Recently had the realization that I am a debtor elitist \u2026 high income, higher debts, highest entitlement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ugh. I did not recognize me as that person. Mirror, meet face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Reddit post asked for stories about toxic employers.\u00a0 One person said the request for time off had been placed a year in advance of a planned trip to Europe; three weeks before departure, the request was denied.\u00a0\u00a0 The person quit and enjoyed a month-long vacation. Well good all over them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I don\u2019t request time off.\u00a0 I do my employer the courtesy of notification when I will not be working on a particular date and then simply don\u2019t respond to emails or enter the office.\u00a0 There are even times that I choose not to work and inform my employer after the fact, with a friendly post-dated note of absence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I also remote work, with one day expected in the office. Sometimes I just take that day off, because people are not my \u2026 jam. Is that a thing I think that\u2019s a thing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anyhoo, the aforementioned foregoing triggers my gratitude. For GOD blessing me with a job that doesn\u2019t have such \u2026 draconian, regressive, dare I say toxic working conditions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Early in my working life I did administrative stuff, commuting via public transit into a building everyday. Whelp, the commuter train would either drop me off to be 10 minutes early for work or three minutes late \u2026 I chose the 3 minutes late, and just stayed beyond my scheduled shift to (a) give the employer their time, and (b) avoid the after-work commute crush. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In all, the employer usually got an extra and unpaid, 27 minutes from me each work day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whelp, the employer decided to get pissy because I arrived at work at 8:33 rather than 8:30. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I actually went back to school after that, decided punching a clock would cause me punching someone.\u00a0 Not really, but such officiousness is not actually conducive to mental health and well-being, nor does it foster a sense of commitment and duty to a job, but rather churlish resentment and high turnover.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There was a good reason this employer couldn\u2019t seem to retain staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Which brings me to my point andyesIhaveonethankyouverymuch! that in a labor-based economy, employers would do well to remember that the work doesn\u2019t get done until the robot overlords are fully in charge \u2026 thus in the meantime they need to be nice to people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s a MickeyD\u2019s in \u2026 China? Japan? somewhere that is fully staffed by non-humans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Robots take the order and payment, robots prepare the food, robots provide the food, robots clean up after the humans eating the food depart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
AMZ is apparently moving towards a fully automated order fulfillment process, and people won\u2019t need to complain about conditions and (gasp!) unionize because there will no longer be people working there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How handy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
OK so who\u2019s left to click on crap?\u00a0 If there are no jobs for people people to work and get paid from, then there\u2019s nobody to pad the pockets and fill the coffers of those wily masters of mankind \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I think the Black Death (thass ray-sis!<\/em>) or bubonic plague in Europe taught that uncomfortable lesson.\u00a0 All the commoners died and the wealthy had to tend their own gardens, cook their own meals, clean their own houses.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n A healthy workingman could charge boo-coo (that\u2019s beaucoup to you) bucks for labor that used to cost a pittance \u2026 even Parliament had to get involved and cap the price of labor because the rich bitched the poors were using capitalism against them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hah! Priceless \u2026 so pun intended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Famously attributed to Henry Ford is the belief that employees should be paid enough to purchase the products built \u2026 smart guy, even if he hated God’s chosen.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The relationship of ownership to labor should \u2026 stress: should<\/em> \u2026 be symbiotic, not parasitic, because both need both to survive dareIsay<\/sup><\/sub> succeed \u2026 and the same notion should \u2026 stress: should<\/em> \u2026 apply to creditor and debtor.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hear me out (or not by-yeeeee<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n If individuals, as young people, as burgeoning students of life, are taught early and often about the realities of money, of spending, of using future funds to pay for past purchases, then it is unlikely that the US would have nearly $1T in consumer debt burden (yes, that is a \u201cT,\u201d as in \u201ctrillion\u201d \u2026 speaking of, an African-American will likely be the world\u2019s first trillionaire \u2026 here\u2019s looking at you<\/em>, Elon diii-gress<\/em>), which further hobbles the nation, because if people believe that they must use credit to live then debt becomes a way of life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And spending (a la consumerism) becomes the engine powering the economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Labor and innovation should be doing that, not clicking on crap with 2-day delivery and years of repayment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Unless the goal is to become a medical doctor or engineer or architect, something sciency and bright, college (and its resultant debt) is not necessary. Apprenticeships can replace, oh-dunno, 80-90 percent of college degrees, including law, education, and business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Keeping up with the Joneses usually means the Joneses have filed for bankruptcy \u2013 don\u2019t be that guy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Recycling, reusing, and repurposing should be the way, the truth and the life for GODless capitalism \u2026 if one doesn\u2019t believe in \/ can\u2019t teach about JESUS (John 14:6) at least educate about being deeply frugal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Had I gotten that lesson early, often and right, wouldn\u2019t need to feed a metric-ton monkey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whelp, never too late until dead and then it doesn\u2019t matter.\u00a0 I prefer alkaline hydrolysis but Half was grossed by the idea of having me melted, so prolly just go with a shroud, natural decomp, and a tree. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Got some real good life insurance, payable directly to Half and theKid (trust that).<\/p>\n\n\n\n No worries, just thoughts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Recently had the realization that I am a debtor elitist \u2026 high income, higher debts, highest entitlement. Ugh. I did not recognize me as that person. Mirror, meet face. A Reddit post asked for stories about toxic employers.\u00a0 One person said the request for time off had been placed a year in advance of a … <\/p>\n