Mitigating the Cruelty of Our Economy

Pre-Blog Notes
I started writing this blog post with the intent of presenting and rehashing some ideas about how to make our economy fairer to individuals, but a compulsion to define terms led to large blocks of description about capitalism and the players in our economy. I think these definitions and the ideas based on them reflect my general understanding of how things work and lead well into what is frustrating about having to engage in an economic system designed to make the wealthy a lot wealthier by the second, but I am not an expert in these matters, they are just interesting subjects to me. Criticism and correction is very welcome. I may expand this blog into something larger someday. It would be better quality if I didn't have other stuff to do and think about. I also want to say "Hello" to my increasing number of international readers, I am honored and humbled to reach people around the world with this silly blog. If any of you have questions about particular American subjects, I would do my best to answer questions in special blog posts devoted to a single issue. Just this week I've had readers from the following countries: U.S., India, Kenya, Pakistan, Egypt, U.K. Canada, Malaysia, Philippines, and Poland. It's the most fun aspect of writing this thing. Anyway, on with the show.

The Hallmarks of Capitalism
From Wikipedia, the accepted features of capitalism include "private ownership of the means of production, creation of goods or services for profit or income, the accumulation of capital, competitive markets, voluntary exchange, and wage labor."

This more or less defines the system with which we are familiar. The U.S. also has federal and local regulations that attempts to control agreed upon abuses of the above features of capitalism. The U.S. and most other places recognize the concept of the corporation as an entity that can do business with lesser liability to the individuals who control the corporation. The players in worldwide markets are governments, individuals, and collective establishments such as companies and corporations.

Financial Relationships in the Context of Capitalism and Corporate Entities
An entity is composed of one or more individuals, from a single person to the largest multinational corporation on earth or massive government agency. Relationships appear and disappear between two entities for a multitude of reasons.  Each entity could have multiple relationships, and depending on the entity, perhaps millions of these relationships. A large employer for example can have as many full time employees that it desires to sustain based on its particular circumstances. An individual will typically have fewer of these relationships depending on his or her required interactions with the economy.  A consumer electronics corporation may sell millions of its products to an equal number of individuals. A given individual has more or less perceived freedom regarding these choices based on many factors such as skills, self-sufficiency, cultural influences, governmental regulation, individual morality, resource ownership, and every other factor that goes into composing a complete person. A collective entity such as a corporation or government has analogous characteristics typically amplified by many orders of magnitude. The U.S. federal government for example can and does spend billions of dollars on a regular basis. Other governments and some conglomerates approach this transactional power. These are well beyond the typical transactional power of a single person.

One entity can enter into a brief or sustained financial relationship with another entity. This can be an exchange of whatever suits the two parties. This is where a person's sense of right and wrong(or lack thereof) exerts itself, and ideologies arise to address the sense of fairness to each of the parties. My own ideas of what is or isn't fair is the subject of this particular blog. Leave a comment if you agree or disagree, but above all else, please, click my ads.

Interactions between entities
It seems clear that powerful entities continuously use their power to take advantage of an entity with less power. Natural monopolistic conditions(oil shortage, food shortage, silicon shortage, etc.) or government induced monopolistic conditions (requirement to buy car insurance) or employer forced monopolistic conditions(health insurance premiums to a provider you don't like) or other reduced choice scenarios could allow the larger entity to add on large profit margins to the retail cost to the individual or smaller entity. 100% or much greater profit margins are not unheard of for some goods. A large entity may use its wealth to influence a lawmaker to promote its own agenda or bring in government business. A large entity may use law enforcement and the courts to hassle and bully individuals into submission. So being able to leverage the resources of society gives an entity an advantage when engaging in a transaction or relationship with another entity. It is rare to have the playing field level and the barriers to entry into most markets are difficult or impossible to overcome.

Race to the bottom
So what drives these impulses to engage in commerce? Our wants and needs are translated into demand if we possess something of value to trade. Our transactions are simplified through the existence of cash and credit. For most of us, our very survival depends on our ability to understand value and maintain our own cash flow and credit so that we can get what we need and want from someone else. Simple mistakes or engaging in finance with the wrong entity can mean instant ruin. An individual who ends up engaging in the economy is at the mercy of a market that cares about profits. Most corporations put that motive first and foremost. They seek to maximize their profits. Why? Usually to enrich one or a few individuals. Why? I can't speak from personal experience, but it looks like it's because being rich is more fun than struggling daily for survival.

What will a typical corporation do to maximize profits? Anything they can get away with. At a gross level, an entity's sales minus costs determines profit. Any entity may seek to continuously lower any cost associated with doing business, but corporations in particular have a giant slate of options. This includes some or all of the following: sweatshop/slave labor, cheap materials, low inventory, patent infringement, environmental destruction, bribes, kickbacks, hostile takeover, layoffs, liquidations, late payments, evaporating retirement benefits, outright fraud, tax evasion, insider trading, ignoring regulations, paying fines rather than playing by the rules, tying up the courts with endless legal wrangling. The options seem endless for a corporation to reduce cost. A consumer can reduce costs as well, but an average person does that by buying generic ibuprofen or cheap shoes or skipping meals or doing without something. So it's a little different for an individual vs. a corporation in regards to the profit motive. It can be a harrowing and crushing experience for a small entity to have a grievance with a larger entity. Movies would have you believe otherwise, often showing a little guy taking on the system and winning. These are atypical experiences. A heartless, greed-driven corporation will pound you into non-existence with soul-shattering efficiency. It happens over and over.

Environmental damage
How much damage should any entity be allowed to inflict on others interests? Is a damage then repair scenario really neutral? Is there a way to get what we want and simultaneously improve our surroundings and the lives of others? Is it really necessary to poison the air and water to increase profits? Companies dump bad stuff into rivers, lakes, and oceans and spew toxic gases into the air. Small farmers pollute the water and land of their neighbors with animal waste.

Employee damage
Workers are referred to as human capital. Less sensitive managers speak of solving a problem by putting more bodies on it. Unless it becomes inconvenient, many companies treat their workers like a piece of equipment that can be discarded when it no longer runs efficiently. Continuous threats of job losses are the main motivating tool that some companies routinely use. 40 or 50 years working as just a regular company employee in most American workplaces takes an extreme toll on an individual. How much do immortal corporations care about this situation? Not much.

Economic chaos
Financial movers and shakers thrive on volatility and market movement. They don't care about the downstream consequences of their actions. They care about making money.

Low quality
Most of the stuff that is sold today, in spite of extreme technological advances, is cheap crap. The market for goods that most people can afford in America is rancid with low quality junk. If you see something really nice in a store, chances are it is Japanese or European. And really expensive. If it is high quality and American, you still can't afford to buy it. If you want the low-quality-falling-apart-before-it-gets-home-not-quite-equivalent version, you know where to go. Corporate cost cutting has destroyed quality and American pride. Our standard of living is a mixed bag.

Love thy neighbor
How can I love my neighbor when I am engaged in an economic system where one of us is continuously getting ripped off by the other one? When unrelenting avarice drives society, societal relationships break down. Try to convince me otherwise.

Being alive
Being alive shouldn't be an awful thing, it should be a wonderful thing. It shouldn't be a wonderful thing for just a few people, it should be a wonderful thing for as many people as possible. Every child should be able to look forward to a good life, long and productive. Everyone should be able to engage in society without fear of being controlled and manipulated by a faceless corporation. Life shouldn't be an endless grind followed by a painful death. Maybe I'm naive, but I think that if we believe that we are all entitled to a wonderful life, we should find a way to start helping each other to have a wonderful life. If your prosperity depends on another person having to suffer, you are part of the problem.

What to do

Local corporate responsibility
A company can be a beacon in or a blight on a community. Companies understand the cost of doing business. If they don't, educate them. Raise your community standards. Expect better behavior of these corporations doing business in your backyard. Stand up for the workers at your local branch of the giant corporation in your community. These are your real friends and neighbors.

Insurance is apparently a necessary evil
For some choices we make, the government requires us to give money to another entity. Possible solutions: Federalize health, home and auto insurance or make these expenditures 100% tax deductible or 100% federal government controlled. Single payer health is still the best solution for solving our health care crisis. Your auto insurance cost is driven in part by your lousy credit rating. Does this make any sense? It should be driven by the costs of recovering the value of your car when it is wrecked. Outlaw this practice. If you are forced to buy something by the government, the price should be the same for everyone, regardless of economic circumstances. Sometimes a necessary evil is just plain evil. Federal standards for all insurance coverage and how it is acquired should be enacted. State and corporate control of insurance ensures(get it? I know it's terrible.) corruption and kickbacks.

Stop voting for businessmen/women
Businessmen/women should run businesses, not governments. Their instincts for profits and personal gain are typically destructive to individual liberty. When you elect a businessperson to run your town, state, or country you have opened the door to some creative awfulness. When a politician touts his or her business experience, run for the hills. Run for office yourself and spend all of the money on making the local schools better. They will eventually erect statues of you in the town square.

Support regulations that put economic abusers behind bars
The economic elite created our current financial crisis and were rewarded with bailouts. They made money before, during, and after the crisis! Elect people who have goals of going after Wall Street not coddling Wall Street. Wall Street isn't Main Street. Every move that a banker makes should make that banker wary of pending jail time. I read the other day that bundling mortgage securities is becoming an attractive investment again. The reason: there was no penalty for it the last time and it's a money-maker.

Recognize and break up monopolies and oligopolies
When one or a few corporations are dominating a market, a good old-fashioned trust busting is in order. Elect officials that enjoy dismantling and diminishing corporate power. Nothing slants the level playing field like a monopoly or oligopoly. That one store where you buy everything? That's effectively a retail monopoly, and it's bad for all of us. Big Oil? Oligopoly. Big Agriculture? Oligopoly. Big finance? Oligopoly. Big national defense? Oligopoly. Bust 'em up! It's fun and wonderfully American minded.

Other
There are many other methods that are more or less appealing, but I've got to finish this post and get on with my life. If you read this far, click my ads. Let me know if you like or hate this sort of thing, I'd love to have more feedback.

Things George Washington and Others May Have Said

One of my friends posted a misquote of an actual quote from George Washington in favor of an individual's right to bear arms. The misquote is "A free people ought not only be armed and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government." The actual quote is from George Washington's First State of the Union, and it goes like this: "A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined; to which end a uniform and well-digested plan is requisite; and their safety and interest require that they should promote such manufactories as tend to render them independent of others for essential, particularly military, supplies." If my reading comprehension serves, it sounds like he is calling on Congress to rev up the Military/Industrial Complex, not for Joe Sixpack to stuff his house with small arms.
I could go several directions in this blog:

• In 1790, they just got the freaking government going, would George Washington actually advocate the individual citizenry being well armed so that he could be overthrown by the same citizenry if necessary?
• If a person advocates a position based on a false quote or faked evidence, how credible is this person's position?
• My friend(the quote poster) is a policeman, does he really want everyone armed to the teeth?
• If George Washington referred to the U.S Government in 1790, would he have meant Us instead of Them? Who do you shoot if you don't like the government in a functioning democracy? If the government is Them now, is this still a good country to live in?
• Did the U.S. Civil War create an Us and Them in terms of government, a dichotomy that still exists depending on your own personal viewpoint? Does this explain the desire for authoritarian hierarchy in the mind of a politically conservative individual, but also the hatred of the authority figure/hierarchy who was not chosen by that same individual, even though that person's vote was counted and the election was fairly decided and legal?
• Are We the People still an Us? Was it ever? Will it ever be if it wasn't?

These are interesting questions, some are almost philosophical in nature. Since I'm not sure I can do service to these topics, I decided to go in a completely different direction by making up better quotes than the gun lobby misquote from above. Here it goes, the following are some made up quotations that actually make sense and are at least historically possible:

• Martha, where are the rolling papers? The yellow ones, dear, this crop of sticky icky is truly the chronic. - George Washington
• This Sorghum tastes like Alexander Hamilton's brown-eye. - John Adams
• An ounce of beaver fat to polish the outhouse throne will prevent a bleeding by the barber for an infected boil from a three inch splinter in the arse. - Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanac - The Director's Cut
• Pass the Sorghum, sirrah! - Abigail Adams
• Is that human being for sale? How much? That sounds kind of high, I don't know. Could you throw in the butter churn and the yarn de-woolinator as well? - Thomas Jefferson
• And if this Union should last, I would pray that Providence will deliver to the future generations the strength and will to make up things we said to promote logically fallacious arguments in service of a post-radical reactionary agenda. Amen. - Horner Vanderhoeven

Etc. Add your own in the comments, the best one(judged by me at my discretion when I get a moment) gets a six-pack of empty Diet Dr. Pepper cans.

A Solution to the Euro Crisis

A sovereign currency needs a sovereign government and vice versa.

The current manufactured crisis in Europe exposes a similar but opposite situation that existed in the era of the pre-constitutional Articles of Confederation government of the United States of America. The Articles of Confederation established a Nation that was unable to make and spend money easily. It only took roughly 10 years for people to realize that an ineffective, broke, and decentralized government was a sure path to disaster, and a constitutional convention was called for that eventually established the current governmental institutions of the United States. The U.S., now a country of over 300 million people, is the financial bedrock of a world inhabited by almost 7 billion people.

On the other side of the mirror, we have the European Union, an entity that can issue currency freely but is populated by countries that despite being financially locked in(burdened or otherwise), they are not emotionally invested in the preservation of that same Union. From this comparison, a possible solution logically emerges. The European Union, if it is to continue, requires a weakening of its member states, and a strengthening of the central body that makes decisions. The EU needs a federal constitution that establishes a strong central government. The Euro will not last otherwise.

An Interesting Observation And a Moderately Preachy Conclusion

The holiday season is here, with its crushing depression, frigid weather, and overspending. To celebrate these wonderful gifts, I decided to make sugar cookies from scratch with my daughters. We had quite a bit of fun doing this, and the cookies came out great. They were much better than I'm used to, because a lot of people buy the corporate cookie dough and make about 50 dozen cookies in various shapes, possibly thinking that the shape is the point rather than a melt-in-your-mouth delicious sugar cookie. What was interesting to me was how the girls worked together based on their sense of fairness in relation to other human beings.

I wanted to let the girls experiment with the process as much as possible so they might figure out why a certain thing is done at a certain time, so I took on a supervisory role. I wouldn't recommend doing this if you need to get done quickly, especially since you have to wait two hours for the dough to chill. At some point we decided to make three batches of dough. With enough equipment and flat surface space, I might have tried three parallel processes, but because our operation was small, I had to go with serial batch production. From a process perspective, we were back in the pre-industrial revolution artisan workshop era. This yielded some delicious cookies and some amateur social science.

So with three girls and one batch of dough, the problem is one of full participation. Each girl wanted to be a part of every step in the process. The girls solved this quickly in their own way. Three cups of flour meant that each girl did a scoop, one cup of sugar meant three one-third cups of sugar, 3/4 teaspoons of baking powder was three 1/4 teaspoons, and so on until eventually all of the dry and wet ingredients were in a mixing bowl. Since we were doing three batches, each girl had a turn at mixing. We did this part of the process three times with flavor variation and eventually we had three good looking blobs of sugar cookie dough.

The first blob of dough was eventually ready for rolling and cutting which was when I made my first connection with a general observation: the girls were motivated by their own selfish instincts. Their sense of fairness was directed inward and it informed them of how to start the process. Each girl selfishly wanted full participation, and in took the form of dividing a cup into thirds, or three cups into one each, then it became dividing the 12 cutters to four each and then it became a fair number of cuts per child and so on. The fairness itself became draconian and oppressive and inherently inefficient. "You mixed last time, it's my turn" or "Cut here, I only did three, there's no room" or "Don't stand there, I can't see" nearly continuously. When one child was mixing, the other two were critics. "Push down harder" or "You missed that flour" or "Don't hold it that way, asshole!" The joy of making some sweet cookies was lost in a cacophony of bitterness and resentment for some moments. I tried to help them keep it together and we managed to eventually roll out, cut, decorate, bake, and redecorate some really good cookies. They did get better at it and a little more laid back after the first batch. I began to wonder what it would be like if their motivations for fairness were directed outward rather than inward. This led to some broader thinking for me, something surprising that came from a relatively simple holiday ritual.

When we seek justice only for ourselves or those who are extremely close to us, everyone who isn't helping us is a potential enemy. We may get what we ultimately want, but are the benefits worth the sourness and spitefulness required to meet our selfish needs? What makes a person stop worrying about his or her own needs and start worrying whether the other person is being treated fairly? It was obvious that children don't easily figure this out on their own, they are taught this. There is a spectrum of behavior between selfishness and altruism. Most of us fall in the middle somewhere. The girls found fairness by being selfish and parts of the process were miserable. If I wasn't there to act as arbitrator, one child or another may have dominated the proceedings, selfishly hoarding the process and the cookies. They rejected the joy of human interaction at first but the cookies came out the same from a quality perspective.

There is a similar situation in society at large and it seems to define our social strata. There are those who can't get enough and there is seemingly no arbitrator that will get them to stop grabbing everything in sight. There are those who get enough but feel bad for those who aren't treated fairly and resent those who take more than their share. There are those who get enough and don't feel bad for those who aren't treated fairly and admire those who grab everything in sight. Lastly, there are those who don't get enough and don't have a voice so it doesn't matter how they feel or who they resent or admire. It doesn't have to be this way, even though it always has been. When someone mentions social justice, this is what they mean, justice directed outward instead of inward.

How do we learn to be who we are? Why are some of us able to let go of our sense of selfish justice and embrace seeking justice for others? Are all human beings deserving of love, happiness, and adequate provisions? Merry Christmas.

What's Up With You?

Things are going really well lately.  A lot of that may be attitude, but I have to say that I'm having more than my usual share of blessings the last few weeks.  I'm very thankful for the chances I've had, and I'm thankful knowing that there are more opportunities to come.

You may be thinking, "Way to go, jackass, what about the rest of us?  We're still slogging away, getting nowhere, knowing that nothing of much consequence will ever happen again, and it never did before anyway, so take your positive attitude and cram it."

Well, I'm not here to just say things are great with me, although they are right now.  And believe me, experience has taught me to look tentatively over my shoulder at some future imminent unknown mayhem coming my way. I have been low many times before, and I'll be low again, and we all know how this game ends.  But NOW is so wonderful.  I don't want to waste any experience or fail to value whatever human beings are in my life at this particular moment.

So what's the secret?  I think this little wave of OK-ness started back in February during my annual physical exam.  Besides the obvious joy of not being subjected to a digital rectal exam this year, my doctor asked me a throwaway question, something like, "So, anything else you want to tell me?"

I replied, "Well, Doc, I am bone-tired all of the time.  Just can't seem to get going."

"Well, why don't we schedule a sleep study, maybe you're not getting enough rest."

He was dead on.  I was diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea.  Apparently, I had a semi-awakening 37 times per hour.  The sleep doctor said that was like having someone sit by the bed and choke you every minute and a half or so, you just don't know they are there.  And they choke you all night long.  After a while, it really gets to you.  No amount of sleep is enough.  I couldn't think straight, stay awake without coffee, and I was on a slow train to a heart attack or stroke.

I very nearly cried (not really because I'm a serious hard-ass) when I found out I could do something for my constant fatigue.  I was eager to get my CPAP machine and looked forward to a good night's rest every night.  I didn't really know how good that was until the last two nights when Irene knocked the power out.  I didn't have my blessed breathing machine.  Just two days, and the old fatigue started showing up again.  I didn't want to get up this morning.  The power came back last night at 2:15 AM, and I did get a few hours of CPAP sleep, but it wasn't enough for the deficit I had already accumulated.  So, tonight, while waiting for the sleepy feeling, I was compelled to write about happiness and maybe think about what has me up lately.  I attribute it to a willingness to find a solution, and having found a solution, to embrace the solution fully.  Of course, this health change is coupled with some other serendipitous events and attitude changes, but I believe it set me up for more good down the road.

What is bringing you down?  Find out what it is and try to fix it, even if you think it's no big deal.  Then watch in amazement as the doors start to open again.

I apologize for the first world problem nature of this particular blog.  I wish everyone in the world just had these sorts of issues to deal with. There's no comparison to a person living with war, hunger, disease, rape, and oppression on a daily basis.  We're damn lucky to live in this country and to have what we do. Let's try to make ourselves worthy of the blessings given to us.

8/30/2011

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buttcracksandwich.com Logo Design Contest

Attention:  buttcracksandwich.com needs a logo.

If you are a Graphic Designer, think you are a Graphic Designer, or aren't a Graphic Designer, YOU are eligible to participate in the buttcracksandwich.com Logo Design Contest.

Prizes:

• Winner gets 3% of all future (as long as I own the blog) buttcracksandwich.com merchandising profits.  Merchandising profits are merchandising revenues minus merchandising expenses.


• Winner gets to be in on the ground floor of probably the best blog ever.


• 2nd place through 5th place will receive Honorable Mentions and I will display your designs and link to your website to help generate interest in your artwork or whatever you need to advertise.


• Gain instant notoriety in the topsy-turvy world of Graphic Design.  I can't promise it, but it seems likely the winner will be the new Saul Bass.

Rules:

• Contest entry assumes a non-complaining, non-suing compliance with these rules.


• Offer ends on 9/15/2011.


• Winners will be announced on 9/22/2011.


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• Send entry artwork to jscottdavis0@gmail.com


• Must be 18 or older to participate.

Judging Guidelines:

• I was thinking something like a sandwich with a bite taken out of it that looks like a capital B and also a butt.


• Not crude but cute.


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