Re: Whoah There, Nelly
AA:
Sorry to hear about your car getting broke into. I once had an old (even at the time) analog cell phone stolen from my car. I left it on the seat in a downtown parking garage, because they give away better phones than that piece of garbage. Didn't care about the phone but the smashed glass all over the inside was a major pain.
Let me respond to your points then I'll try moving the discussion to a different tact.
I think that you are talking about the ideals of communism, large scale communnal living. Communism strives to create abundance for all, shared equally. A worker's paradise. "From each according to his abilities, to each according to their needs." While these are the ideals of communism, the implementation changes drastically. Someone has to make the decision of who has what ability and who has what need. Attempting to do it democratically doesn't work because in a democracy, everyone votes for their own good instead of the common good.
There have been numorous attempts to make your utopian ideals a reality besides the rise of communism. There were like 150 different utopian communities around the 1700-1800's. Most were religiously based and created by immigrants from Europe who were being persecuted. They came for the (relative) freedom to be left alone in America. None of them seemed to have the concept of less work, but they all became economically unsustainable in the long run due to lack economic incentive creating stagnation in a world of improvement. The world got more efficient and had better lifestyles, so the people rebelled.
Then you have the hippy communes of the 60-70's. I think most broke up when they ran out of pot [img]/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img]
I think the best example of a working commune would be monestaries and whatever that place nuns go. Certainly not the upper middle class lifestyle, and definitly lifelong work. Plus, it relies on the outside world to support them and could not exist without the donations of the faithful.
In short: Your ideal has been attempted to be implemented and has failed many, many times. Your ideal, would be wonderful. I would love to live in the world you envision. I would be happy if the whole world had food, clean water, shelter, basic medical care and a basic education. I just don't see it as a possibility because in order to give something to A, you have to take it from B. B had to create that something. It doesn't just exist. B will not create the same level of 'something' if you take it all away from him. When you take food from B to give to A, the total amount of food available decreases and no one is better off. This is proved every day by China, North Korea, and even Russia is struggling to get out of it's mess.
The correlation to reward is not work, but value created. I could easily argue that Britney Spears creates the value that she receives. Entertainment seems out of wack, but Britney Spears or Micheal Jackson create a small amount of value for a very large amount of people with a single album or concert. Hence the huge rewards they get. The garbage man may work harder, but he only creates value for 1 household at a time.
However the relationship between value created and reward is not a direct 1 to 1 relationship. Heirs of large fortunes did nothing to create the value, but lottery winners didn't do anything to create the rewards they receive either. In your case, you may not have received the reward you feel you created. I am assuming that you worked hard as a computer tech, anaylst, engineer or something and the company that you worked for downsided you. The problem is that even though you worked hard, you weren't able to create value, because the company you worked for wasn't able to turn your work into money. Not your fault, if that is the case. I was fortunate to leave a computer networking consulting company in '97 and moved to a company that didn't have any real layoffs. So there is an element of luck in the system. In the long run, assets (your labor) will be moved from unproductive work to productive work and the overall productivity of the world will increase because of your job loss. Not that that makes it any easier on you and you have my sympathies.
Now, I have been able to see vicariously the risks of leaving my economic future in the hands of a corporation. Not that I am bitter, but I don't see the path to a comfortable retirement as working for a big company and investing in my 401k. Once the baby boomers start to retire and the stock market plunges and stays down, people will be just as bitter as all those who had pensions at large corporations that went under in the 80's. I think working for a paycheck, no matter how good a check, and counting on stock investments is one of the riskiest financial paths today.
What is a worker bee to do? The answer is certainly not to envision a utopian world and be bitter that the real world isn't more like the utopian ideal. That is not the path to a comfortable, upper middle class lifestyle. It seems more like refusing to play the game because the referee made a bad call. Your situation will not improve until you decide that you are going to make it improve and learn how to do it. Failure is part of the process. It is what tells you that you are on the wrong path somehow.
*Don't try to buy an answer.* There are lots of traps out there to avoid. Want to hear about my option trading and market timing that spent a ton of money on 'education' only to lose more trading? How about gumball machines and tax protesting? How about selling gumball machines to others who want to work at home? (I couldn't lie well enough to sell them). I've got over $40k in mistakes right there.
Things I am trying to pursue (in addition to working 40+):
Poker for profit (Buy a book and study hard)
Real Estate investing (Free internet stuff and the library. NO CARLTON SHEETS )
My wife does 'World of Products' $25 bucks for the startup kit and catalogs + lots of work to get a customer base.
I also know where I can buy 'skill stop' slot machines for $150 each in quantities of 100. They sell on the internet for $250+. That needs a lot of upfront money and dedication with no guarantees.
Find your own niche
The system as it is tends to reward those who create value and it is in your best interest to find ways to create more value than working for a paycheck. Like the entertainer, you can set up a system that creates value for lots of people at the same time and multiply your rewards many fold. I don't have an answer to say "Here, do this and get rich." Anyone who is selling a system to get rich, is probably getting rich by selling the system instead of using it.
I do wish you the best
Mark
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