Everyone IS NOT You!

Well, I do agree with the OP. I owned a business for many years, I was actually the odd ball, I took on a lot of stress and responsibility. I took a year off a couple of times to work for a few lumber yards to have a break from the grind. It was refreshing, even though I was a sales person at one and a yard manager at the other, it was really nice just having a job for a change.

I think that the bagger at the grocery store is doing good, they are earning a living. I am not any better than anyone because of my wealth or job title, I only consider my truthfulness and my respect for others rights to be worth praise. I do have intelligence and I try to use that intellect to help those out who do not have that curse. It would be fun to be young and dumb again, sometimes I feel that maybe the reversal in alzheimer disease back to being a kid that some people get might be a reward.

a reply to: SeaWorthy

Uh huh, that's why there are programs to help people like that..
Hud,
Medicaid,
Wic,
Etc,

I can remember well over 30 years ago my mother-in-law remarking how polite I was to restaurant wait staff, and other workers in retail situations, and asking if that was just an act I put on for her benefit. At the time, I was a little hurt that my sincerity would be called into question like that, but she later admitted that she was just so surprised that a young man my age would behave so politely when there was no one else around to see.

Truthfully, it still bugs me to this day. I still marvel at how cynical her perspective was.

People are not what they do for a living or how smart they are. People are people. Even the ones I don't like, I tend to treat with the same respect I freely give others.

I have always been this way. I will die this way.

It costs a person nothing to be polite and respectful.

Baffled this isn't more common.

a reply to: loam

My wife worked at a fabric store for years and I worked fast food in highschool.
You definitely have a sense of perspective after doing that which is why I always tip my waitstaff generously.

I think the point of this thread, is to not read it and ignore the OP.

Pretty sure.

originally posted by: AnakinWayneII
Hey, I'm on the Forbes 400 so everyone else should be on the Forbes 400!

I always dreamed of driving a car in that race. Oh wait, that was the 500 not the four hundred and it was the Daytona not the forbes.

originally posted by: Bluntone22
a reply to: SeaWorthy

Uh huh, that's why there are programs to help people like that..
Hud,
Medicaid,
Wic,
Etc,

Would you call them lazy and worthless?

a reply to: SeaWorthy

Why would I call someone with a low IQ lazy or worthless?
Doesnt each individual case deserve a different approach?

a reply to: SeaWorthy

Oh I know SW..

I just think pointing out that adhering to the narrative here may hinder us in actually addressing it.

While I firmly believe all jobs do not have the same value, I also dont believe that a jobs pay is at all indicative of the value either.

Someone like a truck driver, like you mention, sewer maintenance folks, garbage collectors, etc. are all absolutely critical to what we know as daily life. And their pay absolutely doesnt reflect it. However, in the current paradigm, I dont see a way to "fix" this without severely damaging other things in the process.

Meaning, I may not feel a sports star is "worth" as much as an occupation as a garbage collector, but the business that pays that income is derived directly from how much money they bring in.

Like I said, I believe tying earnings with an individuals actual contributions to the world around them, far beyond their mere occupation, would more accurately reflect things. But, achieving that would require everything from incredibly invasive technology (which would undoubtedly be horrifically abused) to truly examining the situation beyond paradigms that are generations old.

I dont think a truly effective approach has anything to do with the options most frequently discussed. And I certainly dont think that because there are issues with capitalism, it means we should adopt something like communism or socialism. Pretty harmful false dichotomy there, in my opinion.

a reply to: SeaWorthy

It's sometimes a tough situation though.

One of those kids was bullying my son this past year. Clearly, the kid has issues that go beyond simply not having as much as other people might. He was maybe Oppositional Defiant, but he made a real art out of bullying my son in a psychological way.

How do you tell your kid to treat that with respect? I tried, but at the same time my on son was miserable all year.

a reply to: dfnj2015

Great video! I knew about Bernays, but hadn't seen that one.

Sure is nice though that some works the job of filling your grocery bags!
a reply to: SeaWorthy

Or some poor bastard working in a factory, building the AC and Furnaces to cool and heat your home.

a reply to: Serdgiam

Thing is that of those three jobs you mention, two of them are already local government jobs in nearly all places. So if they aren't paid well, it's the fault of local bureaucracies who manage the tax dollars. They really aren't private sector, purely capitalist jobs anymore much like teaching positions aren't.

And I'll bet you the money feeds into the pockets of top bureaucrats before base city workers. Whose work is really more valuable? I'm not actually going to say the base city workers' in every case. There are some bureaucrats who play an important role, just like with corporate managers, but I'll bet you there are a lot of very, very top heavy bureaucracies that could have a lot of fat trimmed off.

As for truckers, some do very well and others not as much. I think it depends. My cousin does very well for himself, for example, and he's not even a long haul trucker. But I know there are others who don't do nearly as well.

Hits close to home because I was garbage man, and I bag groceries at a local store. I’ve also been a dog catcher and the dump attendant. Now I pack grocery’s on the side(keeps me busy and out of trouble) but my day job is running the local water treatment plant.

It kinda cracks me up when people won’t trust me with their eggs and yet I make every drop of tap water they use.

a reply to: SeaWorthy

a reply to: ketsuko

As for truckers, some do very well and others not as much. I think it depends. My cousin does very well for himself, for example, and he's not even a long haul trucker. But I know there are others who don't do nearly as well.

And if he is a trucker and does not receive a living wage (not excess) should he be told he is just to lazy to retrain and do a "better" type of job?

I was not speaking of behavior by the way. If people work their work should be seen with the same respect no matter how many years of school it takes or not! I see people equation a person's decency their laziness by what their jobs are and how deserving they are to get paid a living wage.

I guess since some think if you are not good looking enough to get a better job you are a bum if you don't get plastic surgery. I should not be surprised.

a reply to: SeaWorthy

He's my cousin and was raised in my family. We all know the score. If what we're doing isn't cutting it for us, then it's on us to change that one way or another. So, yeah, if his job as a trucker wasn't cutting it, he'd go find something that would make it work.

Furthermore, we're family, so we help each other where we can.

I think the only one who missed that lesson is my sister.

a reply to: SeaWorthy

Well, with the advent of the internet, almost everyone has the ability to learn absolutely anything. If they don't, and instead chose to bag groceries or dig ditches, I don't really care. They may be a loser, or they may not be, but anyone in this world with a good work ethic and a motivation to succeed can succeed. If they don't, there's really nobody to blame but them self.

The fact of the matter is, is that this world is designed to ensure we have a populace to do the dirty work. I mean just looking back on what I studied in up through high school, not one bit of it was designed to make me successful. Just look at what class is not taught in any high school - taxes. Shouldn't a good school prepare the students for the one thing that every single one of them will need to know about as soon as they graduate?

Anyway, I could go on and on about the piss poor education system, but when it comes down to it, it's the individuals responsibility to educate them self. If they don't want to, then don't, but don't expect me to pick up your slack.

originally posted by: Serdgiam
a reply to: SeaWorthy

I hear what youre saying, but Im just not sure its true.

A grocery bagger simply does not have the same value, as an occupation, as a doctor ,judge, or pilot.

Overall, I dont subscribe to the idea that a persons value is necessarily tied to their occupation. So, judging someone as "worthless" because of their job would be just as inaccurate as saying they are worth the same as everyone, because of their job.

Of course, people bring "value" and "worth" in a multitude of ways. I think we are actually in a place, technologically, to address this with real time earnings. But, I suspect we will need to break away from the concept that human worth is tied to their occupation just as much as the thinking that all jobs are of equal value.

In an apocalyptic scenario, a doctor/medic would be very valuable.

a reply to: SeaWorthy

Beautiful Seaworthy, beautiful...

a reply to: SeaWorthy

If you like the previously referenced video this one is just as good and slightly more technical:



People do not know how sophisticated propaganda technology has become. The one piece that really shocked me was how the propaganda is designed so people will swear they are thinking for themselves when in actuality they are just executing their programming.