WORK FOR BAUBLES 3
*note: interesting info on the damage of the rimfire at long ranges click here ( YouTube )
*
note: free book, a bit on the short side at 167 pages, on an ebola outbreak https://amzn.to/2rGWAWN
another, not really PA, more like "one guy saves world", but it is about a cyber attack https://amzn.to/2rGjjDn .
*
Finally, after two days
talking about “Army Training, Sir!” ( “Stripes” film reference ), we come to
the actual subject of the title, working for baubles. Remember, as you were just reminded, you
cannot go back to a magical yesteryear ( which of course depends on your age. For me, they were the ‘80’s. Three years of High School and four in the
military should have soured the decade for me, but personally I look at it as
the last good time before Clinton Cultural Collapse. Big Hair, Miami Vice, Reagan, fun movies yet
unhampered by PC, celebrating cocaine as a rebellion against Fed Dictate,
etc. Good stuff ).
*
You cannot prep for your
grand pappies apocalypse. You cannot get
into debt to prep, assuming an overnight collapse due to Soviet ICBM’s. Look at most traditional fables about
preparedness. Dumbass only has a few cases
of MRE’s ( well, back when written, C-Rations ) and a super virus wipes out
humanity and he has all the food in the world to scavenge. Why work to stock a realistic amount of food,
when you can just go “shopping” for food, your only credit card a crowbar? Joe Cubical owes the bank the rest of his
life, but an EMP comes along and erases the bank computers.
*
What absolute horse
apples. No wonder zombies and EMP’s are
so popular, they are the lazy pussy preppers answer to food storage and an
excuse to be in debt. It is a shoppers
paradise, a land where the malls never run out of shiny objects, and a debt
jubilee. Most prepping is masturbatory
consumerism. Hey, when I die, I’d love
to go to a heaven that is a giant mall with only three stores-a video store, a
B. Dalton or Barnes & Noble book store and a gun store. But I know better than to think that is
realistic. But people put out blogs that
are almost as much of a fantasy as my version of All Dogs Go To Heaven.
*
Since this ain’t your
grand pappies reality, that means that money doesn’t solve all problems. It used to, I grant you. The drive of consumerism didn’t materialize
without a solid foundation. With enough
money, I could have bought a better wife ( you know, perhaps one that didn‘t steal
the kids ), a better collapse retreat, a better arsenal and food storage, and
hell, probably better health and a retirement.
However, follow me here, money paradises are the same fantasy as any
other. A fantasy by definition has no
basis in reality. For a very short time,
one generation following WWII was allowed to wet their beak, and then the
surplus was withdrawn for the exclusive use of the elite, once again, as in all
recorded history.
*
( half the world we
inherit as a Ready Made Colony economically, securing most of the globes
petroleum, and the MOST that does is give one generation of middle class
workers a marked increase in luxury. The
next generation started getting less and it just got worse from there. Granted it has been a gradual withdrawal and
we SHOULD be thankful for that, but one can’t help but be a bit peeved that
such a small number of elites needed so damn much just for themselves. What, you need MORE hookers and blow? And,
what? You can‘t let the poor have even a
pale feeble imitation of blow in the form of crack, or a weak substitute of
hookers in the form of a frigid fish wife bloated on corn derivative foods? )
*
The sad fact of the matter
is that while you can still get some benefits from earning extra money, from
dedicating your life to chasing Benjamin’s, the benefits are declining
exponentially. It is nowadays rare to
have an opportunity to earn serious coin without playing by the elites
rules. Which means extreme debt in the
form of a college degree and job location bloated overpriced real estate in a
real craphole of a city surrounded by a ghetto.
Granted, some folks can escape this paradigm ( self employed plumber,
online consultant ), but the majority must play by the rules. Cost of living will consume 99% of the
increased wages. By design.
*
I’m sorry, did you confuse
me with a prepper writer who only caters to a minority? I’m not some ex-officer or lawyer puke who
makes big bank by designing concrete bunkers atop mountains. I’m writing to the majority, and that is
folks poor in purchasing power ( either from living in a less soul crushing
area and so with low wages, or those with low net wages after expensive living
area deductions ). A MINORITY can do
better, but I’m not writing to a minority.
I’m here to help Joe Average. And
Joe, he be screwed economically.
*
And yes, it USED to be
that you could pursue a life to better yourself, and you could do so with
discipline and dedication. And a few are
still able to. But every generation goes
by and less and less opportunities present themselves. Any time a wealth creation loophole is
discovered, a rich bitch takes it over by borrowing 2% from the banks and
drives the cost of that opportunity out of the reach of The Most. Taxation, regulation and monetization have
all been used to extract the shrinking pie, and the masses need not apply. Look at retail alone. Even hard workers and mass savers cannot
break into that sector anymore. If you
think that Habeeb and his family selling 40’s of malt beverages in the ghetto
is a mom and pop success story, I don’t think you are paying attention to the
state of our economy.
*
I’m not trying to make
excuses why someone can’t be self-employed and making good money. What I am trying to convey is that to the
AVERAGE person, the rewards have diminished so much, and the risks elevated so
high, that after a cost benefit analysis,
it simply looks like a crooked game they are really not interested
in. Okay, say I love widgets. I love building and repairing and selling
them. I live like a savage out of my
rusted van I park by the river ( Chris Farley SNL reference ), save 90% of what
I make working for a wage 40 hours a week, PLUS have my own business on the
side with those widgets, building a client base.
*
Then, several things are
likely to happen. A competitor sees how
well widgets sell, and has China make them which sell for retail BELOW my
equipment and material cost, even NOT paying a retail space but just selling
out of my van. OR, a competitor uses the
taxman and regulators to drum me out of business by harassment. Those regulations are NOT there to pay a few
civil servants extra wages, or pay for local gov operations, even though they
do, but they are there as a tool to be used by mega corporations. Duh.
OR, I die from stress after all that starts to happen, my dream and hard
work crapped on.
*
And you wonder why
otherwise intelligent people choose a safe drone existence? Continued tomorrow. Yippie! A Four Part-er. Haven’t done one of those for awhile.
END ( today's related link https://amzn.to/2rCkFOH )
* By the by, all my writing is copyrighted. For the obtuse out there
Check into just about any business and the production has gone up and the number of suppliers has gone down. So just one fire in one warehouse can shut down the production of the Ford F150. All our eggs in someone else's basket.
ReplyDeleteRemember the flash drive shortage and price hike after Fuki?
DeleteExpect next recession (2019) a massive merger and gobbling up of busted wreckage into conglomerates that will really monopolize or by associated consortiums screw the worker proles and consumers over a wooden barrel behind the shed.
DeleteAre you sure that didn't already happen? What else are the stock buybacks as the company is looted? Sears CEO gets millions as anyone buying a Craftsman tool is sold junk ( don't quote me on that brand-illustrative, not sure if factual. I thought they were mentioned in the comments before but I'm drawing a blank right now ).
Delete"...less opportunities present themselves..."
ReplyDelete==============
That's a very narrow viewpoint and wrought with failure.
Why not aim to win rather than aim to lose.
As you yourself said, making widgets is a failure, so why even bother?
Clue: If an opportunity "presents itself" failure is soon to follow.
You have to go out there and CREATE opportunities.
They ain't just laying around all over the place waiting for some nitwit to come strolling by and grab onto em. Hell, if that was the case everybody'd be doing it.
The reason so few are self employed and enjoying it is pure laziness. This is very easy to see when you're on the otherside of the fence looking back. Laziness and ignorance are siamese twins and they feed graciously on each other. Most people are incapable of breaking free. They die poor with shitty attitudes and blame everyone else for their failures.
I used to be in that group. But after I broke free I found myself congregating less and less with those people. They are downers and cause a tremendous drag backward. Around 1992 I realized that everyone I associated with was self employed and all of them were thinking and talking and doing successful things all the time. Focus on failure and thats what you'll get.
I still fail. But rarely. None of my successes are huge. But they are mine, created by me, and I move onto the next one. Focus on success, and let it pull you along. Set your goals too high and you'll fail. Take tiny failsafe steps. Lots of them.
Tomorrow I'm going to till about 1/2 acre of land for a neighbor. I've never done it before. Never even seen it done. But I looked at a couple videos. The neighbor did it himslelf for 50 years but now he's too old. So he's going to pay me $200 cash and some of the harvest in the fall. I'm going to rent a rear tine gas tiller for $65/day and I believe I will spend most of the day doing it. So, $200 - 65 for the tiller and maybe 5 for the fuel, and about 8 hours of my time = $130 cash at 5pm tomorrow. Back-figure that taxes if that was an actual job and that 200 would need to be about 250 or more. So he and I are cutting out the middle man and we both get what we want. Plus. Since he's old he may need help with the rest of the aspects of that garden so I will make myself available. He might pass my name onto others. He may have additional things for me to do. THAT is how you MAKE opportunities. Every person you meet is a potential lump of coin in your pocket and if you aren't exploiting it there is something wrong with you. Oh yeah, that neighbor didn't pose this deal to me as I was blobbed out on the couch. He heard my chainsaw down in the woods and came over to chat. Couple steps later and I'll have a fat ass pocket. Everybody gets to figure out their own way, or go coma on that couch.
Look, I understand exactly what you are saying. I disagree with nothing. What I'm trying to convey, obviously not very successfully, is that your lifestyle is only possible with the surplus we enjoy economically. And as time goes by, that surplus is shrinking. Lately, a LOT. Your lifestyle is dying. Some will ride it to the end, and that is fine. Others see the writing on the wall and decide to not bother. I'm representing that viewpoint, but I'm not saying it is better or worse than yours. Please don't dismiss the other legit tactic, though.
DeleteAgain, let's review. running on the gerbil wheel as a wage earner, or being a self made titan, or specialized craftsman, are all only contingent upon the continued existence of a fair and functional economic and government systems. (Any doubts that they are both shaky?) Do not over invest yourselves or be delusional as to it's continued functionality. How about folks similarly positioned in sarejevo, beruit, rhodesia, etc. All giddy with joy for their success until their assess were handed to them. Plan accordingly.
DeleteYou already see that in economically decimated areas. No matter how good your skill, if no one is getting money in the area, you can't get hired. If your area is on federal corporate welfare ( medical/defense ), you are good. Enough surplus. In truly blighted areas, Bubba is going to fix his own crap, regardless of skill. Unemployment doesn't hire a handyman. I just got done over the weekend NOT being able to fix the clogged sink ( got a nice chemical burn, though ). Not knowing what I was doing, I mangled through the leaky toilet, but I couldn't do the sink. 100 year old house-plumbing is mostly all old or DIY. Plumber comes out and fixes it. He has more potential customers than time. Going gangbusters. Why? My guess is a lot of it is the glut of houses on the market in nearby YuppieScumVille Spring Creek. Fix the plumbing to sell their McTurds. That won't last indefinitely. Then lots of thirty year long plumbers lose their businesses. Isolated example, but so are the guys making it self-employed outside the metro areas.
Delete@Anon, I agree, with some explanation. In my example, that will be done tomorrow, the neighbor is going to pay me some coin AND some of the harvest in the fall.
DeleteYes, currently the gov't has the monopoly on force as well as the tools of exchange (legal tenders) and that's mostly what we have chosen. In the event of collapse of those systems he and I will adjust accordingly. Maybe ALL of my earning from the tillering will be deferred to the fall. We know that food will be paramount then, so why not?
Flexibility and adaptability are the keys but getting these systems ready now rather than later is only wide. It's called building rapport. Frankly, I'd rather do ALL of my work for people like the neighbor rather than the companies in Florida that pay me to design buildings. I'd like middle men to be history and I prefer working local.
Jim, I didn't think I was dismissing what you wrote, I thought I was agreeing, in my own way.
DeleteThe old model of working 40hrs/wk for somebody is indeed going away and not coming back while this rotten assed gov't is destroying everything around us. People really should be seeking alternatives to that model. NOW. When they lose that model job and are in panic mode is NOT the way to do it. You'll look desperate and nobody likes to associate with desperate people. Would you hire a guy to fix your shitter if he appeared extremely desperate? Once inside he might crack you on the head and take your stuff, and not fix the shitter! LOL
Best way is to act like you're doing the other guy a favor and at a very low price. Make the decision to hire you simple for him. You're going to give him MORE in exchange for what he gives you. That way next time he needs something done you will be the first person he comes to. Then, you can raise your price a little.
When I started in business I was working a 40 hr job and money wasn't a problem. So I purposely set my prices very low so as to expand my client base, then over time gradually raise it little by little. In less than 2 years my "part time" business was paying me MORE than my full time job. This method ALWAYS works cause it gives the other guy what he wants like he wants it. Who doesn't want that? I've been in it for the long haul for more than 30 years now and see no reason to question success.
I think we agree with fundamentals. I'm trying to imagine where we are at odds, and I'm thinking perhaps we have differing views of the collapse. Perhaps you are seeing the long term stairstep, and I'm only envisioning more rapid and more dangerous? I'm not claiming you to be wrong and me right. I know better, having gotten the timing wrong for thirty years. But if we view the timeline differently, might that explain our world views? You are an optimistic extrovert, I am a pessimistic introvert, and never the twain shall meet?
DeletePS-I like your example of desperate workers. Just like dating. If you are desperate, you aren't getting laid. Maybe screwed, and not in a good way :)
DeletePPS-not trying to compare you to Greer, with his centuries long collapse, no die-off delusions. Your head seems to be on better. Thought I better add that. An important distinction, optimism and Pollyanish delusion.
DeleteI'm probably far more introverted socially than you can imagine. I am also conditioned by 30+ years of standing on my own 2 feet and realizing that money doesn't come from trees but rather people and people don't usually give money to people they don't like. (cept gov't criminals) So when I have to, I put on my smiley face. (Read: How to Win Friends and Influence People) My tactic doesn't always bring treasure but now and then is fine with me and I don't like to receive or give high pressure.
DeleteYou're probably right though about the fundamentals and if we sat around the kitchen table we'd even work out the finer details. But in this back n forth ping pong like format we make the best of what we got. :-)
If you can network, and are naturally introverted, my hat is off to you, Sir. That is a tough row to hoe.
DeleteDon't you love how "progress" is the Orwellian code for "hump you, 91%"
ReplyDeleteI was looking at some old photos of the family farm back in Ill. years ago, like very early 1900's. I was amazed at how nice the buildings looked! They must have had some money back then as we sure did not while I grew up in the 1950's. I started wondering why and decided that it had to be taxes. Back then the max tax was something on the order of 1% as opposed to today's 40 or 50%. The powers to be just are not leaving us any money to improve our own lives.
ReplyDeleteYOUR money? Who the heck do you think you are? You don't own any money. The central bank creates money for business and government. You only get a little bit of that so they have customers and taxpayers. But it ain't for you to decide how much you get to keep.
Delete"YOUR money? Who the heck do you think you are? You don't own any money. The central bank creates money for business and government. You only get a little bit of that so they have customers and taxpayers. But it ain't for you to decide how much you get to keep."
DeleteThere you go Jim. That right there is the insight that most people refuse to hear, much less listen to.
Ghostsniper is right that working for yourself for yourself is more profitable overall than working for another, and that taxes etc are what are killing most people, but he isn't seeing that avoiding work (aka laziness) is the right thing to do in many situations, and that eventually everyone else will be hurting so bad financially that the self employed will be without sufficient customers - even taking barter rather than cash (though they may be among the last to be truly totally broke).
Me? I tried working for myself, and though I earned enough to keep fed (barely), I was too stressed while trying to 'sell' myself and too lazy to enjoy the work I found. Now I work for a company that pays me just because it isn't quite worth the cost of firing me without cause (for now) I pretty much don't count on being able to ever find full time employment again when this job goes away. Maybe piece work, etc, but more likely I will be unemployed and broke from the day I get my pink slip forward.
Being lazy in underappreciated. I love reading. I finally get paid to read, but don't have all that much time for it, compared to when I had a "real" job. That's just the universe having a laugh at me. But, my point, I wouldn't be so hard working at writing if I wasn't lazy and afraid of social interaction. Hell, lazy people sitting around NOT consuming resources? We need MORE. They need to be celebrated as we go Empire Down.
Delete@JJ, I think alot of people are under the wrong impression of how work is supposed, well, work.
DeleteIf it seems like work, or is too stressful, or whatever, then you're doing it wrong. I approach all of it with no pressure but rather as a social gesture.
When my neighbor came by last week in the woods behind my house I turned off the chainsaw and greeted him and sat on a log and we chatted. I remember the last time I saw him a couple months ago and he told me he had 500 tomato plants germinating in the greenhouse and he also told me he was going to get a knee replacement. When I saw him last week his knee was wrapped and he did have the surgery and was not able to do his own tilling. I offered to do it for him if he rented the tiller. That's when he refused me to do it free and would pay me to do it. A nice friendly unpressured deal was conjured. I do this ALL the time. 99% of the time when I'm out and about in the community, hoping to create tribe in the future, the job thing doesn't happen and I don't care. I have plenty of things to keep me busy. But when it does happen I get right to it.
Many today prefer to do their "connecting" and "socializing" with little screen and buttons but that doesn't feel comfortable to me and I use eyeballs and voice and understanding. Again, I'm in it for the long haul. If someone is addicted to a 30 second mindset and greed it won't work. You should think more about that piecework you mentioned.
Damn extrovert! :)
DeleteSomewhat the same type deal for me here recently.
DeleteA physically bunged up friend, needed to paint his rental house.
Told him I could not charge my work by the hour, because I too am not 100% physically lol. He insisted on $15 an hour under the table, so I ballanced out the scale by reporting less hours than worked...
Which he ended up ignoring and paid me for more than I asked for...
As it was, he ended up putting out far less than what a contractor would have charged. For better work too !
There's a joke in there about the blind leading the blind...:)
DeleteGhostsniper - Jim is right you are an extrovert. Dealing with people is an effort for me - even through the buttons and screens like this. I can't easily just shoot the breeze and stay positive. Oh, I can fake it some, but it is very wearing on me. Where as I know some other people who love to do it, and even feel that they have to do a lot of it every day or they feel depressed or stressed. I am just not one of them. And though I would easily help a neighbor out, I get less opportunities to do so since I don't enjoy the socializing like you do - I get focused on what I am doing and have to make an effort to turn it off and socialize (and an effort to pursue an assignment instead of my own interests).
DeleteThe Intro-Extro scale slides a ways-it takes all kinds, right? One is not better or worse than the other. I like how you put that "the effort wears me out". I'm pretty much the same.
DeleteYep, you will be assimilated into the borg or be processed into feed pellets or fertilizer.
ReplyDeleteI'm kinda liking the idea of feed pellets. The time I'll save in the kitchen...
ReplyDeleteI, and the 91%, have a future as bio-fuel and agricultural supplements. Welcome, Brothers.
ReplyDeletepdxr13
Misery loves company :)
ReplyDeletehere's an example.
ReplyDeletethis town has a 'business incubator' which, as far as i can see, is a waste of money.
meanwhile, a fellow set up a tilapia pond in his backyard in a swimming pool.
it became a successful business in a short time and he put in a couple more swimming pools.
he was not breaking any laws or regs.
the newspaper had a nice article about his little business. gave hope to others who might like to try a little business of their own.
immediately some fool on the city council jumped in and started urging the council to get involved with inspectors [there are no fish inspectors--here comes another useless, expensive gov't. 'job'], regulations, taxes, blah blah blah.
so much for being a 'business friendly' city, trying to pull in businesses to this rust belt town.
so much for becoming an entrepreneur. so much for the american dream.
i never found out what became of the tilapia farm. i suspect the gov't. killed it and the customers for fish now get their fish from china or some other god forsaken place, full of toxins.
ghostsniper is young enough and healthy enough, thank God, that he can hustle a bit.
there are always people who need help but not always people able to pay.
i am also a pessimist and mostly an introvert, so it colors my thinking but any recovery for this country will be hard won, if at all possible.
daughter is hoping for a slow collapse wherein we will not have troops in every part of the globe and will learn to mind our own business--pipe dream!
when did humans ever mind their own business?
reading a john le carre book about diplomacy in the rush to 'common market' in europe. now grown into the european union--how's that working out for the native europeans?
what a lot of fuss and expense. what foolishness.
but it was ever thus and shall continue until the end.
just hope we can control the borders enough to stop the invasions, and that we can throw out [or, better yet, execute] the plotters; that is, moslems bent upon world domination, traitors, dope dealers, ms 13 thugs, fill-in-the-blank criminals and terrorists.
is my pessimism showing up/
my generation [i'm 69] wa pushed into going to college in droves. as a girl i was nort allowed to take carpentry shop, hich is what i wanted to do.
if i had it to do over again--bet our mother eve often wished the same thing!- i would take up whateer trade i could because that is where the steady jobs are. you cannot repair a caar or fix fasica from a computer in sout america or india.
s
St. Paul writes of the tentmaker priest--an excellent idea. make sure your kids have at least one or two skills in addition to any other education. it will serve them well.
as with ghostsniper and his expectations of the autumn harvest, your skilled kids can exchange skilled work with those with other skills and no cash involved. tit for tat.
sorry to go on so long. tilapia story really got my goat. city council composed of at least a few fools--greedy and destructive fools.
Actually, compared to your usual sentence or two, this was rather impressive ( of course, I'm partial to long winded rants myself ). Keep in mind, councilmen get paid to do exactly what he did. When they pass laws that benefit you, they are helping the city be a better place. When you are hurt, they are greedy asswhores. But really, what is the difference? All politicians are evil. You have to expect them to be all Dr. Evil, all the time ( one MILLION dollars!!! ). I know it doesn't lower your anxiety. It doesn't mine, either. But not following their activities might improve your mental heath. Anyway, enjoyed the longer comment. Not bad for an old broad :)
DeleteI recall that Kurt Saxon had an article on raising fish in a barrel. If you’re going to attempt a business of the sort, it’s probably best to do so with the minimum of outgoes required. That way if the local Statz Polizei crack down on you, you’re not out too much in expenses. Also, keep advertising as word of mouth, and reference, to only those that you know and trust, or those known and trusted by those you know.
DeleteI think 99% of people have a difficult time keeping their dingus holes shut. Your trusted customer must brag about that great fish to her BFF, who babbles incessantly to another she swears she can trust and pretty soon the whole town plus the Stasi know.
Delete@Deborah, I'm not as young as you portrayed, I'm only a few years behind you. My capabilities have dwindled drastically over the past 10 years. My army airborne knees are coming home to roost and they ain't happy. You don't realize how important knees are until they don't work like they're supposed to. So I look for alternate ways to get stuff done. And, some stuff just doesn't get done. I told my wife awhile back that I'm no longer going to use any kitchen items that are in the bottom cabinets cause getting to them is just not worth it. We don't have enough wall cabinets to hold all our stuff so a bunch of stuff is going to be heading for the curb. Too much stuff will kill ya!
DeleteI didn't finish that tilling job today but will tomorrow. It was more arduous than I imagined. Keep in mind I have never even seen this done before, so I'm brand new at it. And it was hot today, in the mid 80's, so massive water intake required and frequent breaks in the shade. I'll be done by noon tomorrow, unless muscle cramps come on over night. sigh Gettin' old ain't for sissy's.
Bad knees. No more doggie style. Take a mental picture of that one and die a bit inside :)
Deleteghostsniper,
Deletemagnesium for leg cramps. also- believe it or not, mustard 1 tablespoon.
as to cabinets, except for the bleach under the sink i now have no idea what is in the other bottom cabinets. nor do i care.
apparently it isn't anything i can't live without.
good idea about the curb. now that warmer weather is here i should pull everything out and toss it.
one thing less for the kid to worry about when i am gone. thanks for the idea.
sorry to witter on, james greathair [your indian name!].
That is a good name!
Delete@Jim, there hasn't been ANY style for a few years now. Don't need the problems and distractions. You'll see...sooner than you think.
Delete@Deborah, I'll look into the magnesium (and I ate a huge dollop of mustard last night on a sausage sandwich) but the problem isn't cramps. It is from going 40 mph vertically to a dead halt into the ground in less than 1 second over and over and over. Cartilage isn't meant to be compressed so violently.
Chief GreatHair. HA!
Bite your tongue! Finally, best I've ever had it. Course, if I don't care by that point...
Delete@Deborah Harvey, Ghostsniper; look into Turmeric supplements, or in spice form, that can be added to meals. It’s said to be a powerful anti-inflammatory, and a billion plus, starving, cow/rat worshiping, curry eaters can’t be wrong :D (But in all seriousness, it’s said to be some good stuff). And yes, mustard does contain a small amount of this spice.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.healthline.com/nutrition/top-10-evidence-based-health-benefits-of-turmeric#section2