I am always behind
on what I want to accomplish versus what I am actually accomplishing. Whether
this is because I am overly ambitious, or I don't understand how long it
actually takes to do certain things, well, it's probably a bit of a mix, but
there is one thing that I have been meaning to do for months, and my inability
to complete is not my fault.
One young friend
was trying to figure out what to do about a career and schooling, and then
there were others expressing the same concerns. I thought that it would be good
to write something up, because I have been through that, and I have learned a
few things. Every time I try and start, I get paralyzed, because of the way
things are different now.
I was lucky. When I
graduated a lot of employers were happy to see the BA, but they did not
particularly care what it was in. There were a lot of jobs available, and
because of those, employers offered pretty good wages and benefits. My actual
student loan was about $6000, and I had run a balance on some credit cards, but
the amounts were relatively small. I had those loans paid off a few years after
graduation.
That was not due to
great planning on my part. I took the classes and the majors I wanted to take
and that I was drawn to, ending with a dual major in Romance Languages and
History. I didn't worry about it too
much, because the plan was always that I wanted to be a writer, and if that
didn't work out I was also interested in teaching, and I just believed it would
all work out. When I ended up in various technology jobs, it was still biding
my time to be a writer, but it did not matter in the least that I had not been
planning to be in the tech sector.
I can't tell these
kids that it will work out like that. Going to school will probably result in
crippling debt, and there is no guarantee that an employer will pay them enough
to support themselves, let alone pay off their debt. Not getting a degree will
surely bar some paths too. I know that you don't have to do your dream job to
be happy, because plenty of jobs can suit you, and life satisfaction does not
have to come from your job - it might be better if it doesn't! But I want to be
able to tell them that they will be able to find a job that does suit them and
on which they can support themselves, and I can't.
That should not be
the impossible dream. We're not talking about wealth here, or not having to
work too hard. It feels like we are setting the bar at avoiding misery, and it
is still set too high. So you will work long hours at Wal-Mart, more hours than
you get paid for actually, and still have the people in line behind you judging
you when you use your SNAP card to buy groceries.
(I'm sure that SNAP
is a double boon to Wal-Mart, because not only does it allow them to underpay
their employees, but I'm sure a lot of the SNAP users shop there, taking advantage
of the low prices and thus supporting the system that pushes them down.)
Or maybe you will
not need SNAP because you were able to get two menial jobs, but you will use
meth to get through, and it does get you through the overwork and the despair,
but not in a good way. And then maybe you will end up in jail for that, which
will take care of room and board, but also separates you from loved ones,
mentally beats you down more (probably without getting you off drugs), and
takes a lot more of taxpayer money than the food stamps would have.
Is this really the
world we want to build?
If this was truly
what pure capitalism built, that would be an excellent reason to reject
capitalism. That is not even the issue. Subsidizing corporations and
deregulating and cutting programs is not simple free market and Adam Smith
would back me up.
Also, even if you
decide that you don't care about human suffering, this system is clearly
unsustainable. I have thought for a while that we seem to be heading towards
feudalism, but it is scaring me more now. Too much money is being pulled out of
the economic flow as the wealth is concentrated, too many people are losing
homes and job, and it just feels like we are approaching a breaking point.
Finally, think back
to last Monday's post, on how drought increased the instability in Syria, and being a year
away from global riots (that's a few months old, actually). Think about the
people here who have been so sure that the problem with the world is everyone
else. They know they are surviving because of their hard work, and everyone
else is a loafer. How are they going to take it when the loss comes to them?
We have seen
sometimes how badly people lash out, killing themselves but taking along their
families, or strangers, or first responders, and setting fire to their homes or
other buildings. That's not just despair. That is rage, and hatred of the
world. I don't like that the people promoting "us versus them" are
also so big on gun ownership.
So, those are the
things that worry me, and that's what I'm trying to fight. I hope that some of
the things that I say over the next two days can be helpful for that.
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