Tuesday 5 March 2013

Why You're Poor

When a family the size of ours gets together to celebrate, we need a lot of space. So tonight, to celebrate James's 21st birthday, we are taking over a Sushi restaurant. And yes, I'm up very early. Lots to do before I go out. I cram a lot into a day. Apparently it baffles some people how. Well, while you were sleeping, I was already up and at it. I like being busy. Some people prefer more leisurely things. I'm no good at leisurely things, I get bored. We're all different.

So, anyway, at 5am, I found this:


There's only one real problem with this. The people who need the wake-up call here won't watch it. In that bizarre situation I've spoken about before, many of the people who are getting short-changed in this scenario LIKE IT. They think it's good that such a small percentage of people have so much of the wealth. They believe in trickle down. Yes, many of the poor think the poor are at fault for this. I think they're crazy, but there it is.

Increasingly there are also people who are so in love with the woollier aspects of positive thinking, that they believe complaining about inequality is tantamount to preserving it. I think they've been brainwashed - I wouldn't mind betting that one of the 1% has been pumping out the books they read. Now that's clever. It's no different to an evangelist asking you to send him all your money, but it's more subtle.

What are our choices, REALLY, when we dislike the situation?

Well, voting can only do so much, when your most left-wing party is a right-wing party. This applies throughout the west and is not limited to the U.S. It's a phenomenon well-known by experts in party politics and largely ignored by the voters.

The situation has been going on so long now, you see, that all major parties have been bought and paid for by the 1%. This is not exclusively a right-wing matter anymore.

The fact is, unless you convince enough of your fellow countrymen, wherever you live, to vote in a real left-wing party, which is not likely to happen, the best thing you can do at the polls is vote for non-economic reasons, and I am perfectly serious about that. Financially you are going to get screwed, as things are, no matter who you vote for.

So what else can you do? Well, you can make sure everyone knows. This is my approach. Even though I know many ignore me, many don't care, and many have some crazy idea that it's OK like this anyway, I just keep on saying it. I've been saying it a long time. I shall say it forever. I suggest, if you do care, you make a nuisance of yourself ensuring that even the most thickheaded people you know are aware of the situation. I further suggest, if they are content with it, you get their heads examined.

6 comments:

  1. I appreciate that you share the information. I took your video and shared it, too. The more the merrier--in an almost masochistic way, I suppose. :(

    The odd thing about the brains/heads/psyche of many of us is that we are lulled into that sense of complacency, which says that no matter how bad "I" may have it, someone else is worse off. And *wipes brow* boy are we relieved to be dodging that bullet, huh? :P

    Complacency is the same aspect that adheres to convenience, maintaining the status-quo, and not being curious enough to look beyond our own little interests. Too fearful of finding out that there IS more we can do to change things around.

    But hey, that's only "me" saying so, right? :/ ~ Blessings!

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    1. I get that people feel helpless. But everyone can do something, even if it's just a Facebook share. Sometimes people need to be told the same fact multiple times before they register it. I do believe there is a critical mass effect, when ENOUGH helpless-feeling people get fed up. I just hope it doesn't lead to bloodshed.

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  2. This clip has gone viral. IMHO it makes a common mistake in equating money with wealth. Money is finite. Wealth isn't.

    Another mistake is in the definition of poverty. In the US, you can be poor yet own an expensive auto, sleep on clean sheets in an air-conditioned house and never miss a meal. A poor person in Africa would look at a poor person in the US and think they live like kings.

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    1. These are reasonable philosophical ideas, but it doesn't change the fact that this uneven distribution of CASH is ridiculous, and just plain unacceptable. I certainly agree a worldwide version would be interesting to see.

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  3. Oh goodness, don't get me started on the evils of the self-help movement. By the way, did James come across it in the context of his Pampered Chef enterprise? The MLM world, which has some good aspects, is rife with positive thinking. There is a huge overlap between the motivational speaker circuit and the network marketing industry.

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    1. James was fired from Pampered Chef for not doing enough parties. I see very little good about the MLM world, to be honest, despite that fact I sold Tupperware and Avon very successfully for quite a long time.

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