Hi, folks. I've been busy for a few days. So I come back here with a strange idea. Oh, wait. I'm full of strange ideas, so this shouldn't be much of a shock.
What about providing little houses that can be moved, instead of Section 8? At least to those who are open to the idea.
I'm talking about single people living in something about the size of a park model mobile home. In tornado country, this would mean that the trailers would need to be anchored to a concrete pad, and that a tornado shelter would need to be available, but think of the advantages. If the resident needed to move, they could pack all their stuff into boxes, set the boxes carefully on the floor, put their dishes and breakables in boxes and take them with them on moving day... and have their trailer towed to another park specially set up for those who live in these little houses.
We could be picky and drug-test those who are issued these little houses.
It would not be legal to sell said house, but if the person wanted, it would be theirs for the rest of their life.
Okay, back to our regularly scheduled thoughts.
Meow!
-Spottedcat
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
Carrot and stick
Jobs. In my last post, I talked about taxing wealthy corporations for outsourcing jobs. I talked about, or at least hinted at, my annoyance about wealthy corporations and people getting tax breaks. They need to pay their taxes.
That was talking about the proverbial stick. Let's talk Carrots. (Not Carrot the cute kitty here, but rewards.)
Wouldn't it be a good idea to provide tax breaks for companies, large and small, according to how many people who live in the United States that they hire? And if that turned out to be the ONLY way to get a tax break for a company?
I foresee a big stick to make politicians consider that one. Any suggestions on that?
-Spottedcat
That was talking about the proverbial stick. Let's talk Carrots. (Not Carrot the cute kitty here, but rewards.)
Wouldn't it be a good idea to provide tax breaks for companies, large and small, according to how many people who live in the United States that they hire? And if that turned out to be the ONLY way to get a tax break for a company?
I foresee a big stick to make politicians consider that one. Any suggestions on that?
-Spottedcat
Sunday, April 17, 2011
I wince as I consider posting this.
Why do I wince? Because I don't want to sound paranoid. I am neither a right-wing nor a left-wing extremist.
But as I look at the employment situation in the United States, I see a real problem. Not enough jobs. Not enough jobs that earn enough to live on in these expensive times. One answer that has been put forth is that we need to be educating people for the jobs of the future. People need to learn to do... whatever it is that's considered the leading edge of the working world.
There is a problem here. I will say it delicately. There are a lot of people out there who are not able to learn the new jobs, no matter how much education they get.
I'll say it indelicately. A lot of people, whether because they've fried their brains, because they were born that way, or because they have talents that are no longer useful in common life, are... well, some (of the "fried the brains or soaked 'em in alcohol variety) are stupid. If you do it to yourself, you're stupid. If you had it done to you (brain damage from birth, accident, genetic mutations, autism, and so on) you're not stupid. You're unfortunate. But you're probably having a really hard time finding a job, even so. And if you can't even figure out how to make your computer work for you, a career in IT is not in your future.
We need living-wage jobs for everybody. Not that everybody needs to be (or can be) wealthy--I'm not saying that. But we all need jobs, and we need to be able to meet the necessities of life (housing, food, clothing, medical care, and yes, recreation) from these jobs.
This means a couple of things. Either SOMEONE needs to provide living wage jobs (and by this, I mean either the government or private industry, or a combination of both) enough for every person who wants to work or SOMEONE (again, this can be the government, private industry, or a combination of them) needs to provide the necessities of life to those who need it.
Oh, dear. Now that does sound like an issue, doesn't it.
How many owners of private industry are willing to provide lots of living-wage jobs to whole bunches of Americans? Really? These are the companies (and the CEOs and the CFOs) that are outsourcing jobs to countries where the cost of living is lower, and thus the amount they pay for the work is lower.
How many owners of private industry are willing to provide housing, medical care, food, and all that) to people in the United States who need it, and who don't even work for them? Ha! Laughable!
Okay, now the government side. First, is anybody willing to guess how much it would cost the government to house, feed, and otherwise provide for every person in this country who doesn't have a job?
Let's pause here to cross our eyes.
Talk about deficit spending. Whoa.
Now, let's see how many politicians would even suggest such a thing. Keep in mind that a politician's first goal trumps all others: they want to stay in office.
I don't see the government seriously taking up this issue. The government can't even figure out how to do one part of this mighty mess--medical coverage.
Deficits. Trillions of dollars. Taxes. Separation between the very rich and the very poor. Hold onto your hats, folks. The divide is getting wider, and statistically, you're more likely to fall down to the depths of the very poor than to scrabble up to the heights of the very wealthy.
Yikes. Do I sound paranoid? Yeah, a little. But more seriously, if you lose your job and can't get another one that pays nearly as much, or if you lose your job and can't get another one at any amount of pay, you're in trouble. Ask anybody who's lost their home to foreclosure. It doesn't take much to find someone like this.
So. In a simplified fashion, that's the problem.
Answers, anybody?
Let's start here. Why do the wealthy get big tax breaks? In the past, one could excuse it by saying, "Well, these big corporations provide jobs for the less fortunate, so to encourage them to hire more people, we should give them a hefty tax break." This doesn't hold water anymore. The world has changed. Big corporations now provide jobs to people in third-world countries. They are providing bonuses to their own management. They are providing increased values for their stockholders.
I cannot see any reason why a person, or a corporation, that is wealthy doesn't pay the same percentage of tax, or a higher percentage of tax, than I do, or than my coworkers do.
To me, a good place to start is here: Every company that outsources work, even a small percentage of work, to a country outside the United States loses every tax break, and picks up several "outsourcing" taxes that negate the amount they save by outsourcing.
Let the stockholders whine. Let the CFOs scream. Why do stockholders and managers, who are after all just people with enough money to spare, decide how much they will pay in taxes?
Okay, I'm all tired out. I need another cup of tea. I'll have to continue my thoughts in my next post.
-Spottedcat
But as I look at the employment situation in the United States, I see a real problem. Not enough jobs. Not enough jobs that earn enough to live on in these expensive times. One answer that has been put forth is that we need to be educating people for the jobs of the future. People need to learn to do... whatever it is that's considered the leading edge of the working world.
There is a problem here. I will say it delicately. There are a lot of people out there who are not able to learn the new jobs, no matter how much education they get.
I'll say it indelicately. A lot of people, whether because they've fried their brains, because they were born that way, or because they have talents that are no longer useful in common life, are... well, some (of the "fried the brains or soaked 'em in alcohol variety) are stupid. If you do it to yourself, you're stupid. If you had it done to you (brain damage from birth, accident, genetic mutations, autism, and so on) you're not stupid. You're unfortunate. But you're probably having a really hard time finding a job, even so. And if you can't even figure out how to make your computer work for you, a career in IT is not in your future.
We need living-wage jobs for everybody. Not that everybody needs to be (or can be) wealthy--I'm not saying that. But we all need jobs, and we need to be able to meet the necessities of life (housing, food, clothing, medical care, and yes, recreation) from these jobs.
This means a couple of things. Either SOMEONE needs to provide living wage jobs (and by this, I mean either the government or private industry, or a combination of both) enough for every person who wants to work or SOMEONE (again, this can be the government, private industry, or a combination of them) needs to provide the necessities of life to those who need it.
Oh, dear. Now that does sound like an issue, doesn't it.
How many owners of private industry are willing to provide lots of living-wage jobs to whole bunches of Americans? Really? These are the companies (and the CEOs and the CFOs) that are outsourcing jobs to countries where the cost of living is lower, and thus the amount they pay for the work is lower.
How many owners of private industry are willing to provide housing, medical care, food, and all that) to people in the United States who need it, and who don't even work for them? Ha! Laughable!
Okay, now the government side. First, is anybody willing to guess how much it would cost the government to house, feed, and otherwise provide for every person in this country who doesn't have a job?
Let's pause here to cross our eyes.
Talk about deficit spending. Whoa.
Now, let's see how many politicians would even suggest such a thing. Keep in mind that a politician's first goal trumps all others: they want to stay in office.
I don't see the government seriously taking up this issue. The government can't even figure out how to do one part of this mighty mess--medical coverage.
Deficits. Trillions of dollars. Taxes. Separation between the very rich and the very poor. Hold onto your hats, folks. The divide is getting wider, and statistically, you're more likely to fall down to the depths of the very poor than to scrabble up to the heights of the very wealthy.
Yikes. Do I sound paranoid? Yeah, a little. But more seriously, if you lose your job and can't get another one that pays nearly as much, or if you lose your job and can't get another one at any amount of pay, you're in trouble. Ask anybody who's lost their home to foreclosure. It doesn't take much to find someone like this.
So. In a simplified fashion, that's the problem.
Answers, anybody?
Let's start here. Why do the wealthy get big tax breaks? In the past, one could excuse it by saying, "Well, these big corporations provide jobs for the less fortunate, so to encourage them to hire more people, we should give them a hefty tax break." This doesn't hold water anymore. The world has changed. Big corporations now provide jobs to people in third-world countries. They are providing bonuses to their own management. They are providing increased values for their stockholders.
I cannot see any reason why a person, or a corporation, that is wealthy doesn't pay the same percentage of tax, or a higher percentage of tax, than I do, or than my coworkers do.
To me, a good place to start is here: Every company that outsources work, even a small percentage of work, to a country outside the United States loses every tax break, and picks up several "outsourcing" taxes that negate the amount they save by outsourcing.
Let the stockholders whine. Let the CFOs scream. Why do stockholders and managers, who are after all just people with enough money to spare, decide how much they will pay in taxes?
Okay, I'm all tired out. I need another cup of tea. I'll have to continue my thoughts in my next post.
-Spottedcat
Saturday, April 16, 2011
What's Spottedcat speaking about?
I'm accused of being a whiner, and I have reluctantly claimed this as part of who I am. I whine about whatever doesn't work right in my world. I live in the United States. We are in the 21st century. This gives me a lot of whineable subjects.
But I don't merely whine. I have great ideas, if only somebody would consider them. Well, I mean someone besides my friends. How about this?
Why are there not enough jobs to go around?
The United States expanded across the North American continent in great part because there were things to do--to get paid for doing, or to make a living--and there were more of these opportunities than there were people to take advantage of them. "Go west, young man."
And so Americans came to believe that anybody who wanted to succeed in this country could do so. All they had to do was be willing to work.
Is it still so?
You tell me. I'm working part-time, and I can't get full-time at my job because of the budget crisis. I can't live on what I make. I am willing to work full-time. I would love to work full-time. I'm an office worker and I have years of experience. Word processing? You bet. Customer service, including face-to-face? I've got that too. Confidentiality? Yes, in every job I've held. I'm a good employee. I don't get sick very often. I am clean, have a college degree, and I sincerely want to do my best at my job.
Why can't I find a job that will support me in these expensive times? Is there a reason I am eating ramen noodles for supper so I will hopefully be able to pay my car insurance, my home insurance, my medical bills (and it doesn't take much to get a whopping medical bill even with medical insurance) and am worried about being able to take my cat to the vet?
Does this sound familiar? Yeah, I thought so.
What I am looking for is answers. This will lead to more questions, which will need more answers. Want to help me look? Sure you do. Why else would you have read all the way to the bottom of this post?
Answers, then. We pursue them.
-Spottedcat
But I don't merely whine. I have great ideas, if only somebody would consider them. Well, I mean someone besides my friends. How about this?
Why are there not enough jobs to go around?
The United States expanded across the North American continent in great part because there were things to do--to get paid for doing, or to make a living--and there were more of these opportunities than there were people to take advantage of them. "Go west, young man."
And so Americans came to believe that anybody who wanted to succeed in this country could do so. All they had to do was be willing to work.
Is it still so?
You tell me. I'm working part-time, and I can't get full-time at my job because of the budget crisis. I can't live on what I make. I am willing to work full-time. I would love to work full-time. I'm an office worker and I have years of experience. Word processing? You bet. Customer service, including face-to-face? I've got that too. Confidentiality? Yes, in every job I've held. I'm a good employee. I don't get sick very often. I am clean, have a college degree, and I sincerely want to do my best at my job.
Why can't I find a job that will support me in these expensive times? Is there a reason I am eating ramen noodles for supper so I will hopefully be able to pay my car insurance, my home insurance, my medical bills (and it doesn't take much to get a whopping medical bill even with medical insurance) and am worried about being able to take my cat to the vet?
Does this sound familiar? Yeah, I thought so.
What I am looking for is answers. This will lead to more questions, which will need more answers. Want to help me look? Sure you do. Why else would you have read all the way to the bottom of this post?
Answers, then. We pursue them.
-Spottedcat
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