Re: A rant about economic distortions

[Toto <toto@sk.sympatico.ca>]

Timothy C. May, sounding much like 'The Bok', which is not hard
for rational people to do these days, wrote: 

> And Big Brother gets more intrusive every year. A person like me who wants
> to hire some Mexicans for work out at my house faces a triple whammy.
> 
> First, I'm supposed to fill out various forms to hire them  And so long as folks
> aren't in line to become Attorney General, or the Feds are not looking for
> an excuse to bust them, this ignoring the reporting laws is probably not
> too dangerous.

  The purpose of many laws seems to be to ensure that anyone, 
anywhere, at any time, is breaking at least a few of them, in 
case the government chooses to come after them.

> Second, I'm supposed to verify the "right to work" of any applicant. I'm
> supposed to demand documentation, and to somehow be able to detect
> forgeries.

  Thus, anyone who is not Houdini, or who doesn't have access to
the same records/databases as covert government agencies, is
probably committing criminal actions without knowing it.

> Third, I'd better watch what questions I ask, though. 

  Gotcha either way, don't they?
 
> There are other whammies, too.

  Tim gives an example, but he would have to fill an entire book
in order to cover a even a modicum of situations applicable to
the average person.

> (Somewhere along the line we lost the right to hire and fire whom we chose
> to. Now all such decisions must be documented, and produced on demand.

  The safest route is to fire the white guy. Anything else is an 
obvious act of discrimination.
  (I am not making any claim that the reverse has not been the case
in the past, but only that the situation is equally as evil in either
situation. 'Revenge' does not equate to 'Justice'.)

> Used to be that the economy had plenty of "niches" for people unable or
> unwilling to compete for more demanding/mechanical/factory jobs...the
> aforementioned handymen and maids, etc. 

  I know a businessman who had to lay off twenty disabled/retarded
employees because he couldn't afford the cost of defending himself
against charges that he was somehow taking advantage of them.
  They kept showing up for work, however, so he turned to me to
set up a system whereby he could reward them for their 'volunteer'
work. Now, even that is being challenged, even though their lives
are immeasurably better as a result of his effort to enable them
to be productive, functional members of society.

> In my view, this was a more natural, normal, almost "tribal" way of living.
> Those with lesser mental or ambition skills could still do something of use
> for those who worked hard or had skills in demand.

  The fact of the matter is, many who have become 'rich' have done so
by working night and day, as well as going broke a number of times,
with no more resources to work with than those who choose to squander
their own resources on drink, drugs and wanton living (Trust me, I
am somewhat of an expert in the latter.) 

> The further result: those who can't fit into jobs worthy of minimum wage
> (which is actually more than the official rate, given the need for tax
> accountants to manage them, forms to be kept current, training to be given
> because the public schools failed, insurance, etc.) are unemployable. Then
> the State steps in and pays them not to work.

  At the tender age of 19, I received massive amounts of electroshock
and given a lifetime pass to government assistance as a person who 
would never be fit to work in even the simplest of positions.
  Since that time, I have worked in a multitude of fields, including
becoming a recording artist, mob figure, and president of a computer
company. (None of which negates the fact that I am, indeed, crazy as
a fucking loon.)
  In my mind, those stuck in the social welfare-state are not in any
way different from those stuck in the corporate welfare-state. They 
have all bought into the government world-view and are merely pawns
in different aspects of the game. I see no real difference in the
ghetto resident who is paid not to work, and the Congressman who is
paid not to grow cotton on his plantation.
 
> Here in Kalifornia, garbage is strewn around the freeways. Convicts no
> longer are sent out (though drunk drivers, being politically incorrect,
> sometimes are). Nor are welfare recipients sent out to pick up garbage. No,
> this would all be demeaning. Better to have CalTrans employees do the work.
> Oh, and these CalTrans "transportation engineers" have starting salaries of
> $32,000 a year. A bit high for garbage collectors, but, hey, if it was any
> lower they could go on welfare and make just as much. This is how skewed
> our economy has become, thanks to government meddling in economic
> transactions.

  Some of those who see the world from this realistic viewpoint walk
into
a Denny's and blow people away, for no apparent reason. Some join an
organization to 'change' things. Others write letters to the CypherPunks
list. Some just change their name to Nero, and learn to play the violin.
  Still others, making their mark in the world as movers and shakers in
the burgeoning world of eca$h, come to their senses and realize that
the safest harbor of reality, in the midst of madness, is in the center
of the storm, and they post messages saying, "I *love* this list."

> Other rants are obvious, such as why in 48 out of the 50 states a person on
> welfare earns the equivalent of $1500 or more a month, far, far higher than
> minimum wage....in other words, the taxpaying shlubs working for $5.75 an
> hour at Taco Bell are subsidizing others to stay at home watching t.v. and
> smoking crack and getting paid more than they're making....
 
> For most American coloreds, the situation is hopeless until welfare as we
> know it is ended. (And people are free to engage in economic transactions
> of their choosing.) Some innocents will suffer, of course. But there's no
> other way.

  It is just as hopeless for those 'in power'. 
  We are all trapped on a runaway train, trying desperately to hang
on, in the mistaken notion that someone is 'in control' of the
situation, and will soon find some way to 'fix' it.
  Bad news, Bubba--the 'train' is in control, and there is no one
at the wheel.

  I could go on and on, but I'm running low on Crayolas.
  It is getting harder and harder to find the 'old' colors, and
the 'new' colors are part of the plot against me.
  Everyone at the 'home' says, "Hi!"

-- 
Toto
"The Xenix Chainsaw Massacre"
http://bureau42.base.org/public/xenix/xenbody.html