Law

I came across some bit about Hillary Clinton talking up gun-control and I had a bit of a disconnect because I have heard her say some things that make a lot of sense. Why is she suddenly spouting non-sense? And then I had a vision of rich, privileged, white folks going to their social gatherings wearing gender appropriate dress up clothes (suits, ties, white shirts and fancy watches for the men, dresses, fancy shoes and pearls for the girls), talking about current events (did you see what Madge was wearing? I hear Bob got a new job.) and somebody mentions a shooting and everybody says how awful it is and somebody should do something, and you know if we just banned all the guns we wouldn't have these problems. Everyone agrees and then they move on to the next bright spot in their cocktail party universe.

The NRA seems to be the only organization that has any real effect of politics. True, it's only on one narrow subject, and it doesn't seem to be changing the path to hell we are all following, but at least we will be armed when we get there.

Many, if not most, of the ills in this country come from people trying to tap into the stream of riches this country is generating. Production has been optimized and automated to the point that we don't need nearly as many people working in manufacturing. It's similar to what happened with agriculture a hundred years ago. Used to be 99% of everyone lived and worked on the farm. The little bit of surplus they produced was enough to keep the king and his knights fed. Then came the industrial revolution and everyone moved to the city and worked in factories. Now we are in the midst of the computer revolution and we are separating into two classes: those who have enough money that they can spend all their time making YouTube videos, and those who have to work a minimum wage job in order to be able to get high on the weekend.

Okay, there are two other classes: those people who still have jobs making stuff, which is getting smaller every day, and those who spend their time redistributing the wealth this country generates. Well, somebody has to do it, otherwise it would all end up in Warren Buffet's pocket. Warren Buffet might be a good investor, but I don't think he is very good at keeping people busy, which is what we really need.

There are three factors that determine how you feel about your job:

1. Money
2. Engagement. Do you actually enjoy the work itself?
3. The people you work with.

A high rate of pay can compensate for having to do a stoopid job with stoopid people. This of course depends on your definition of stoopid. Likewise doing work you enjoy can somewhat compensate for poor wages and poor company. The last one I think is the biggest. You can put up with a lot of crap if you are with people you like.