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Thoughts on jobs, etc.

Thu Oct 13, 2011 8:20 AM EDT
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By Grey Wolf

[An email I sent recently.]

Friend,

You seem rational, educated, compassionate, etc. and thought you could give me some outside perspective. (Here's a rambling overview ….)

I am interested in starting a non-profit business that starts for-profit ESOPs.

Many things have contributed to my thoughts.

JaxLegalAid was involved in a program to help ex-cons start businesses. (I haven't seen any evidence of success…)

I spoke with a Libertarian at school who felt the lack of ownership rights was at the root of the BP spill; "When people own something they take care of it… sell off the Gulf of Mexico…"

I agree about the ownership stake …

Publix is the largest corporation out of Florida, and is an ESOP. An acquaintance who works at Publix says after five years he now has $5000 in Publix stock. I don't understand why the workers don't show a preference about where they work… but the workers at Publix sure seem friendlier than those at Winn-Dixie ...

Jobs create wealth for the corporations. When I worked as a freelance lighting tech the company would pay me $12/hr and bill the client $36/hr. When I went to law school professors pointed out that you have to bill three times your wage; if you make $50,000/year you need to bill $150,00/year. That's how capitalism works. One third to pay you, one third to pay for the building, the equipment, the electricity, whatever, and one third for the money men, the capitalists, profit. So, getting a job is getting exploited, getting taken advantage of, basically, for chumps. But thats what we [working class chumps] teach our kids; "Get a job."

(The SBA is worthless… but that's another story…)

And everyone knows that a house is "the average Americans largest investment, their largest asset" Yeah, the average chump. From the business perspective it is just a very big widget to sell the average consumer. Reagan said, "Buy a house ['cause I have stock in Lennar Homes…"]

Obviously, instead of teaching our kids "to get a job" and "buy a house" we should be teaching "start a business."

I believe this could be done sustainably. Loan a group $50,000 to start a business, they pay back 10,000/yr and they "buy-out" the business and are the employee-owners, and the loan is repaid with interest!!

I've thought about this from many more levels….

I've thought about approaching Peter Rummell, a wealthy local business man who "switched sides" and contributed $100,000 to Alvin Browns mayoral race and now is with the Urban Land Institute (ULI).

I've thought about approaching Chef Gordan Ramsey: "Hey, we have ten folks that are starting a restaurant… you can do a TV show that would inspire people..."

I thought about creating support by writing blogs. But comments are very tepid. Again and again people are like, "Just give me a job…" I see no ambition to be part of the ownership…! Just more, "Give me a job… I'll work to create a profit for somebody else"

I wonder if I should continue down this path. Why should I help these fools. I should just buy a boat and sail off
to the Cayman's…

Even after I explain all this to people, they are like, "Just give me a job… I'll work to create a profit for somebody else… " Yet working for Wal-Mart, or Raytheon, or BP, just creates more profit for Wal-Mart, or Raytheon, or BP, who then hire more lobbyists…

People are in fear, and overcompensate by acting macho and independent. (I joke, "the bigger the pick-up truck, the smaller the penis." People over-compensate for their weaknesses.

They convince themselves that getting a job is independent -- but it is pure subservience to the corporation. At least the folks at Publix are working for their corporation, one they have part ownership in.

Politics and the economy and culture are all intertwined.
We need to build a culture of true independence, where kids want to start a restaurant or a software company. (Of course you can make a lot more money working as an engineer at Raytheon than running a flower shop. But, at Raytheon you are spending your time working to pay for your own wage and then both to pay the owner's electric bill and making the owner a profit, and, ultimately, the job isn't very secure…)

Writing blogs and trying to generate interest is frustrating, and I am starting to think it's the wrong way to go.

That's where my thoughts are at this point…

Again, you seem rational, educated, compassionate, etc. and I'd like to sit down over a beer and hear your thoughts…

Drop me a line whenever.

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Grey Wolf

I've always been called an "extreme liberal" yet I feel like I must be turning into a conservative …

Me: "If you want a job, build it. Here, I'll even help you."

World's response: "No thanks."

  • 1 vote
Reply#1 - Thu Oct 13, 2011 8:24 AM EDT
Rainbow Warrior

Business ecology is no different than natural ecology. Our current business ecology is dominated by super predators that have eaten everything smaller than them (mergers, acquisitions, takeover... predatory practices) to consolidate wealth and power which it turns out has been for the exclusive advantage of very few a the expense of everyone else. There is no biodiversity, it's a monoculture of "Too big to Fail" non-national corporations now. No economic or social mobility, because of the greed, hoarding and sociopathic tendencies of those at the top of the economic food chain.

Any system that evolves to this state will collapse sooner rather than later. For the second time in less than 100 years we have learned the hard way that unregulated capitalism will fail.

  • 1 vote
Reply#2 - Thu Oct 13, 2011 9:42 AM EDT
Grey Wolf

Hey friend,

I agree with all you say.

My befuddlement, confusion, frustration, is with the Americans thought process…

Check out this article:

China unveils credit support for small firms
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-unveils-credit-support-for-small-firms-2011-10-13

In China they have peer-to-peer lending (like I mention about Peter Rummell and a self-sustaining financing process for creating small businesses…)

In China they are actually concentrating on actual small businesses (like I said, the SBA here is a joke…)

From all the anger and frustration in the streets you'd think people would be looking for actual change to the foundation, but I think you could clear the streets if you put up a banner, "Koch Industries: Now Hiring." Everybody would just file on in … with nary a thought to the reality that they would be creating more profits for Koch to use on lobbying… (Most people are driven by fear, and, to them, the short-term security of any job trumps the long-term damage it may enable.)

Yes, I obviously am driven a bit by emotion myself, just like everyone else, and am allowing my frustration at short-term thinking to show...

  • 1 vote
#2.1 - Thu Oct 13, 2011 10:50 AM EDT
Rainbow Warrior

We have reached a tipping point, and a critical mass to make change possible. Technology and communication has shrunk the world and brought people closer together and a new transparency to see truth has been delivered to us. The majority of people in the world today, I believe are basically good decent folks with compassion and empathy. We all just want to be comfortable and secure, take only what we need and leave the rest for others, to include the next 7 generations.

The sociopaths in the world have once again been able to consolidate wealth and power for the few at the expense of the many, as has happened through out our human history in every generation in one form or another. We can break this cycle once and for all, because we now have the tools to come together and no longer be divided and conquered.

For too long now the good, fair and just visions of a potential future have been suppressed, attacked and side tracked for obvious reasons the whole world can now see.

Even though we have never met, I don't know your name or anything about you, or you about me, we can stand shoulder to shoulder and can see eye to eye in real time. This has never been possible before. This is our ways and means to do what must be done.

We just need to keep communicating and sharing ideas and thoughts about what is best for all and reverse this trend of great for a few and misery for everyone else when there is abundance and still the potential to support 7 billion people on this Planet easily and comfortably for a long long time.

I can't cover all the details, but just about every vision the left has now, in direct opposition of the right will achieve the better world we desire. And, I think it is possible without death and destruction being initiated by people like us...

    #2.2 - Thu Oct 13, 2011 11:31 AM EDT
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