Individually “thinking outside of the box” in the New Economy (Part I): Survivial

It seems as many people are victims of the present morass in the present economy.  Many have been laid off as the private and public sector has downsized under the banner of budget cutting.  Others have just entered the job market, such as veterans returning from Afghanistan and recent college graduates.  Many are qualified, but few are finding jobs.  Those that do find jobs are finding that they are paying near starvation wages or unstable.  They are still working, but also looking for better jobs. Now, we know that the true unemployment rate is not approximately 8% but more near 20%.  Unemployment figures are being manipulated for the political advantage of both parties during the election year. There is just too much demand for the supply. Yet, before 2008, there was about 2 % unemployment.  What happened?   This has been covered by many economists. This is not a normal financial downturn, but the result of a major disaster caused by the wealthy grabbing more for them and the middle class getting the same income adjusted for inflation.  This is similar to the situation before the crash of 1929. Yet what has the government done? They bailed out Wall Street and GM, but didn’t alleviate the suffering of most of the population.   The battle lines have been drawn between the Right and the Left.  The polarization between the two is such that no compromises have been made to address any of the problems in the American economy.  What is the average American do to go around this and survive if not prosper?  As individuals, we cannot accept this situation as “the new normal” as some economist proclaim.

Our approach as the 99 Percent must be both short-term and long-term. is to think ‘outside of the box.’  We cannot continue to churn in the plight that has been delivered to us by the One Percent.  It is not acceptable for qualified creative people to be receiving unemployment or being unemployed on a micro or macro level. 

The first preliminary step is to recognize that the present system of capitalism is decaying and any effort to work within it will result in frustration and ultimate failure.  The second preliminary step is to visualize what you can do as an individual to go around this decay and build an alternative existence that will benefit you and your family and be in coordination with others building “the New Economy”, “the New Democracy” and the next paradigm.  Some of this is already happening ‘by accident’ and others by direct action.  One of the problems inherent in this situation is a feeling of disconnection and lack of solidarity.  This is changing, but slowly. In fact, we have to recognize that this disconnect is being manipulated by the One Percent for their own selfish purposes.   The issues are extremely complicated and interrelated and can be seen as an insurmountable barrier.

In order to survive, we have to decouple ourselves from the ‘traps’ that have been set for us which mostly revolve around consumerism.  We have been brainwashed that we have to have things beyond just mere survival or what we need.  Most things we think 'we need', is the result of being fooled by the marketing ploys of major corporations. Our peceived needs have been developed to to get us hooked on credit and dependent on the One Percent, thus feeding them. In the remainder of this blog entry, I will start to enumerate ways that people can survive personally and also how this makes a statement in done collectively. Many people are already doing this. What they may not be aware of is that they are also making a a public statement. 

Step Number One is: eliminate all credit cards and live according to your family’s income and put money into credit unions.  This action works on various levels.  For an individual, it is absolutely necessary to survive.  For a message to the One Percent, it means I am divesting myself from you and giving you less power over my life.  If enough people did this , there would be a collapse of major banks and financial institutions. They would cease to have control and the majority of financial control would be allocated to the shareholders of credit unions.  You as a member of a credit union have a say in financial policies.  The major banks don’t want this, so they will do everything to prevent their downfall.

Step Number Two is:  buy nothing  new.  You can find many acceptable items for your household such as clothes, appliances, furniture, automobiles etc. at yard sales or thrift stores such as GoodWill.  Most are more than reasonably priced and in good condition.  You have to be a discerning shopper as there are no warranties associated when you buy at these venues.  Most retail items are over-priced and wear out just as fast as those bought at yard sales and thrift stores.  If you avoid purchase of a vehicle in places that have good public transport, this would also be a good move that would decrease all the costs related to owning a vehicle (i.e., insurance, gas, etc.) These items are normally should be bought with cash or with available funds in accordance with the first step.  For those with minimal income, you will find your budget goes much further.  This ultimately sends a message to the One Percent that you do not buy into consumerism and over the long term will cause the collapse of ‘big box’ stores such as Walmart who pay workers barely above minimum wage, support outsourcing and exploit developing nations.

To Be Continued

Thinking ‘Outside of the Box’: A Necessity for Survival in the New Economy

I read today (9 July 2012) a tragic story in the Huffington Post  of a woman and her child that are now living in a storage locker (see http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-s-goodman/latest-jobs-report_b_1654661.html .)  The woman is not a drug addict, has emotional problems or otherwise unemployable.  She, like many are victims of a horrible economy where there are too many qualified people seeking a job in amidst a stagnant or declining job pool for their skills.  Meanwhile, those that could alleviate this problem are doing nothing.  The onus is upon individuals acting in concert to create solutions as those ‘elites’ which we once thought could give solutions absolutely do not care. 

The political pundits are calling high unemployment and a stagnating economy for most developed countries, the ‘new normal.’  What an absolutely dismal prediction!  It also means by extrapolation, the increasing disparity of incomes and increasing of wealth, not only in the developed world, but the developing.  This may be sustainable in their eyes, but in actuality is non-sustainable, even within the present boundaries of capitalism.  The present state will result in a collapse of the retail/service sector as people will have declining income and a further slump in the housing market, as most will not be able to afford houses.  Although there is some indication that incomes are slightly rising among  the middle class and there is some increase in housing prices, this is an aberration among the reality of almost 20 Percent actual unemployment  and an overwhelming decline in absolute wages. These experts must realize that there is no status quo, that an economy must grow or it must decline.

This acceptance of this new reality is now present in the public forum.  It is commonly heard amoung the lackeys of the One Percent that those who do not have work are lazy and not open to other opportunities.  This basically translates into: “You are not willing to accept minimum wage jobs which equate to living at poverty level, while we (the One Percent) live off your labor, manipulate financial markets, and increase the funds that we inherited. “  In addition, many of the unemployed or under-employed hear the statements by others who may still have full-time jobs, “It could be worse. You could be living on the street.”  This is not comforting because it means with the end of your unemployment, the depletion of your savings and a low paying job, if you can find one, your fate will soon be that of a homeless person. This is the antithesis of the American Dream.  This has already happened to many  They have depleted their unemployment, their savings and have even lost a low paying  job, as referred to earlier.

This is not acceptable!  All citizens of the world must organize to create a different future.  There is a new economy and new political reality developing, but it is not status quo or a revision or minor reform.
The new economy is already developing as financial capitialism is declining.  The One Percent want us to accept this decrepit form of capitalism as the ‘new normal’ because it suits their short term aims of increasing their wealth and of completely turning the majority of the world into economic slaves and lackeys.

We, as individuals, must take responsibility for change within our limited spheres of operation which have been defined by the One Percent.  We must think “outside of the box.”  This “box” is a metaphor for a ‘universe’ or paradigm which is collapsing and creating multiple tragedies because whole populations have become victims of its perverse nature.  The ultimate tragedy is of those who have signed up willingly for the armed forces to fight not one tour of duty, but several and do not come back, or come back physically or mentally damaged. Many would not have signed up if the unemployment rate had not been so high.  The unemployment rate is serving the One Percent in their aims to solidify most as economic slaves for their purposes.  Now, they are planning their next war, which is one with Iran. If the developed world follows their dictates, it will lead to further tragedy.
 

 Working outside the box will not take the form of one form of action, but numerous  forms reflecting the complex and interconnected world that is now the norm. 

In future blog entries, I will explore some, but definitely not all of the methods that indivduals, cities, and nations can work outside of the box.