Everybody Agrees We Need More Jobs

[liveonearth]

At least, that's what I heard on the radio. Whenever I hear that "Everybody" says something, I am immediately suspicious. Everybody? OK then, what jobs do we want? Jobs with health insurance, and a paycheck, right? How about a desk, a telephone, and a computer? A window? A coffee maker? Boy now we're talking about the kind of job I could go for. But is that really what we need? I mean WHAT DO WE NEED?

I think we need a bunch of adventurous entrepreneurs to figure out what it is that we really need, and get busy developing the means of production. I went to naturopathic medical school because I see natural medicine as a sustainable and beneficial profession in which I can continue to serve no matter what the economic condition of my community. I am going to offer my assistance, and I trust that my knowledge and service will be of adequate value to allow me to live a good life.

I don't want a job!!! Jobs for me have been dead ends, places where I can get comfortable while my life drains away doing someone else's work. When do I get to do MY work? To be creative? To do my good for the world?? I saw this culture headed for the brink a long time ago. And it's still headed that way. I want to create a window to a better future.

What do we really need after all? A safe and comfortable place to call our own. It doesn't have to be fancy. We all need shelter, somewhere to keep our pillow and toothbrush. We all need fresh water, and good food, and we all need touch and love. That's about it! Jobs and insurance are figments of this paradigm that's headed for the drink.



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News Alert: Census: U.S. poverty rate rises to 15.1 percent, number of uninsured Americans hits record high
September 13, 2011 10:44:56 AM
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The Census Bureau reports the number of Americans in poverty jumped to 15.1 percent in 2010, a 27-year high. About 46.2 million people, or nearly 1 in 6, were in poverty. That’s up from 43.6 million, or 14.3 percent, in 2009. It was the highest level since 1983.

The number of people lacking health insurance increased to 49.9 million, a new high after revisions were made to 2009 figures. Losses were due mostly to working-age Americans who lost employer-provided insurance in the weak economy.

http://link.email.washingtonpost.com/r/WUOQBH/HDNESK/1O6ORP/CGD197/YNUDH/D5/h

Comments

[ford-prefect42.livejournal.com]

The basic problem: Our production to consumption ratio is entirely too low.

What does this mean? It means that we're going to have to produce more and/or consume less.

To do either thing is going to involve some real changes.

To produce more, we're going to have to reduce the costs of production. That's going to mean loosening regulations such as worker safety, benefit standards, environmental regulation, wages, etcetera.

To consume less, we're going to have to consume less. That means redefining "poverty" to imply that some actual hardship is implicit in the term. It means that we're going to have to redefine what a "middle class" lifestyle looks like, and change the overall shape of the country.

Neither of these is exactly going to be *popular*, in fact, it'll be opposed by virtually everyone. but the fact is, the US cannot be peopled entirely by suv driving, single family house living in, fully medically cared for, white collar workers in a world where there are 3 billion people that would do the requested work for a rice diet and a basic roof. It isn't going to happen. We're going to have to get some of the *bad* jobs back, the jobs that are dangerous, hazardous, and unpleasant. Those are the base of the economic pyramid, and we have been exporting them for generations. Without them, the overall pyramid cannot stand.

Now, that has been described, by among other people, Obama, as "race to the bottom thinking". But it's reality, it cannot be avoided with loans, money printing, realignments of the tax code, or any of the other proposals that are currently on the table. What most of the proprosals I have seen amount to is: "We're going to spend a whole lot of borrowed money to maintain our standard of living in the face of our economic failures". Think about what that would mean for a household, and you'll see where the failures lie.

[calizen.livejournal.com]

And we're going to have to stop outsourcing every possible job there is to [NAME YOUR COUNTRY]