We know we are angry at the politicians. And sometimes the
reasons can elude us, we just cannot put our fingers on it, but there is
something that just isn’t working. Tonight, I want to share a small example of
something most of you are painfully aware, yet maybe you never voiced it
consciously or you realized the problem, but never articulated it in your head.
I do want to say over the last four or five days there have
been many thoughts rumbling through my head, yet all forgotten because I haven’t
had the time to stop and write. And I do want to finish my story, however,
tonight I am just too tired or uninspired; which is crazy because I do know how
I want it to end for good or bad.
Again, I hate there has been so much I have wanted to share,
but just cannot remember so before I forget this thought.
At some point in the last few months or next few months your
employer may give you a raise. And for most people this will be in the 2-5%
range. Some will be blessed with something better, yet most will receive some
standard raise that really doesn’t reflect your efforts in most cases. And that
is your employer because well, they can. And so, you think is it D. C. or my
employer that I should be mad? Well your employer some, but for now since this
is big picture this is for D.C.
You receive your raise, and wow your backcheck actually went
up, but then two months or six months later, here comes the annual enrollment
for your benefits. And so, by the time the health insurance, dental insurance,
life insurance, health card requirements and what if you wanted to actually add
to your 401k or 403b you look down and that increase you had received is now a
decrease. And not everyone has full benefit options and yet even they see
decreases. How are we to plan to get ahead working for someone when we cannot
add to our savings without losing take home pay? And then we still need to pay
bills, buy food and clothes, have some semblance of trying to keep up with the
Joneses etc so we go and rack up credit card bills even more. Now the tad bit
of extra we are adding to our savings and our take home pay is reduced twofold:
one in the short term because of less in our check and two in the long run
because of higher bills, credit card debt or car loan or loan or if we do not
borrow money we are trying to make something else last longer than it was built
to withstand so now we have repair bills or end up replacing something and
other aspects of our budgets are thrown asunder. So, any small extra in savings
is outweighed by day to day costs that ballooned over the amount added, plus
any earnings.
The completely clueless leadership in Washington thinks our
worlds are going to be made magically better because they come with up a tax
plan or better healthcare bill or some other hyperbolic legislation that does
nothing for the vast majority of us, but gives them talking points come
election time. And you and I know all
this, yet we never put this pen to paper when addressing our elected officials.
Yes, I know they are not responsible for how much we earn. That is up to us.
What is up to them is how they set the tone for the country. Does the tax plan
really do anything for the vast majority of us? Are they putting the cart
before the horse, or the horse before the cart? I have said before, maybe we
give tax breaks to businesses after they produce for the country. Once wages
are raised and benefits are better then they can see their tax decreases.
Letting Washington tell us things will be better if you let us do it this way,
is our own fault. You know this, and I know this, yet sometimes we need to be
reminded of concrete examples of why this isn’t working for us.
So, the next time you hear a politician tell you how their
plan is going to benefit you; put pen to paper and see how this works out for
you in one year, three years five years etc…. Do you gain? Some of you will,
most won’t. Are you guaranteed raises
each year? And does any tax decrease in one year or five years cover the
increases to your life? Do you see a plus side to the effect? $20 a week, $40 a
week, $100 a week, when do the numbers turn in your favor. And please be
realistic, I am not talking about winning the lottery and buying $100,000 cars.
I am talking about your situation as it stands, normal promotion opportunities,
use average raise amounts over a five-year period, and remember this is not guaranteed,
yet you can use it as a framework. Are Washington’s actions benefitting you?
Healthcare reform, tax reform, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, …when you
add it up, are you better off in one year? Five years? My gut feeling is you are
not going to like the answer.
We can easily create a monthly budget to afford our lives,
it is understanding how public policy affects this budget hopefully will help
you realize what I stress repeatedly. We need new leadership in Washington. Anything
the Republicans or Democrats will offer you in 2018 or 2020 will not benefit
the middle class. I can guarantee it. And as you know the only things certain
in life are death, taxes, and now computer hacks. Yet I know nothing coming out
of D. C. will benefit the working or middle class.
Look over your lives and realize with better leadership, our
lives can become better. We won’t be destroying capitalism by blindly reducing
rich people’s tax brackets. We will if we destroy the middle class. If you had
confidence that if you invested in yourself life will get better, you would
make those decisions. We all know if going back to school would guarantee a
better wage, better job, better benefits for your family, most would go back
immediately. If you had better training to help achieve that promotion, you are
there. It is the same for the big picture. If you had better opportunities
created by better public policy, you would vote for those politicians. This isn’t
socialism; it is responsible public policy. Education, better health(care),
equal opportunity, strong values in our leaders are part of the ingredients
that make a society and a country strong. So please, contemplate the basic
example above for the last year. Did your life get better just because you
received a small or average raise? What are your long-term opportunities if
nothing changes in our world? Or are you accepting mediocrity because you feel
this is nothing to strive?
You can accept what Washington offers and may never know
there could be a difference. I hope not.
And another thought about something that just pissed the
heck out of me.
I know I do not have some high flying high touting job. I
know what I do many people could do once trained. What I hate is because of
preconceptions or misconceptions a person would not think I would work hard or
strive to do a good job just because my station in life isn’t the same as
theirs. That alone Is very wrong.
Secondly though do not presume I am stupid. And recently someone did. So, to
keep this generic, a person with a high education and a title with prestige
turned in work that my job is to review. The first time the work was sent to
me, there were some mistakes, I sent a request for corrections, I sent it a
second time needing the info I requested the first time. Is the work 100%
required, in general some of it no and some yes, however, the person I work for
does require it so the results need to be addressed. This person sent back the info for the third
time and all they did was change one sentence to make the appearance they
changed the whole document. DO THEY THINK I AM STUPID???????? And what is worse
they went and screwed up the document worse than it was before… the numbers
ended up being almost 20% off from the original calculations. I have no idea
where they got their numbers because it made no sense unless they just flat out
guessed.
I am older now. I worked hard at one point in my life, did
real well, decided to change careers and it ended up horrible. I accept I do
not strife to make as much as I did before, yet, I still care about my work and
how I work for and with others. I will help you even if you do not ask. I want
to have things done well. At my job you can ask me to help and I will, whether
you are part of my employer or doing business with my employer. I work with
hundreds of people who make much much more than I, some treat you like you are
their servant and others like you are a person. I know this is going to
happen., what I do not like is being treated like I do not care. That whatever
I do is worthless and not worth making the effort to fulfill. This is a
societal problem and it goes back a bit to the post I made about people who
feel entitled. Again it infuriates me when you hand me inferior work because
you do not think my work is important or my efforts are important. I had to
rise above the other day. I put the work aside and when I calm down I am going
to send a request for the information to be corrected again. I will wait till I
calm down enough to ask for it professionally and with some decorum. I do work
in a professional environment and my employer requires me to treat all with
fairness and equality. (one reason I like working for this person).
So please work hard, care about your work, and yes sometimes
you may have to suck it up for the moment, but never let anyone insult your
work, your efforts, or you as a person. I eventually will ask for this work
again and this person is not going to get what this person needs till the work
is completed correctly. So don’t you settle either. Make sure, maybe a bit more
calmly than the situation requires, yet make sure others understand your worth
at all levels of life. You matter so don’t worry about people who think they
matter more than you.
“Those who judge will never understand and those who
understand will never judge”
Wilson Kanadi
And after saying the above, one more judgement of others,
but please if you make much more than everyone else on the block or think you
do, do not come to the table unprepared. Ugh!!!! It is embarrassing for all
involved, especially for you, but you have got to be kidding me. Someone is
paying you good money to screw up royally?????? Wow (kinda goes back to the people in DC also)
And finally
“Those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind”
Bernard Baruch then Dr. Suess believe it or not
Respect is more important than our society implies, because
at the end of the day, we are all dust and other people’s memories and
impressions.
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