I think of all of the things that I am thankful for this year and I cannot help but see the hardships and struggles that have engulfed my last year. Despite having a tough story from day one I can honestly say this has been the roughest year of my life. I have lost family members and for the first time in my life I could not have my mother by my side for Thanksgiving because she is in the hospital fighting cancer, fighting for her life. Despite it all I can say I am truly thankful, thankful for being here, thankful for having a good job in the career field I went to school for, thankful for my family members that are still here, etc.
It is very easy to be thankful when things are fine and everything is going according to plan. Only the most ungrounded of people fail to show appreciation when there are not many problems and issues or things to complain about. Appreciation is the key to enjoying life, there are example of the rich
and famous suffering and being unhappy despite being rich and famous all
because they do not appreciate what they have. A primary drive in life is to get to the point where you have no worry or wants or needs, however true appreciation is being thankful when the chips are down and your world begins to crumble around you. Like the eye of a hurricane I stand in the calm being at the middle and I can say I am still thankful for being here and for having all of the things that I do.
Always remember that there is always someone better than you or in a better situation, and there is always someone worse. There is a old Chinese proverb I heard (That I cannot completely recall so I shall paraphrase) there was a man who was angry at the world because he had no shoes, he felt pain everywhere he walked, he was angry until he met a man who had no feet. These are tough times and the world owes you nothing, things could get better or worse but never forget to be grounded in appreciation.
I hope you all enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday, and that you all remember its not just about the food, I am thankful for all I have, including those who took the time to share in my profound perspective.
Friday, November 25, 2011
Friday, November 18, 2011
The Truth About The "Job Creators"
Every
republican presidential candidate and all of the republican leadership
in congress constantly harp about Americas precious “Job Creators”. They
use this term most often in response to President Obama talks about
raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans. At the current rate either
taxes need to be raised in order to pay for the vast expenses of America
or something has to be cut out of the budget (That argument will be
addressed in another article). Democrats believe that if taxes need to
be raised then they should be raised on the wealthiest Americans.
Republicans believe that raising these taxes will kill jobs because
those wealthy Americans will have less money to invest in job creation.
This brings up two interesting questions;
#1 Do they create jobs at all?
#2 What kind of jobs are corporate America creating?
#1 Do the wealthiest Americans create jobs? Originally the answer was yes because these were the people who started businesses, bought houses that needed to be constructed and engaged in services that you would not use unless you were doing well financially. Its those extra good purchases, services used, and consumption that drove the American economy to the top of the world. We were the biggest and best manufacturers, developers, and consumers on earth and everyone was happy. Great entrepreneurs emerged creating the “American Dream”, work hard, gain capital and use that capital to start a great business. Over Time massively large companies began to rise out of American consumption becoming what we now know as “Corporate America”. Americans consumed and used good and services and people had to be employed by them. As technology and time moved forward American companies gained the ability to easily manage outsourced labor in countries thousands of miles away. In the ultimate pursuit of more profit American companies began closing down plants and factories in the USA in favor of cheap labor abroad. That Is where we are today, we live in a world where a company with billions in profit must lay off thousands of American workers just to make a few extra million dollars.
#2 What kind of jobs does corporate America want for the ordinary citizen?
In order to “stay competitive” a company needs to have competitive pricing in its market. Every company has the responsibility to be the best company they can be and success is in fact measured in dollars. As a result if you can lower the cost of your production then you can increase your profits. The less you pay the more you will ultimately have. This is the reason why large companies keep moving jobs out of the country because there are some places in the world where they are so poor they will work for pennies a day. For the few jobs that remain they are often minimum wage, without benefits. There is no mistake about the largest, most profitable companies in America such as Walmart, McDonalds etc. cranking out millions of $7-8 dollar jobs nationwide often keeping employees with less than 40 hours on the clock to further cheat the system for profit. Even if one worked 40 hours a week for $10 an hour they would only make $20,000 a year, and that's taxed.
Ultimately Republicans love to give tax shelters to their real constituents, those that line their pockets with the biggest donations, and make no mistake about it Democrats do the same thing. In another article I will discuss how impossible it is to relay on a government that can be bought by the highest bidder but for now American has a crisis. In trying to provide for its less well off, while maintaining a dominant military we have created a budget deficit that must be resolved. Tough decisions must be made to cut expenditures reasonably but revenue (Taxes) must be raised. Who can afford to pay a little more? Its time we stop cowering in fear of retaliatory business practices of companies that would have great profit either way. Its time we ask more of those who could do more. In a great time of need such as war the military drafts the men it needs, It did not ask of Women due to them being naturally less adept at being soldiers, it did not force those with medical issues to join. It asked the most from those who could give the most. Its time we do that financially.
And that is my Profound Perspective, as always please comment to open up discussion on the topic.
#1 Do they create jobs at all?
#2 What kind of jobs are corporate America creating?
#1 Do the wealthiest Americans create jobs? Originally the answer was yes because these were the people who started businesses, bought houses that needed to be constructed and engaged in services that you would not use unless you were doing well financially. Its those extra good purchases, services used, and consumption that drove the American economy to the top of the world. We were the biggest and best manufacturers, developers, and consumers on earth and everyone was happy. Great entrepreneurs emerged creating the “American Dream”, work hard, gain capital and use that capital to start a great business. Over Time massively large companies began to rise out of American consumption becoming what we now know as “Corporate America”. Americans consumed and used good and services and people had to be employed by them. As technology and time moved forward American companies gained the ability to easily manage outsourced labor in countries thousands of miles away. In the ultimate pursuit of more profit American companies began closing down plants and factories in the USA in favor of cheap labor abroad. That Is where we are today, we live in a world where a company with billions in profit must lay off thousands of American workers just to make a few extra million dollars.
#2 What kind of jobs does corporate America want for the ordinary citizen?
In order to “stay competitive” a company needs to have competitive pricing in its market. Every company has the responsibility to be the best company they can be and success is in fact measured in dollars. As a result if you can lower the cost of your production then you can increase your profits. The less you pay the more you will ultimately have. This is the reason why large companies keep moving jobs out of the country because there are some places in the world where they are so poor they will work for pennies a day. For the few jobs that remain they are often minimum wage, without benefits. There is no mistake about the largest, most profitable companies in America such as Walmart, McDonalds etc. cranking out millions of $7-8 dollar jobs nationwide often keeping employees with less than 40 hours on the clock to further cheat the system for profit. Even if one worked 40 hours a week for $10 an hour they would only make $20,000 a year, and that's taxed.
Ultimately Republicans love to give tax shelters to their real constituents, those that line their pockets with the biggest donations, and make no mistake about it Democrats do the same thing. In another article I will discuss how impossible it is to relay on a government that can be bought by the highest bidder but for now American has a crisis. In trying to provide for its less well off, while maintaining a dominant military we have created a budget deficit that must be resolved. Tough decisions must be made to cut expenditures reasonably but revenue (Taxes) must be raised. Who can afford to pay a little more? Its time we stop cowering in fear of retaliatory business practices of companies that would have great profit either way. Its time we ask more of those who could do more. In a great time of need such as war the military drafts the men it needs, It did not ask of Women due to them being naturally less adept at being soldiers, it did not force those with medical issues to join. It asked the most from those who could give the most. Its time we do that financially.
And that is my Profound Perspective, as always please comment to open up discussion on the topic.
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