** OT ** Some random thoughts for a rainy Labor Day Sunday
Part I : The social safety net
I want to start by giving thanks to the Trading Gods that allowed me to make enough money during the tech boom and beyond so I don't have to look forward to a holiday like Labor (or Labour up here) Day. It's now been over 5 1/2 years since I walked out of my Dilbert cubicle on December 31, 1999, and have been able to make a living trading stocks from my house ever since. Yes, nearly six years paycheck free.
In fact, I'm looking forward to Tuesday when I can get back into it. How many of you look forward to your jobs? If you can, I salute you. I did sometimes, but I ended up mostly hating them.
Secondly, Thursday I listened to an interview with the Mayor of New Orleans, and it looks grim for NO. He was pretty upset with the lack of action from the higher levels of government and I understand some thread wars have broken out here on SI (which I'm not interested in getting involved in) over US policy. I will, however, throw in my two cents on the general situation.
America was founded on the philosophical principles of equality, but the reality is far different. It's always been a country of haves and have-nots (as are almost all countries). I think something like 80% of the original signatories of the Declaration of Independence were rich slave owners, and the first order of business for the new Republic was trampling some treaties and grabbing Indian land.
I don't think it's an accident that a predominantly black city which gets obliterated receives photo ops instead of coordinated action. This is a country which is quite comfortable putting ethnic sub-groups into ghettos and jails. US TV yesterday had returned to college football. It's all situation normal.
Canada, for all it's huffing and puffing isn't really much better. We also actively encourage haves and have-nots, and ghettos where problems can be forgotten (e.g. East Vancouver). We just don't have them on the same scale as the US.
We're just in better economic shape right now by the luck of still having lots of resources. But let's face it, the major beneficiaries of that wealth will be a small minority. It's trickle down for the majority of us.
CD |
