195 in debt. Lets give the family a phone, (50x12), $8795 in debt, how about heating/cooling, (800/year), $9595 in debt, electricity would be nice, (80x12), $10555 in debt, how about a TV for the kiddies, (30x12), $10915 in debt, oh we forgot to add the cost of the debt, (50x12). With just the basic necessities of today's modern world our family of 4 goes into debt by $11515 per year, requiring both parents to work just to stay afloat. With both parents working the combined income after tax is $28900 with an average annual cost of survival being $25965, and that's at a pay level for each that is $2.50 higher than the minimum wage. That leaves them with a whopping $56 per week for amenities, so let's hope the car doesn't break down or that they make payments on it, let's hope the kids are content not having toys, and that the family has no need for things like soap, laundry detergent, or auto/life insurance, or any number of the little things that the "well to do"people take for granted.
Credit should be a luxury not a necessity and the corporations, every banking institution, that maintain high profit levels based on the necessity of credit should be regulated to the point of extinction.
A $100,000 home at 7% interest will cost you about $350,000 at mortgage end due to the trickery of amortization, how's that for new math. If the total/final cost were a true 7% the $107,000 dollar total mortgage cost could be paid off in 10 years or less, 100 times as many people would be able to afford homes and the banks would probably turn the same profit.The increase in home ownership will result in an increase in municipal funding and an increase in education funds, and since the mortgage is paid off quickly an increase in disposable income. Just a thought.
The national/natural resources of America are held in public trust, that is they belong to the people of America and are being watched over by our federal agencies, (it is our country after all not the governments). These natural resources are oil, coil, water, timber, etc.. so why do we have to pay such exorbitant prices to corporations that have exorbitant profits. Why don' t we make these corporations pay exorbitant fees to access these resources, or at least regulate them again to curtail the level of greed they exhibit, oil companies show 1000% profits during so called "shortages", if there is a shortage, or if operating costs go up and they pass the costs along then logically the profit margin should remain stable. a One thousand % profit is obscene. The need for these fossil fuels is a necessity of modern life and they should be nationalized and controlled for the good of everyone, not for the profit of the few.
We are now in the process of bailing out these corporations, due to the fact that they have bled themselves dry with their own greed, by stealing money from the working class to the point where the working class has nothing left to be stolen. Now they get 700 billion plus dollars of your future earnings, so in effect they are stealing money you don't even have yet, nice trick huh?
The main point at which this stealing process started is with the advent of the 401 pension plans. Prior to the existence of 401s corporations were required to make contributions to a pension plan for the employees out of company profits, (no cost to the employee), and these plans were insured by the federal govt. Along come the 401s to supplant the traditional pension and now they force you to take your hard earned money, invest it in their companies, while they reap the benefits in higher corporate salaries. These 401s, being merely a front for gambling in stocks are no longer insured by the fed, so when the market goes under so goes your retirement plans. Enjoy! And as far as bailouts for private corporations are concerned, (ford, gmc, etc..), what part of the free enterprise, compete or go under , market place don't they understand. If they weren't so greedy, and if they made a good quality product, they'd be competitive enough to stay in business. Instead they used inferior materials, cut corners, and decreased the workforce, to increase their already obscene profits, and now when it comes time to pay the piper they want us to bail them out, they never cared about us beyond our wallets, we shouldn't care about them, it's time to say goodbye show them the door!
As for the companies that relocated overseas, they are now a foreign corporation and no longer entitled to any benefits of being an American company, even if their headquarters is located in the US. They should therefore be forced to pay import duties on all products, they don't want to support the American workforce, but they want the American workforce to buy their product. Charge them high tariffs, yet force them to sell their products at a price commensurate with their production costs. Hit them were it hurts in their Profit base.
As for health coverage, America is one of two modern nations without universal health care, (Mexico being the other), there is something not right about the richest country in the world not taking care of it's own citizenry. I wonder if this could be due to corporate greed. The average American can work 40 years and if they actually get to enjoy a retirement, they usually see it all go for nothing when one major illness takes away everything they worked for over the years. This virtually guarantees that they have nothing to pass on to their children, (a privilege reserved for the rich), and guarantees that their offspring get to start at the bottom and suffer the same fate in 40 years. Maybe we can have Universal health care when all the baby boomers die off, that way they can still milk us dry before generation X takes charge. Since genX will have an undoubtedly lower standard of living, so there's not much profit to be made there.
The important thing to remember is that this country belongs to us and our elected officials are supposed to do what we tell them, so if we do not hold the greedy corporations accountable, if we do not pay attention to what our govt does, if we do not hold our leaders accountable, then we probably deserve the end result, our loss of liberty. It is a free country, even though that freedom is more illusion than fact, and we need to pay attention and get involved in what goes on in it.We need to become a society that cares about the overall health of that society and takes the necessary steps to insure it's future. That being said, feel free to stick your head back in the sand, Oh, and don't forget to buy that new phone with the fancy features, you don't need it, but look so cool, and of course don't forget to use your credit card!
