Monday, August 30, 2010
Friday, August 20, 2010
It's having a job, stupid.
Unemployment is not having a job. Going 99 weeks on unemployment and still not getting a job is definitely not the same as having a job. And offering more unemployment is not the answer to not having a job.
What so hard to figure out? Individual dignity in our cultural ethics is tied to earning what we and our families need.
The common denominator for everyone living in a family that does not own enough assets whose earnings provide the economic wherewithal for a satisfying life, needs a job to earn that economic wherewithal, and wants a job that offers the opportunity to earn it.
For those who need a job to earn a living for their family, no matter our religious beliefs, our sexual orientation, or our political persuasion, we can unite on the issue of needing work for everyone who can work and who needs it.
And when are as wealthy a nation as we are, wealth that has been produced by the labor of our minds and bodies, there is no reason why everyone who needs a job shouldn't have one. We have both the resources and the need to provide these jobs.
What we don't have is a political party that articulates our common denominator as wage earners needing a job as a fundamental requirement outside any other divisive issue.
When we let the political parties divide us, the wage earners, over other issues, we let the those who own the assets of production drive the cost of labor down to below that of providing a living wage—which they now can do by producing goods AND services offshore—and further divide us over the fear of unemployment and poverty.
What so hard to figure out? Individual dignity in our cultural ethics is tied to earning what we and our families need.
The common denominator for everyone living in a family that does not own enough assets whose earnings provide the economic wherewithal for a satisfying life, needs a job to earn that economic wherewithal, and wants a job that offers the opportunity to earn it.
For those who need a job to earn a living for their family, no matter our religious beliefs, our sexual orientation, or our political persuasion, we can unite on the issue of needing work for everyone who can work and who needs it.
And when are as wealthy a nation as we are, wealth that has been produced by the labor of our minds and bodies, there is no reason why everyone who needs a job shouldn't have one. We have both the resources and the need to provide these jobs.
What we don't have is a political party that articulates our common denominator as wage earners needing a job as a fundamental requirement outside any other divisive issue.
When we let the political parties divide us, the wage earners, over other issues, we let the those who own the assets of production drive the cost of labor down to below that of providing a living wage—which they now can do by producing goods AND services offshore—and further divide us over the fear of unemployment and poverty.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
On Robert Redford
I watched "Spy Game" yesterday. Redford displays his cinematic power, an acting tour de force of captivating nuance in facial expression and body language that captured and held my attention as the drama unfolded. I was reminded how much I love this movie actor, "love" in the sense of being enthralled by anything he does on screen.
There are few his equal.
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