Make Believe versus Real Life
When I was a young man I worked in an industry that was grossly understaffed to perform it’s mission. It was a seven day a week, 24 hour a day operation. The employer had determined that it was far less expensive than hiring sufficient full time personnel, to simply pay the overtime. As a result there was an overtime glut for all of the staff. In fact there was so much overtime that many didn’t want to work it and the management was always on their case to shoulder their share of what had become our responsibility.
I was part of a ’greedy little group’ who grabbed as much overtime as we could. What the hell! If the others didn’t want it, I’d take it. I can use the money! We worked back to back double shifts, swing shifts and split shifts and switched shifts with each other , occassionally when we had to get a little sleep or spend a little time in the real world.
Yep, back in the day, we didn’t even compare pay checks anymore. We asked each other how many hours you got (hours of overtime , cummulatively, for the year) as our small work group competed for a fictitous “overtime belt”. Our time sheets showed both our leave accruals and our overtime hours worked, for the year. By each December, the scramble to win the Overtime Belt was on!
Other staff were ’greedy’ for as much time off as they could get and looked to try to squeak a few additional shifts off, thrugh the Holidays. That meant that there was just more overtime for those of us who wanted the work. Through December there were always several of us were within a few shifts of each other. By the end of the year, I always won the belt!
Coincidentially, it was myself and my greedy little competitors for the overtime belt who later came to become the management of this organization. Go Figure!
Today, we hear our politicians and political pundits blame “the Greed of Wall Street” and “the Greed of Big Business” for all our economic and social ills. I notice they never speak of the “Greed of Individual Politicians” or the “Greed of our President” and certainly they never address their own “Greed” and what motivates them!
The American public is being played for fools, as powerful forces foster class envy and even hatred towards thse who have become successful. We are also be manupulated through the use of artful propaganda into bellieving a BIG LIE! Many would have us believe that Capitalism has failed and that the United States of America is not and never was the greatest nation on the face of this earth!
If they are sucessful in undermining what was once known as the American Dream, they will fulfill their personal aspirations, which is motivated by their own selfish Greed for power and control!
I highly recommend going to youtube.com and viewing a short video clip of Milton Friedman and Phil Donohue disscussing the issue of GREED! It’s very illuminating!
On this same page, at youtube, Mr. Friedman expresses his views on socialized medicine (now known as the Public Option, leading to a Single Payer Healthcare System)
You see, none f this is new. Milton Friedman is no longer with us. Yet, the same old worn out socialist agenda, has a stranglehold on our nation becasuse of the GREED and ENVY being fostered against the haves by the have nots.
Our government, which has failed us so miserably and created this economic crisis are now using this crisis to push their own political agenda. After all, as Rham Emmanual said, “A crisis is a terrible thing to waste”!
January 16th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
It’s funny how working hard and trying to succeed is considered “greed.” Success is considered greed….
There was a day when foreigners would say that you could come to America and become successful by work and even create your own business. Today, that would be called being greedy.
The best of America is being denigrated by socialism. The destruction of the middle class is the goal. We need Americans waking up and collectively raise their middle finger to our to our government and say we’ve had ENOUGH. We are Americans! We are PROUD and we will succeed in life IN SPITE of our government.
So Cheers to GREED!