Musings of a Dumb Ass

Musings of a Dumb Ass.... Why Capitalism is no longer viable for us....... I have no quotes from deep thinkers to start with, just observations made over a lifetime of change. When I was a child, unlike today, people gathered up at each others homes and in public places to simply visit. That was when kids had the opportunity to be exposed to the wisdom of 'the menfolk. And wisdom in it's simplest and most effective terms usually came out. There were a couple of words that set the tone for conversation and were fearsome and frightening in particular. One was communism and the other socialism. There seemed to be fear and disrespect for both of them. I really never heard anyone explain what they were and the difference between them but there was no doubt that neither one was good for America. What my childish interest and curiosity in the menfolk's conversation couldn't recognise would become clear to me 50 years later. The menfolk of my childhood were already setting the stage for the loss of true capitalism and freedom even then, so long ago. It was plain they had great respect and desire for 'them union jobs' and what organised labor could do for them. They also had awe in their voices when they talked about how Roosevelt saved the country by giving jobs when there weren't any. What is interesting today is all those positions were acceptable at the time because we could afford it. What they couldn't foresee was where labor and government could take us and how great we'd feel on the journey without giving a thought as to where the final destination would land us and what misery could come of it. Labors job came to be 'get something for nothing'. Governments purpose became 'to give something for nothing' and both labor and government convinced us we had it coming and deserved it and we believed them, even till today. Since we thought we deserved it and had it coming, we became incredibly greedy and hungry for more. And got it. Now we're faced with the socialistic world all the menfolk from my childhood feared so much, and those from that time who are still alive are first in line for the benefits of their fears. What's crazy about it is it works a little like a chain letter. Those on top of the list will concievably get indescribable returns for very little investment while those on the long end of the list can pay out the nose for a lifetime and never recover their investments, and the very last ones on the list may get nothing. So, my fathers, and his fathers generation made the impossible seem so real we're still lining up for 'what's ours' even though the window is closing. Most of us just can't imagine it really happening. Along the way we lost what made us great, which was the desire for a good stable job that we would fight for overtime on, loyalty to our own, and a government that acted in the best interests of its people. Between labor and management there is no respect. It's all about something for nothing, labor trying to pin management down with more of what isn't working anymore and management taking care of only themselves and managing nothing good for the company. We lost respect for ourselves in the workplace and bought into the sales job foreign manufacturers knocked on our doors with and now there is little hard manufacturing going on in this country and even the GM employees are clamoring for a Toyota. Toyota has no history of benefits paid to an American worker and as they build their factories across our land they don't have the retirement and benefits load that American Auto makers have from past generations plus paying a lower wage than Detroit allows them to build more for less. Price and a little bullshit works every time, we all want a Jap or other foreign made car and kid ourselves into thinking that since they're building them here now it's OK to buy them, meanwhile Ford Gm and Chrysler are crumbling at the base even as we all meet at Wal-Mart and buy shovels made in a third world country to dig the rest of our grave. All this, and the government controls not only your retirement and healthcare, but also every facet of your life as it takes, controls, and distributes more of your money every day and encroaches on your freedom hourly........ Ah that socialism.....what a great lover and bedfellow................... it is soooo easy..................