#billionaires #money #inflation #HighPrices #CostOfLiving
Really, who wants to be a billionaire?
Perhaps, secretly, we all do.
Yet, they are getting a bad rap these days because, it seems, they are the only ones (perhaps some multimillionaires are as well) benefiting from today’s economy.
High prices on just about everything are beefing up their bottom lines. If they have stock portfolios, they have reaped rewards.
However, they also must look at the rest of society that is suffering amid the billionaires’ bounty.
If a billionaire was in those shoes at one time, it would be curious to know how he or she really feels now.
The cartoon satire show “South Park” has spoofed billionaires recently. Yes, the richy rich have become the butt of political criticism because everyone seems to be suffering except them.
So, do you want to become the butt of political criticism, especially if you’ve been on the suffering end at one time?
If you secretly wish for that, what would you do with all your money? Would you hoard it away? Would you invest it wisely? Would you have a lot of fun until you ran out of it?
Of course, a good billionaire would invest wisely so he or she never runs out of money. He or she might also give some of it away to help alleviate the suffering in the rest of the world.
Also, would you want to have your taxes cut at the expense of the suffering masses? A good billionaire couldn’t care less what he or she pays in taxes. He or she believes it’s better for society that he or she be taxed, rather than those who can least afford taxes.
But, the theory goes, easing the tax burden on billionaires will encourage them to create jobs for others who may need them.
It seems most billionaires today are working to create machines that ultimately are not only going to replace people, but also inflict neighborhoods with noisy, behemoth buildings that suck up precious resources and infringe upon its quality of life.
Is it any wonder that the suffering masses are pushing back against billionaires?
They’re pushing back because they are getting rich at the expense of the rest of society.
They are often flaunting corruption in the faces of those less fortunate than they.
So, slightly rephrasing the question, do you want to be a billionaire?
There is nothing wrong with making money, if a person does it while helping others do the same.
There is nothing wrong with making money, as long one is not hurting others in the process.
Opportunities exist for almost anyone to prosper. But, if you are fortunate enough to do so, particularly if you come from modest means, it’s always good to remember from whence you came.
If you prosper, make sure you are generous with organizations and groups created to help those in need. And, don’t whine if it seems the taxman is unkind to you.
If you are a good person, and make your money legitimately, then it will be OK to be a billionaire.
Peter
#jobs #work #wages #salaries #CostOfWork #CostOfLiving
Lazy. Freeloader.
Don’t you just hate those people?
Throughout history, it’s been presumed that people who need aid to live, be it from government or charity, are lazy freeloaders.
They are able-bodied, but refuse to work. So, we should stop giving them aid and make them more self-sufficient.
But, with today’s high prices, relatively low wages and salaries, not all those who seek help are lazy freeloaders.
They just can’t meet their life needs on what they are earning.
Besides high prices and low salaries, many others also have to fight the ever-changing business environment. They can’t do anything about downsizing, businesses going belly-up or technological factors that remove, or reduce the human element from business tasks.
You even have people facing the cost of going to work vs. the benefits. If one does not get from a job enough to cover the cost of getting there and other work necessities – never mind whether the job meets all other life needs – it’s cheaper for them to stay home.
They are not lazy freeloaders. They want to work, but they want their job to cover all their expenses – and then some.
Not all jobs can do that. To wit: try to make a living with a $7.50 per hour minimum wage job. Therefore, not only are people staying home, there are worker shortages in the business world.
Add to these factors the cost of child care for working parents and you complicate the work-life matrix further.
Someone – or some entity – has to step in to bridge these gaps, if the goal is to get everyone who is able into the work force.
No amount of force, hardship or other external requirements is going to solve this problem.
It requires a society as a whole to create solutions, be it from employers, government or a combination of those factors.
It also requires business patrons to realize that businesses have to pay their workers living wages, therefore the goods and services will cost more.
There’s also the desire among the well-heeled elites to create a permanent underclass to keep wages low. Some immigrants gladly are part of that underclass, because where they are coming from is much worse. Yet, some in power don’t want immigrants to come here.
The problem will not be solved by applying sticks and stones to force people to work. It requires a comprehensive approach. Labor unions, in previous decades, helped provide elements for that overall approach.
Hardscrabble policies do not create hardscrabble people. Creative policies can help people through hardscrabble times.
So, the next time you see someone asking for financial help, do not presume he or she is a lazy freeloader. More likely, he or she is not.
He or she is just trying to survive in a world unkind to them.
Peter
#employers #employees #jobs #work #wages #salaries
You have a full-time job making, to use a number, $7 per hour.
Multiply that by 40 hours, and your weekly pay is $280.
If you live, to use a number, five miles from your job, you will travel 10 miles per day, back and forth to work.
If gasoline, to use a round number, costs $3 a gallon, you will spend $150 a week in gasoline to get back and forth to work. Subtracting that from your $280 salary, that leaves you with $130.
Multiply $130 by four weeks (a month), you’ll have $520 left for food, rent etc.
If your rent is $1,000 a month, you won’t make it.
We’ve not even figured in wear and tear on your car from commuting, any medical needs you may have – much less discretionary spending. If you have children who must be cared for while you work, you can’t afford that.
Politicians of many stripes make a big deal about people sitting home collecting government benefits while not working. Most everyone who is able would like to work – if not merely for the money, but to get out and about, meet people etc. But, most workers do not want to be taken advantage of by an employer.
The good news in today’s labor market is that hourly wages are going up because people are “choosing” – that’s the term many politicians use – not to work, and companies are trying to entice them back, or keep the workers they have.
The point of this discussion is that people, by and large, are not lazy. They want to work. But they also want that job to cover their necessities. When that doesn’t happen, people are less likely to want to work.
Chances are, if your job pays $7 an hour, you do not have the option to work from home. You have to go someplace to work.
Even in professions like teaching, salaries in some places make it difficult to work and otherwise take care of yourself and your family.
Regarding teaching, we won’t even discuss the harassment, political hassles etc., that add stress to an already undercompensated job.
In short, the economics of going to work are not cut and dried. Everything depends on what you make, where you live and whether you can meet your expenses with what you make.
Employers who long for the days when workers were plentiful, and would work for whatever they would pay them, keep dreaming. Those days are gone, particularly as the U.S. cracks down on immigrants.
Work is desirable for most people, and most employers like to have hiring options. But the math has to work not only for the employer, but also the employee.
It’s difficult to find the sweet spot, in which employees are paid appropriately to live, employers are making money and all is well with the world.
Today’s world is not that simple. For those who believe it is (some politicians believe that people will come back to work those menial jobs when their savings run out), you are living in a fantasy world.
Remember, if you are working at a $7 an hour job, you probably don’t have savings to rely on anyway.
Again, the good news is the job market is getting wise to the situation. More employers are offering more enticements to get workers back. Some assurance that paychecks won’t dry up if another pandemic, or some other disaster, hits, would also be helpful.
People want to work. Employers want workers. The numbers have to jibe on both ends to keep everyone happy.
Peter
