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.