Tag: money

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Eat the Poor

Why do rich people persecute the poor?

Why do they take away their benefits, pay them shit, work them to the bone and kick them to the dogs? They take away food, health, shelter and liberty.

Why do they treat seniors so deplorably? It is shocking how our elders are so disrespected and forgotten. They deny them health care or enough money for a decent life.

And women! We are losing all our rights! The handmaidens tale is not fiction.

All the things we fought so hard to wrench from these greedy bastards hands is being snatched back.

If they had their way, we would all be out on the streets, unable to buy a loaf of bread, with only the shirt on our backs.

And they just want more and more and more and more.

Look at what CEO’s make. Look at what their employees take home. Both values are obscene. Vile. Disgusting. Oh my. Look at what Mr. Weston got for being a good CEO to the shareholders lately for Loblaws. Since he successfully overinflates grocery prices so we can’t even afford a head of lettuce, saying companies should make a profit, he got a raise from 8 million to 11.4 million! Because he was, poor fellow, underpaid. Do you believe this crap?

What does it mean to be billionaire? It means you are above the law, above reproach, even above God. You don’t even pay taxes. I pay more taxes on my meager pension. And it means everyone is totally expendable. There are always replacements.

Yes, I am pissed.

I am pissed that we don’t fight back hard enough. We worship worthless, tone deaf, idiot billionaires and celebrities. We throw money at them for their substandard products and shows. We hang on their every opinion as if they are gods. We give them positions of power to rule over us and humiliate us.

We live in a slave economy. We all work and live to provide the rich with lavish lifestyles we will never ever experience, that they constantly shove in our faces.

They shamelessly flaunt their wealth. I am sick of seeing tours of some assholes ten million dollar homes on the beachfront. Reading about their Greek vacations, and five hundred million dollar yachts. The two dozen rare collectible cars they own. The Rembrandts hanging in their living rooms. This is not to show us what we can obtain, it is to keep us hungry, to keep us in our place, to keep us dirt poor and slaves to them.

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Free With a Price

I guess I must be strange, but when I go to a seminar, I actually want to hear what the speaker has to say.

I recently went to a free seminar on improving your retirement income. As a low income person, to have the opportunity to receive free financial advice from a seasoned professional is a blessing.

But as usual, that sentiment is not shared by many in an audience.

The man next to me loudly announced to a woman, who made the mistake of trying to chit chat to him about the topic before the talk started, that he had no intention or need to retire, that he LOVES what he does. So why are you here? To annoy everyone else I soon found out. He huffed and puffed, clicked his pen constantly throughout the talk, threw the free handouts we got on the chair next to him and sat defiantly with arms crossed.

There were many interruptions and of course, the self proclaimed experts in the audience that took liberties to answer questions for the speaker.

Sigh.

There are so few seminars I have gone to where no one is on their own agenda and respect the speaker and reserve their questions and thoughts until the end of the talk.

However, I did learn a few things, mostly that when it comes to financial advice, you really need a custom made plan as everyone’s life situation is different. And you need to get several opinions and ultimately, make your own plan. The people who could benefit the most are the low income persons, who can’t afford a financial adviser. However, there are free seminars!

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On Hold

Bruce Lee said “Choose a path with heart.” Very wise.

I recently read a book by a well meaning person, on how to become a millionaire by the time you are 30 or so, and then pursue your dreams. This sounds feasible to a young mind when you are healthy and energetic. Oh, but how quickly life can snatch away your life and abilities. At any age.

I suppose if you don’t have a passion or an interest, then by all means, go for the money. Just do good with it however.

Though I don’t disagree that life is not so great when you lack money, I do disagree with putting your passions on hold, or watering them down until you are rich enough to do them full time.

For one thing, there is no guarantee in life that you will live long, be able or be rich, no matter what you do.

For another, one persons get rich methods don’t always work for others. There is no one solution that fits all. And luck always plays a role in what happens. Always.

You should pursue your dreams when you are young. This is when you are most physically and mentally able and hopefully have many years ahead of you to learn, grow, perfect your craft, and evolve into other new and exciting passions. It is so much easier to do this when you are young and fresh. It makes life an adventure and a whole lot more interesting.

Some careers cannot be put on hold. You cannot become a surgeon after you are 35, and you certainly can’t pursue that part time.

I would never ever tell someone to pursue a meaningless, boring, soul sucking career just to maybe be rich enough to quit it by middle age. UGH. Are you kidding me?

You cannot determine what you want to do with your life based on money alone. We are already in a crisis with passionless people who did just this and are now our non compassionate doctors, greedy seedy lawyers and the lot.

Imagine if everyone quit their jobs at 35 and just sat around. Is this even feasible?

Or if people only did careers that brought them the best bang for their tuition.

When people enjoy their jobs, they enjoy their life and make the world a happier place. Have you ever dealt with someone who hated their job – like a surly waitress, and unkind clerk, an uncaring receptionist, a non helpful manager?

I am not saying being rich is bad. Never. I would like to be rich! But I want to be doing something I love, something that is honest, true to me, so I am happy. When I am happy, automatically I benefit the world.

Don’t put your life on hold. Life can be way too short – or way too long – before you do what you want.

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50+

If I had my way, then all women who find themselves in the all too familiar predicament lately of being 50+, divorced or single, unemployed or underemployed, perhaps with some developing health issues, and not much money, would be helped.

Our old way of doing things is coming to an end. Our old ways of getting work and supporting ourselves is changing.

Help would come in the form of transitioning into this new way of being.

Of course, it concerns money. Everything is about money now. And NO it is not about lending money. It is about giving with no expectation of financial payback. Especially with interest. Gee whiz.

What I would like to see is free education for these women, so they can transition into a new way of supporting themselves. They could take higher education and get a new career, develop craftsman skills and apprentice. Be taken in and mentored in a field they would enjoy. There would be money to start a new business, and funding to help supply housing and food while making a transition.

So many women have so much to offer but are being ignored by the traditional way of finding work. These women have to reinvent themselves at a time when it can be most difficult to do so, usually for lack of funds and health issues. Many are caring for aging parents and children returning home.

There is a wealth of experience and knowledge many women have to offer to a world desperately in need of such counselling. We need to find ways to open doors for this knowledge to be tapped and used.

I realize that this is not for everyone, and there should be no pressure for someone to change. However, for those who do want to, then we should make it easy for them to do so, so they can get back out into the world and make a positive contribution. We are wasting a valuable resource when our world is in desperate trouble. A world that needs intelligent and compassionate solutions to enormous problems.

We can no longer rely on or trust our politicians or governments to do the right thing. They have their own selfish agendas and the money seldom wanders far from their own pockets and interests. What needs to be done in the world will have to be done by individuals helping one another. People who will take on the issues that our elected officials and governments are supposed to do and find ways to do it ourselves.

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Poverty In Our Own Room

In this world of an ever increasing divide between the rich and the poor, the haves and the have nots, we tend not to notice that poverty can be right in our own rooms.

The people we work with.

Our friends.

Ourselves.

How many wealthy bosses and business owners, world leaders and politicians don’t even notice the sometimes wide spread poverty of their own employees or constituents or worse, don’t even care. Many have been rich a long time and have no understanding on any level of what it means to struggle financially. To not be able to pay bills, make ends meet, save money. To not have any future.

There is a failure to see that poverty is not just the masses of people living in horrific conditions elsewhere in the world. It is right under our noses.

Poverty is on the increase in our country, not just for the unemployed and seniors, but prevalent in the working masses. Single parents forced to sleep at work because they are homeless. People walking for miles to work because they can’t afford transportation. People without heat or electricity or water – right here in our own country. What about people who are wiped out by hurricanes, fires or ill health who have no “emergency fund” or insurance. The “emergency fund” and buying insurance by the way, are just clever ploys to make us think financial difficulties are our fault (good luck trying to collect from insurance when you need it too). The real problem is low wages and the resulting debt load (how the F can you put money away for a ‘crisis’ or afford insurance, when you can’t put food on the table). How can your wages compete with runaway inflation (look at the cost of food, housing and transportation-out of control and caused by greed).

Totally disgusting that many states and provinces have blocked the increase of minimum wages. Corporations, governments and banks have enslaved the majority of the population with debt. Debt is no longer a symptom of overspending on luxuries, that was back in more prosperous days – now it is a necessity in order to survive.

For want of sometimes a very small sum of money, a person cannot go forward in life, or worse, loses what little they have. Even if the rich do help, they want pay back, with interest.

Gone are the days – long gone are the days, when if you just work hard enough, get more education or kiss the bosses ass, you’ll be a success. Now you have to kiss the bosses ass just to survive.

Many of us will have to keep on working long past the point where we are physically and mentally able. Probably many are at that point now.

My Mom always said, charity begins at home. And we have a big problem, right here at home.

The answer to poverty in our own room is just that. Charity begins at home. We can no longer turn to our governments or politicians for help as they are greedy and self serving (politicians are just wannabe rock stars and governments serve big corporations). No, it is happening in the hearts and minds of ordinary people.

People rally together to help those in need. When we are made aware, we take action. Look at the website Sunny Skyz and you will see all kinds of people doing all kinds of acts of kindness that make huge differences in peoples lives.

A pair of shoes. A blanket. Another chance at life.

We can no longer look up to the big wigs, the bosses, the politicians, the corporations, the uber rich. We have to do it ourselves – and we are. In even small ways, every day, we can change the world into a much better place.

Our governments and world leaders fail us. They are not interested in our welfare or the worlds. Most of our leaders are self serving or dictators. The more we realize this, the more we can fix things ourselves. Right here in our own rooms.

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To Tell The Truth

I work fortunately, and unfortunately, a block from an art supply store.  Next to hardware stores and bookstores, this ranks as one of my financial undoings.

However, I am still somewhat frugal.  I amassed my supply of inks and pencils by buying a couple a week until I have the whole set.  It took a long time.

I applied the same thinking to buying my supply of winter socks.  Buy a pair every week until I had a adequate supply.  Ditto for food items I stock up.  I’m like a bear about to hibernate, or a squirrel I suppose.

Time goes by fast and next thing I know I have enough.  I don’t have to have everything all at once.  It is also kind of fun, collecting with an end goal in mind.

Some people can save up for things.  If I put money in the bank I find it way too hard to withdraw it.  It was so hard to earn in the first place.  So I budget how much I can spend per week on something, and then do it.  Unless a sale captures me!

The thing that put me in debt this year was my health.  That was a lot more dollars than a few colour pencils and ink.  If there is such a thing as good and bad debt, I suppose this is good.  But I’d rather have been in health and bought an SUV to tell the truth.

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Do Your Best Work

I once knew a lady artist who often did cards and the like for fellow employees in our office.  Her work was pretty, but not outstanding, and she used cheap cardboard.  Still, we enjoyed any gift of art we received from her, for any occasion, birthdays, anniversaries, retirement.

One day I went to her home to help her with a computer issue I was familiar with.  She lived in a large condominium that was jammed packed with her art materials.  The dining room table was overflowing with completed art work, mostly cards, in her traditional style, except for one glaring difference.

These cards were beautiful!  They were professionally done, on high quality paper with expensive materials.  They were really good.  They were awesome!

My head could not get around the discrepancy between what I saw at work and what I witnessed here.  In answer to my unspoken bewilderment she said “These are for my paying customers”.

My young naive self was shocked.  As an artist it never occurred to me to do less than my best for any reason.

Does it make sense on any level to do substandard work when it is for free?  I felt kind of insulted that the cards I got were crap.  They didn’t seem so special any more.

It is a lesson that has stuck with me many years.  I am not going to give out crap because it is free.  I am not saving my best for only those who will pay for it.  I create for JOY.  And if someone else gets joy from it, glory!  Yes, I do sell my work, it costs money to create my books, photography and art.  But freebies to my friends and family are of the same quality and effort.

I feel the same way about work.  Whether you volunteer or are paid, give your best effort (although it is sometimes true that volunteers give more than paid workers).

I guess I am just naive.

Do your best work at all times.  Not just for money.

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No Prizes for Mankind

No Nobel Prize for literature this year?  Well, doesn’t that speak volumes on how far our society has deteriorated.

Life, and all we know of  is like a graph of oscillating functions.  There are peaks and then . . . well, currently we are in the trough where all the pigs eat.

I am hopeful that such upheavals mean we are on the upswing.  Although the peaks are pretty bad also.

In humankind we are all too human.  We need more kind.

Money, power and sex have ruled our societies long enough.  It is time for new ways of being.  However, I am doubtful we can change.  There is a threshold we can so easily cross, which shrinks what little brain we actually use, giving us tunnel vision.  That tunnel vision is greed.

Our leaders are elected solely for their talent in acquiring money, irrespective of the methods.  Their only purpose for being in power is to get more money for themselves.  They are barely given a slap on the wrist for their gross mistreatment of virtually everyone.  Where would you and I be if we behaved so badly?

The uber rich receive awards for creating jobs (yet treat their employees as slaves).  The result is they have so much money they don’t know what to do with it (say what?!).  Some of these arrogant snobs could end world poverty, but launch rockets into space instead (the ultimate phallic symbol) claiming this will help and even save mankind.  Puhleese.

No prizes for mankind this year.

But guess what?  I want to be rich!  Because I want to retire and do the things I love all day.  I don’t want to launch rockets, or have slaves or run countries.  Money is freedom to me.  I want to live well, and live quietly.

Even with my loud voice!

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Charities that Bite

I am very disappointed with one of my favourite charities.

At this time of year I am bombarded with mail from many worthwhile charities.  I have donated to several in the past, but as my income shrinks I have to be more selective of who receives my funds.

I have always been miffed by the huge amount of address labels, blank cards, note paper, cheap pens and the like that are sent to me to solicit my donation.  I am offered junk which has nothing to do with the cause hoping to entice and reward me for my money.  I don’t want this stuff.  Your reason for being is enough.  Do you do good in the world?  The money actually goes to where it is needed?  That is good enough.

I loathe the long letters that complete these packages, not only for the waste of paper, but they start to sound like needy, whiny relatives who don’t work but expect me to support them.

I support a local organization that sends me email newsletters occasionally during the year showing me where my money is going.  X number of dollars spent on this.  No pie charts, no gloss.  No whining about costs, inflation, no complaints or pleading.  This is what we did with your money.  Here’s what we need for what in the future. Yay.

The charity that irked me however is a favourite of mine, that set up an office in my country because I presume we are donating lots of money to them.  They sent me a letter in which they apologize for delays in their mailings, offer me the token junk, and then proceed to blame our government for their problems.  They are very upset because our government investigated them, found they are not obeying our tax laws and now demand they comply.  Imagine that.

Because they did not bother to research our laws in the first place, or worse, chose to ignore them, they are now mad it is costing them money and time to follow our rules.  And they want me to pay for it!

We are a generous nation, this is well known.  But I am incensed with organizations who love our money and complain bitterly about our laws.  Laws that protect our citizens, our way of life, values and livelihood.    They make little effort to learn of us and then condemn us for enforcing our laws.  If you are going to disrespect what we have worked so hard for, I take offense at that.  Not to mention it cost us taxpayers lots of money to investigate you and make sure your business complies with our regulations, and continues to do so.

I did write this organization a brief letter, but who knows who will read it.  I hate to complain about charities, I have never done so in my life.  They serve valuable and necessary functions and I support that.  Just don’t bite the hand that feeds you.  Only my cat is allowed to do that.