This Disillusion is Almost Embarrassing
As an American, I have to state that I can’t believe what I have been reading! Yahoo! is a plethora of information if you know what to search for. I have been looking over the “news” on Yahoo, reading the comment section, and have come to the conclusion that I should find better things to do with my limited time on this Earth!
The tariff war is one thing, the cutting of government jobs is another (that will be covered later, maybe.) What have we become as Americans? Do we think so highly of ourselves that we cannot function without having immigrant workers to do the jobs we declare to be unfit for us? Who are you to say, “I’m better than they are and refuse to do the work of minorities.” Bitch, please. You are no better than anyone else on this planet, you have put yourself on a pedestal so high that even the FCC has to divert air traffic to miss your big head. Yes, Americans demand high wages, yes Americans have low work ethics, yes Americans are so lazy that they are unwilling to take jobs that pay less. Sounds to me that slavery is still rampant in the U.S. it just shifted to low wages instead of ownerships. Why is it that low paying jobs are looked upon as to be so lowly that people are unwilling to do them?
Where did we go so astray that as humans, we think we are SOOO special as that we are unwilling to help one another and do what is necessary for the benefit of society!? Ah, I have it. Greed! Yes, as Americans we are a greedy people. Don’t sit there and tell me that you aren’t. I am and will at least admit it. I want the highest paying job I can get for the work I am willing to do. I want benefits to cover the wage gap in the fact that insurance is too expensive for most people to afford (greed again). I also want something for retirement that I am too lazy to save myself and invest on my own. Yes, I as an American citizen have fallen victim to the mindset that we are the best in the world and are too good to actually put in the work to have a better life, not just a cushy life. What is your excuse?
Unfortunately for me, I grew up an 80’s child (not really, those where the best years of anyone’s life!) Times seemed simpler, but were they really? Growing up in the 80’s, we had it all, good music, arcades, cruising town (is that even a thing now?), healthier food (but not by much), and lower wages that barely paid for living (and not much else.) Who out there remembers having friends over for game night? Who remembers seeing friends “on the square” and pulling in to talk (face-to-face) for hours on end? Yes, we had our disagreements (meet me ______ and we will settle this) and when we “broke out the knuckles”, we still kept it civil and settled our differences. Sometimes we even made a friend out of an “enemy”. Times always change, but why do they seem to be going backward instead of “progressing” to be better? OH, snap, “progression” is the reason we are in this mess…. Sorry (not really) Squirrel!
If tariffs were used properly instead of an excuse to raise prices on domestic products just to make an extra buck, we could easily see the benefits of these “burdening taxations”. Buy local seems to be an ongoing motto for some (yes, I’m loco! Buy from me!). BUT most people are not prepared for this next segment in the trade war. Buying local is just a steppingstone in the cutting/ slashing of prices on everyday goods. Yes, you will have to pay more for items that should be “cheap” (usually stuff from other countries where labor is low). Food is a necessity, but do you really need sustenance that is grown halfway around the world to survive? NO, you don’t. What you need to do is demand better food from your local farmers. A popular herbicide / pesticide/ fertilizer company has led you to believe that this is the only way to get more food from an acre of ground (use our product!) That may be true (to some), but that food is less healthy than eating a plastic bag. (check out my other rants, err, blogs on food, and other interesting topics!)
Some of you reading this are saying, “damn Skinny you sure harp a lot on today’s societal shortcomings. What are you doing to make the world a better place?” Well, nothing to be honest, with the exception of writing my thoughts and feelings for all to read. Let me turn the question back on you, what are you willing to do to help lower your cost of living? Lower your wages, improve the environment by helping to “save the planet” from all that is going wrong in the world while still keeping your unhealthy, extremely high and easy standard of living? That’s my point for all of these “blog” entries (yes all of them carry a similar theme). We all complain about how bad the world is, climate change / shift/ global warming / or whatever, and still demand goods from other countries with lower standards for environmental issues along with low wages from a people that have NO say about what happens in their life! SHAME ON YOU for bitching one word for how bad it is here in the United States! Yes, prices suck, and as long as people demand more from other countries with lower standards using labor practices that even the most desperate among us would refuse to do. Here’s another one, buy from a manufacturer with the longest product “survival” rating instead of the “latest trend” that only works for a couple years and then you must replace it with something new (or maybe the latest and greatest new trend). “Send more stuff to the landfill”, seems to be a very popular mantra in America (at least you don’t actually see how much WE waste on a daily level.) To replace something without trying to fix it first (although almost everything is made to break and not be fixed) is the easiest way to increase waste and in turn increase the rate of this “global warming” thing.
In short, I’m fed up with everyone wanting high wages for unskilled labor. But it isn’t a “living” wage, is no excuse for you to destroy everyone else’s lifestyle because you can’t make it (that’s why everything costs so much, IT IS YOU!) Everyone had to start somewhere (it’s called minimum wage for a reason), you are no exception! If you are unwilling to co-exist with other humans so that everyone in “your” ecosystem can get an advantage over “the competition”, you are the problem to your solution. YOU are the one that is greedy for demanding an easy lifestyle and are to blame for all the world’s problems! Yes, I said it, YOU are to blame! Seriously, if most people were to actually hear themselves complain and really do something to make their lives better, think of all that we could accomplish! Those of you who know me are scratching your head and saying to yourself, “quit your bitching Skinny and do something about it!” And they would be correct in their assessment of me. I do complain a lot about where society is heading. I know of many ways to help make this world a better place, and until society evolves (greed is minimized and profit takes a back seat to people’s liveliness) and as a whole they really want to do something about it, all I can do is voice my opinion. I can hope that whoever reads this will see that the way humans are heading is the exact way we do not need to go.
*****As an American, I have to say: I can’t believe what I’ve been reading. Yahoo is a plethora of information—if you know what to search for. I’ve been skimming the “news,” wading into the comments, and have concluded I should find better things to do with my limited time on this Earth.
The tariff war is one thing; cutting government jobs is another (we’ll save that for later… maybe). But what have we become as Americans? Do we think so highly of ourselves that we can’t function without immigrant workers doing the jobs we’ve declared are beneath us? Who are you to say, “I’m better than they are and refuse to do the work of minorities”? Bitch, please. You’re no better than anyone on this planet. You’ve put yourself on such a high pedestal the FCC has to divert air traffic around your big head.
Yes, Americans demand high wages. Yes, too many Americans have weak work ethics. Yes, Americans can be so lazy they won’t take lower-paying jobs. Sounds like slavery is still rampant in the U.S.—it just shifted to low wages instead of ownership. Why are low-paying jobs looked down on like they’re beneath us?
Where did we go so astray that we think we’re so special we won’t do what’s necessary for the good of society? Ah—greed. Don’t tell me you’re not greedy. I am—and I’ll admit it. I want the highest-paying job I can get for the work I’m willing to do. I want benefits to cover the wage gap because insurance is too expensive (greed again). I want retirement money because I’m too lazy to save and invest perfectly on my own. I’ve fallen into the mindset that we’re the best in the world and too good to put in the real work to have a better life, not just a cushy one. What’s your excuse?
I grew up an ’80s kid (not sorry—that was a great era). Times felt simpler… but were they? We had good music, arcades, cruising town (is that even a thing now?), slightly healthier food, and wages that barely paid the bills. Who remembers having friends over for game night? Who remembers parking on the square and talking for hours face-to-face? We had disagreements too (meet me ____ and we’ll settle this). Sometimes we even made friends out of “enemies.” Times change, but why do they feel like they’re going backward instead of “progressing” to something better? Oh, snap—maybe “progression” is the reason we’re in this mess. Sorry (not really). Squirrel!
If tariffs were used properly—not as an excuse to jack up domestic prices for extra profit—we’d see benefits from these “burdening taxations.” Buy local is a nice motto (yes, I’m loco—buy from me!), but most people aren’t ready for the next phase of this trade war. Buying local is just a stepping-stone; it will also expose how artificially cheap imported goods have been. You’ll pay more for things that “should be cheap” (often from countries with low labor costs). Food is a necessity, but do you really need sustenance grown halfway around the world? No. Demand better food from local farmers. A certain herbicide/pesticide/fertilizer giant convinced you their way is the only way to boost yield (use our product!). Maybe that’s true for some, but a lot of that food is barely better than chewing a plastic bag. (See my other rants—er, blogs—on food and related topics.)
I can hear you: “Damn, Skinny, you harp a lot on society’s shortcomings. What are you doing to make the world better?” Honestly? Not much—other than writing my thoughts for all to read. So let me flip it: what are you willing to do to lower your cost of living? Lower your wages? Improve the environment while keeping your unhealthy, ultra-easy standard of living? That’s my point across these posts (yeah, there’s a theme). We whine about how bad things are—climate change/shift/global warming/whatever—and still demand goods from places with lower environmental standards and lower wages, often where people have no say in their lives. Shame on us for bitching about how bad it is here while feeding that machine.
Here’s another one: buy from manufacturers whose products last, not the “latest trend” that dies in two years so you replace it (again). “Send more stuff to the landfill” seems to be a national pastime—conveniently out of sight. Replacing instead of trying to fix (yes, most things are made to break and resist repair) is the fastest way to pile up waste and crank up this “global warming” thing.
In short: I’m fed up with everyone wanting high wages for unskilled labor. “But it isn’t a living wage!” isn’t an excuse to torch everyone else’s standard of living. That inflation you hate? Look in the mirror—you’re part of the cost spiral when you demand more for less. Everyone starts somewhere; it’s called minimum wage for a reason. If you won’t coexist so your whole local ecosystem can get ahead, you’re the problem to your own solution. You want the easy lifestyle and then blame the world for the bill.
If most people actually listened to themselves complain—and then did something to improve their own lives—imagine what we could accomplish. And yeah, my friends are right to say, “Quit your bitching, Skinny, and do something.” They’re not wrong. I complain about where society’s headed, and I know plenty of ways we could make it better. Until greed gets dialed down and profit takes a back seat to people’s livelihoods, all I can do is voice my opinion and hope someone reading this sees the path we’re on—and decides not to keep marching that way.
If we honestly think the future will magically fix this, go ahead and laugh with me: we’re in deeper shit than I thought.
