Photo by TrashHand
What is our truest opposition? Is it the maddening need to continue engineering ways to insure that money exchanges hands from one to another as swiftly as possible before the realization that the relative value of goods is nowhere near the believed expense? Weighed against our livelihood we may never know the actual value.
Of course I have to make money. I have to make a living to provide for myself and my family. I don't like the idea of that being advertised, part of the equation that's made to have been a simple "just the way it is" sort of thing and if you're not about "trying to get paid" then something is wrong.
It's a mockery when I see the type of genuine effort strong woman and man place into a hobby, something that they love, the type of heart and quality that no one could place a price tag on and it ends up being exactly what is required to do in order to monetize our talent; genius entrepreneurs and business owners ready to do exactly that, to tell you this is worth this much.
It's not even them so much you have to worry about robbing you, they at least negotiate. It’s the people they place in charge wanting a cut of your talent because they are in the know, the pecking order; they put in their time too so of course they are going to overwork you as if you can't tell the difference, take the credit for a job you did extremely well, and lie to your face that you're not cutting it, elaborately making the scene look as if you're the problem, another chess piece you now have to outmaneuver because you have to make a living.
Did we really sign up for this, the status quo our limitation, the bar we've set for ourselves? When you do that you get mediocre quality and wasted potential because we do know better; we've just turned it into a reality TV show based are you willing to play the game scenario, when what we want is to live our life, let our efforts speak for themselves so to say, truly, without that gotta get paid crap. Unfortunately a lot of businesses aren't at all interested in the development part of talent as much as they are keeping the numbers (that paper) high.
Our pocket change use to go a long way. Now, pick one of your fast food restaurant franchises as an example, when $.25 cents or $.37 cents used to get you a burger or a cheeseburger (remember the 80's), something in which you were well pleased. The same cheeseburger today is smaller, of less quality, and cost three times more (no exaggeration).
What's going to happen when the day comes you're looking at that same cheeseburger, that simple, delightful, binge food craving that's supposed to be the spice of life, and you realize that it costs $5.00 dollars to be prepared by the absolute minimum of pride and standard offered by dress code and food regulation (in the U.S. mind you, going overseas will blow your mind in a beautiful way), surrounded by folk like yourself that know they're not enjoying what was just bought or paid.
Someone is getting paid to deliver that experience to you and someone does have a job (thank goodness for that), because of course we have to make a living. Someone is saying that will never happen, oh you mean like when gas prices went up steadily during the 90's or when the housing market bubble burst in 2008, right about the time gas was as high as $4.10 a gallon.
You see the indicators, businesses that have been around for years going away, some being replaced with a faster more efficient product or a way of getting a product to the consumer. Our lifestyles are taking dramatic changes, but are they for the better? Are we focusing on healthier food options and education systems that will guarantee the production of a healthy replacement workforce, instead of one that cripples creativity and drive by replacing it with anxiety and bullying and lack of pride and respect? All for the dollar.
There's a song out there where the artist gives us the lyrics "a dollar ain't worth a dime". They are so right, we have degraded our quality of life in exchange for seeing how fast we can move the dollar from one hand to another, and as long as the consumer enjoys their stay, or enjoys their visit, or doesn't submit a bad review, then they’ve got their money's worth and we're on to the next exchange.
Do we truly have it to where we can just throw money onto a stoking fire because it's being made? What is happening to the resources dumped into a 600 sq ft room at $2,300 a month rent and rising? Just making a living is costing us more than it's worth.