While I disagree with him any time we get started on the notion of non-violent resistance (and probably a few other topics), I'd like to suggest you check out Eleutheros' blog (How Many Miles From Babylon), where he recently wrote a three-part series titled, What's Your Time Worth? that are very thought-provoking and well worth your time.
A quote or two:
You see, to make you a good dweller of Babylon it is necessary to segment your attention into artificial time slots and subject that attention to the direction of others. 'Tain't natural! So we must needs begin when you are very young conditioning you to not view your times as a whole, as a gestalt, but rather as unrelated segments. This is done by sending you to school where reality is artificially divided into subjects and you are directed to concentrate on this and only this until we give you the signal then you must concetrate on that other thing and only that other thing. Very useful in making us thralls of Babylon, but it leaves us with the eerie and uncomfortable feeling that our life is awfully short. Where does the time go? There just aren't enough unrelated and disconnected segments in a day!...
But wait a moment, do you actually make $15 an hour? It is the sort of wine-induced stupor that leads the Babylonian to ignore the corporate lie that what you make an hour is the gross amount on your paycheck divided by the time you were on the clock at work. The cold reality is closer to his: add to that the time it takes you to get ready for work in the morning, the commute time both ways, and the time it takes you to wind down in the evening. You thought it was an eight hour day? It's closer to twelve. That $10/hr that's left from taxes is more like $7 for each actual hour spent pursuing it. Now take out an allowance for gas and extra vehicle maintenance, work clothes, meals out, more expensive food at home because you are too tired and occupied to cook from scratch, time spent sick or in a useless boggle from work stress, and you have scarcely $4 spending power for each actual hour spent pursuing that wage.
Deep thoughts, by Ellie.
Check it out:
http://milesfrombabylon.blogspot.com/
[The series begins on November 11.]
2 comments:
Aye, ever so right. I did this math a long time ago. It is frankly not worth my while to work a 'job'. It is better to be self-employed and make just the bare minimum we need from our land and skill we can do from home. Another thing is that people work jobs and then go to the 'health clubs' to get fit which costs additional time and money doing it and getting there. Our work at home here on the farmstead gets us outdoors every morning and often much of the day so we stay fit doing meaningful tasks.
Welcome to Payne Hollow, Walter. Come back anytime.
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