The original demonstration in New York has spread to other cities across North America. In some ways these demonstrations are related to demonstrators in Greece as well as the demonstrators in the Middle East that have been dubbed Arab Spring. The common threat is that folks are fed up. They feel left out of the decision making process. They have been burdened with hardships out of portion to what they deserve.
In a badly regulated economy, there are too few jobs for folks who need to make decent living. When there is widespread unemployment, small businesses suffer. Restaurant owners, shopkeepers and cabdrivers can't find enough customers to make ends meet. A sluggish economy affects everyone to a some degree. But folks who live on or near the poverty line are the ones that suffer the most. More of the population is affected when wealth is concentrated among a select few.
Suppose ten fellows decide to share a pizza. One guy volunteers to collect the money and then pick up the pizza. When the guy returns and opens the box, there is only half of a pizza to share among the others. You can bet the other nine are going to complain. Since each contributed an equal share, each deserves an equal slice.
Fast-talking lawyers, advertisers and spin-doctors have set down the format. Everyone goes along because the format adapts the same ground rules that humans have used thru-out history. Here's how it works...
An entrepreneur thinks of a better way to provide a product or service. The entrepreneur convinces friends or associates to bankroll the idea. If the concept takes off, the lenders get their money back with interest. Customers are satisfied with a better service or product. The entrepreneur makes a huge profit, sells his business and retires to a Caribbean paradise. On the other hand, if the idea fizzles, the entrepreneur's customers complain and demand their money back, while lenders start hounding the entrepreneur. He or she is in the same situation as the guy who must explain why he ate half of the pizza.
Nowadays of course, it's uncivilized to lynch a greedy pig for gorging on half of a pizza. We have bankruptcy laws. When you ask a successful businessperson if he or she deserves such extravagant wealth, the businessperson will say, "Yes! I took the risks when no one else would." In fact, entrepreneurs take very little risk. At worst, their credit rating takes a beating, and they might waste a few months or years of their life. Even major corporations can afford to fail utterly, because governments are ready and eager to a bail them out. Unfortunately the same isn't true for an unemployed welder whose bank has repossessed his house.
It all comes down to awarding fair pay for an honest day's work. Every job is necessary to a smoothly functioning society. Yet, some jobs pay hundreds of times more than others. Our socio-economic system doesn't award fair compensation on a consistent basis. The current system is like a monopoly game masquerading as a fair and equitable system.
Every business seeks to acquire a dominant market share. What happens is you get two or three major players and a handful of startups. If any startup shows genuine promise, one of major players will gobble the newbie up. The system is skewed to keep major players on top, since they have sweetheart deals with suppliers and retailers. Sometimes they own or control the suppliers and retailers.
In recent decades, large corporations have become multinational, which gives them extra leverage vis-à-vis their workforce. If workers of one nation threaten to strike, the corporation will shift production to branch plants in other nations. Likewise, corporations have gained more leverage with governments. If the local tax becomes too burdensome, the corporation will move its operations elsewhere.
How can we bridge the gap between rich and poor?
First, let's quit playing monopoly. Let's try another game that has different motivations. Competition must still remain a primary motivator. Without competition, you will get stagnation, couch potatoes and complacence. Without competition we would still be burning candles and riding inside horse-drawn carriages. However, we can and should compete for a different goal than wealth. Let's compete for dignity and self-respect. A person who treasures dignity and self-respect won't eat half of the pizza that's meant to be shared with his fellows. The guy would bring a whole pizza and relish the slaps on his back from his friends.
Autonomous cooperatives would make better socio-economic units than the present day corporations.
This concept has been dramatized in "Rundog" and elaborated in the forthcoming "Cool Assassins." Check them out...
In a badly regulated economy, there are too few jobs for folks who need to make decent living. When there is widespread unemployment, small businesses suffer. Restaurant owners, shopkeepers and cabdrivers can't find enough customers to make ends meet. A sluggish economy affects everyone to a some degree. But folks who live on or near the poverty line are the ones that suffer the most. More of the population is affected when wealth is concentrated among a select few.
Suppose ten fellows decide to share a pizza. One guy volunteers to collect the money and then pick up the pizza. When the guy returns and opens the box, there is only half of a pizza to share among the others. You can bet the other nine are going to complain. Since each contributed an equal share, each deserves an equal slice.
Fast-talking lawyers, advertisers and spin-doctors have set down the format. Everyone goes along because the format adapts the same ground rules that humans have used thru-out history. Here's how it works...
An entrepreneur thinks of a better way to provide a product or service. The entrepreneur convinces friends or associates to bankroll the idea. If the concept takes off, the lenders get their money back with interest. Customers are satisfied with a better service or product. The entrepreneur makes a huge profit, sells his business and retires to a Caribbean paradise. On the other hand, if the idea fizzles, the entrepreneur's customers complain and demand their money back, while lenders start hounding the entrepreneur. He or she is in the same situation as the guy who must explain why he ate half of the pizza.
Nowadays of course, it's uncivilized to lynch a greedy pig for gorging on half of a pizza. We have bankruptcy laws. When you ask a successful businessperson if he or she deserves such extravagant wealth, the businessperson will say, "Yes! I took the risks when no one else would." In fact, entrepreneurs take very little risk. At worst, their credit rating takes a beating, and they might waste a few months or years of their life. Even major corporations can afford to fail utterly, because governments are ready and eager to a bail them out. Unfortunately the same isn't true for an unemployed welder whose bank has repossessed his house.
It all comes down to awarding fair pay for an honest day's work. Every job is necessary to a smoothly functioning society. Yet, some jobs pay hundreds of times more than others. Our socio-economic system doesn't award fair compensation on a consistent basis. The current system is like a monopoly game masquerading as a fair and equitable system.
Every business seeks to acquire a dominant market share. What happens is you get two or three major players and a handful of startups. If any startup shows genuine promise, one of major players will gobble the newbie up. The system is skewed to keep major players on top, since they have sweetheart deals with suppliers and retailers. Sometimes they own or control the suppliers and retailers.
In recent decades, large corporations have become multinational, which gives them extra leverage vis-à-vis their workforce. If workers of one nation threaten to strike, the corporation will shift production to branch plants in other nations. Likewise, corporations have gained more leverage with governments. If the local tax becomes too burdensome, the corporation will move its operations elsewhere.
How can we bridge the gap between rich and poor?
First, let's quit playing monopoly. Let's try another game that has different motivations. Competition must still remain a primary motivator. Without competition, you will get stagnation, couch potatoes and complacence. Without competition we would still be burning candles and riding inside horse-drawn carriages. However, we can and should compete for a different goal than wealth. Let's compete for dignity and self-respect. A person who treasures dignity and self-respect won't eat half of the pizza that's meant to be shared with his fellows. The guy would bring a whole pizza and relish the slaps on his back from his friends.
Autonomous cooperatives would make better socio-economic units than the present day corporations.
This concept has been dramatized in "Rundog" and elaborated in the forthcoming "Cool Assassins." Check them out...
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