My last article brought up some interesting questions. In the article, I established that the government has a responsibility to make sure that employees are treated fairly by employers. I gave some examples of how legal contracts are not inherently fair, but the first example actually showed how such a contract could be unfair to the employer and give an unfair advantage to the employee. This brings up a new question on the subject of fairness in business. If the government has a responsibility to enforce fairness in business, as it relates to the employee, does that not also mean that the government has a responsibility to make sure that the employer is treated fairly as well?
My answer to this is yes. If the employee deserves protection from unfair contracts, the employer also deserves to be protected from unfair contracts. If the employee is legally entitled to a fair share of the profits generated, the employer is also entitled to a fair share of those profits. Just as the employee deserves protection from unfair treatment from the employer, the employer deserves protection from unfair treatment from the employee.
You might ask if this is really a problem in the US. Most businesses seem to be doing far better than the average worker. Why should we even bother offering the businesses protection from unfair treatment by employees when the businesses have been the ones ripping the employees off for so long? The answer is actually very complicated. First let us talk about how employees are treating businesses unfairly.
There are some obvious ways in which employees treat businesses unfairly. The first is theft. Businesses already have some protection from that. If a business catches an employee stealing, the business can fire the employee and take him to court for damages. Theft is illegal, and the government does its best to enforce the laws against it. The second is laziness. Again, a lazy employee can be fired, though there are no laws requiring that the lazy employee compensate the business for losses. Firing a lazy employee can be dangerous though, as the business must keep enough records to back up their decision to fire the employee. This, however, is required to prevent businesses from firing employees for reasons that are illegal (religion or race, for instance) and then claiming that the employee was lazy to avoid prosecution. This is not all, but all of these are fairly minor, or are already protected against.
The biggest way in which employees treat businesses unfairly is unfair contracts. If you have not read the first article in this series, you probably should. I give a very good example of how an employee can benefit from an unfair legal contract with a business. Now, you probably want to know, if this is really that big, where can we actually see this problem in action? The answer is upper management. There are not exactly a lot of people out there with the experience to be qualified CEOs, but there are a lot of corporations out there that need qualified CEOs. This means that businesses are forced to agree to absurdly unfair contracts to hire a decent CEO. You might ask if CEOs do not deserve more pay, because they do harder work. I would agree. CEOs do deserve more pay than regular employees. CEOs generally put much more labor capital into a business than other employees. Further, CEOs often have to be available constantly and are often required to travel a lot. All of these things deserve greater compensation. That said, according to aflcio.org CEOs in 2011 made 380 times what the average worker made. Even if the average was minimum wage, the average CEO would have been paid $2,717 an hour. Computer programmers and electrical engineers do far more complex and difficult work than CEOs and they do not generally get more than $50 an hour. According to about.com the US President currently makes $400,000 a year. Assuming that the President only works 40 hours a week (which is absurd), that is only $192 an hour, and he runs the country!
This is a clear case where businesses are being taken advantage of by employees. This is wrong and not just because it is harmful to the businesses. That is money that has to be generated by paying other employees less and charging customers more. When one employee rips off a business, other employees suffer, even if the one ripping off the business is the CEO. In addition, when an employee rips off a business, customers suffer for it. Because of the extremely widespread harm that unfair treatment of businesses by employees causes, maybe it is more important for businesses to be protected from unfair practices than it is for employees.
Unfair treatment of businesses by their upper management is very probably the root of our recent economical problems. Much like unfair treatment of employees by businesses is very destructive to the lower and middle classes, unfair treatment of businesses by employees is very destructive to businesses and our economy as a whole. In the previous article, I said that without government enforcement of fairness in business, capitalism will ultimately lead to implicit slavery. The employees that are treated unfairly will be the slaves. The masters will be the employees that are treating the businesses unfairly.
Lord Rybec
04 May 2012
03 May 2012
Fairness in Business
Should fairness in business be enforced by the government? To what degree?
The US Republican Party asserts that businesses should be allowed to use their profits as they please. This is based on the claim that all profits gained by a business inherently belong to the business and its owners. This is seen by Republicans as a natural law. The principal of fairness, according to conservative thought, is entirely governed by contracts. The reasoning behind this line of thought is that all contractual agreements must be fair, otherwise the party being treated unfairly would not have agreed to it. Let us examine these assumptions.
First, do all the profits gained by a business inherently belong to the business? How do businesses gain profits? Most businesses gain profit by buying resources and either making them into something more useful and selling them for more than they paid, or directly retailing them at higher prices than they paid. It would seem reasonable to assume that because the business put up all of the initial capital, it is entitled to all of the profits. The business is, of course, bound by law to pay its employees whatever it contracted to pay them. This contractual agreement is assumed to always be fair, because employees would not agree to an unfair contract. The first flaw with this argument is the assumption that the business put up all of the initial capital. It may have put up all of the initial monetary capital, but where would it be if the employees had not put up work capital? The employees are thus entitled to a fair share of the profits. This brings us to the second assumption.
Is the idea that legal contracts are inherently fair, because both parties must willingly agree, a valid assumption? US law invalidates contracts that are agreed to under duress. This means that a contract where either party was forced to agree to it under threat of harm is invalid. The mere existence of such a law invalidates the assumption that contracts are inherently fair. This law is intended to mitigate a specific instance of potential unfairness of legal contracts, but by no means mitigates all of them. So, how does this apply to the previously mentioned employees?
The fairness of a contract agreement depends strongly on the specific circumstances. If the economy is in very good condition, the employees have many options for employment, the pay offered everywhere else is fair, and the other options are safe and desirable, then a contract would be totally fair for the employee. It might not be so fair for the employer though, because the employee may require more than fair wages and the competition for the employee's labor may put the business in a situation where it is forced to offer more than fair wages. If the employee is part of a union, this may make the contract even less fair for the business. The question right now though is whether the government should have a hand in requiring businesses to act fairly. Given the state of our economy and where most of the money is going, there is no question that most businesses are not suffering from being forced to pay employees more than is fair.
If the above circumstances were flipped, things would be very different. What if the economy is in the toilet, the employees have few other options for employment, the pay offered elsewhere is much worse, and the other options are not safe or are otherwise undesirable? If this is the case, a contract would not enforce fairness for the employee. The business could offer pay barely more than the other options, but far less than fair compensation for the work capital offered by the employee. The business could offer barely safer work conditions than the other options. Unless the employee is independently wealthy, he will be forced to agree to the contract so he can meet basic needs, even though it is grossly unfair. Evidence that contracts are not inherently fair can currently be found in the work contracts of every lower class worker and a good portion of middle class workers in the US.
Now for the question: What responsibility does the government have in enforcing fairness in business? Minimum wage law, that law invalidating contracts signed under duress, and many precedents set by judges ruling in favor of actors and actresses claiming that they were not paid fairly for blockbuster movies (even though they were paid exactly what they had agreed to in legal contracts) give us a pretty strong case to the effect that the government has a strong responsibility to enforce fairness in business.
Movements like Occupy Wall Street have a very strong position in their claim that responsibility for the distribution of wealth problem in the US lies squarely on the shoulders of the government. Previous government actions have asserted the responsibility of the government for enforcing fairness in business. The claims that natural law gives businesses the right to distribute their profits as they please are clearly false, as well as claims that legal contracts are inherently fair. I am all for free trade and capitalism, but I also recognize that without government enforcement of fairness in business, capitalism will ultimately lead to implicit slavery.
The US Republican Party asserts that businesses should be allowed to use their profits as they please. This is based on the claim that all profits gained by a business inherently belong to the business and its owners. This is seen by Republicans as a natural law. The principal of fairness, according to conservative thought, is entirely governed by contracts. The reasoning behind this line of thought is that all contractual agreements must be fair, otherwise the party being treated unfairly would not have agreed to it. Let us examine these assumptions.
First, do all the profits gained by a business inherently belong to the business? How do businesses gain profits? Most businesses gain profit by buying resources and either making them into something more useful and selling them for more than they paid, or directly retailing them at higher prices than they paid. It would seem reasonable to assume that because the business put up all of the initial capital, it is entitled to all of the profits. The business is, of course, bound by law to pay its employees whatever it contracted to pay them. This contractual agreement is assumed to always be fair, because employees would not agree to an unfair contract. The first flaw with this argument is the assumption that the business put up all of the initial capital. It may have put up all of the initial monetary capital, but where would it be if the employees had not put up work capital? The employees are thus entitled to a fair share of the profits. This brings us to the second assumption.
Is the idea that legal contracts are inherently fair, because both parties must willingly agree, a valid assumption? US law invalidates contracts that are agreed to under duress. This means that a contract where either party was forced to agree to it under threat of harm is invalid. The mere existence of such a law invalidates the assumption that contracts are inherently fair. This law is intended to mitigate a specific instance of potential unfairness of legal contracts, but by no means mitigates all of them. So, how does this apply to the previously mentioned employees?
The fairness of a contract agreement depends strongly on the specific circumstances. If the economy is in very good condition, the employees have many options for employment, the pay offered everywhere else is fair, and the other options are safe and desirable, then a contract would be totally fair for the employee. It might not be so fair for the employer though, because the employee may require more than fair wages and the competition for the employee's labor may put the business in a situation where it is forced to offer more than fair wages. If the employee is part of a union, this may make the contract even less fair for the business. The question right now though is whether the government should have a hand in requiring businesses to act fairly. Given the state of our economy and where most of the money is going, there is no question that most businesses are not suffering from being forced to pay employees more than is fair.
If the above circumstances were flipped, things would be very different. What if the economy is in the toilet, the employees have few other options for employment, the pay offered elsewhere is much worse, and the other options are not safe or are otherwise undesirable? If this is the case, a contract would not enforce fairness for the employee. The business could offer pay barely more than the other options, but far less than fair compensation for the work capital offered by the employee. The business could offer barely safer work conditions than the other options. Unless the employee is independently wealthy, he will be forced to agree to the contract so he can meet basic needs, even though it is grossly unfair. Evidence that contracts are not inherently fair can currently be found in the work contracts of every lower class worker and a good portion of middle class workers in the US.
Now for the question: What responsibility does the government have in enforcing fairness in business? Minimum wage law, that law invalidating contracts signed under duress, and many precedents set by judges ruling in favor of actors and actresses claiming that they were not paid fairly for blockbuster movies (even though they were paid exactly what they had agreed to in legal contracts) give us a pretty strong case to the effect that the government has a strong responsibility to enforce fairness in business.
Movements like Occupy Wall Street have a very strong position in their claim that responsibility for the distribution of wealth problem in the US lies squarely on the shoulders of the government. Previous government actions have asserted the responsibility of the government for enforcing fairness in business. The claims that natural law gives businesses the right to distribute their profits as they please are clearly false, as well as claims that legal contracts are inherently fair. I am all for free trade and capitalism, but I also recognize that without government enforcement of fairness in business, capitalism will ultimately lead to implicit slavery.
07 March 2012
Good Revolution
Historically, revolutions have been a common method for the oppressed masses to escape tyrannical leaders. Nearly all forms of government have shown a propensity to decay towards oppression of their subjects. Some tend to decay very quickly, while others can take a very long time. One thing that is very common is that the governments that replace the oppressive governments are often as bad or worse than the original governments.
In feudal Europe, revolutions were generally led by nobles that wanted to control the government themselves. The nobles often felt that they were oppressed by the royalty, but when they succeeded in taking control they were as bad or worse. These revolutions did not generally have the support of the general population, except so far as the nobles had control over them.
Many other revolutions did have the support of the general populace. Sometimes these revolutions were incited by members of the oppressed lower classes, but many times, these revolutions were incited by people with a lust for power, who were able to use the oppression of the government to convince the lower classes to band together. Whichever the case, most revolutions have ended up with leaders who did not have the interest of the general populace in mind. In short, most revolutions have become engines for putting people aspiring to gain control into power. These are most often people who care as little or less than the previous government for the general populace. Again, most revolutions end with a worse government than the one that is overthrown.
So, now for the question: Why is this? When people overthrow their government to escape tyranny, why do they put up with someone worse? How do these aspiring tyrants gain control of the revolutions in the first place? Why don't good people stop them? The answer is that good people tend to oppose revolution, even when they are obviously oppressed.
Out of the many revolutions in the world, the American Revolution was an exception to this. No aspiring tyrant with ulterior motives got control of this revolution. The government that this revolution eventually established was a government that, for the most part, did care about the general populace. How was this revolution different from the vast majority? How did this revolution end up being lead by good people, instead of people trying to gain absolute control of the general population?
The answer is very complicated. First, the population of the American colonies at the time was mostly people trying to escape tyranny. The population was small, and the technology level was inferior to that of Europe. People desiring control like to have a lot of people to control, and stuff (read: technology) to make them more powerful. In short, the American colonies were not very tempting, so few aspiring tyrants bothered coming. The result was a population of people who valued freedom and were not interested in controlling everyone else (right, there were some Puritan sects that did try to control people, but this was a vast minority). This was not everything though. Many good people did oppose the revolution, on moral grounds. This is one of the strongest reasons that revolutions tend to be led by people without ethics.
As the American Revolution began to turn into a significant force, there were many good people who opposed it, on religious grounds. Religious discussions on the subject were very common. In the New Testament, there are many passages that establish the importance of government and of being subject to government. Many people took this to mean that God wanted them to submit to the oppressive British government. Many preachers urged pacifism and submission, on religious grounds. One of the big breaking points were a few preachers that took the same scriptures to mean something different. The same scriptures used to suggest that revolution was a violation of Biblical principals were taken by other preachers to mean that the people should submit only to righteous governments. These preachers became very popular among good people, because the people saw that there was a problem. These preachers were not the typical aspiring tyrants trying to get control. They were part of the general populace that wanted freedom for themselves and everyone else. Without them, any revolution probably would have been controlled by someone with ulterior motives. Instead, a lot of good people were convinced that they had not only a right to overthrow an oppressive government, but a moral responsibility to do so. Instead of a lot of angry rabble rebelling against an oppressive government by rioting in the streets and rushing government buildings, only to put in a worse government, the American Revolution was led by good, intelligent, and organized people, who only had a desire to free themselves and everyone else from the government that was oppressing them, and to establish a free government that did not oppress the people.
Revolutions require the participation of good people to be truly successful. If a government is truly corrupt and oppressive, the people have the responsibility for correcting the situation. When the majority does not feel oppressed, they have a responsibility to fight against revolution. When the majority does feel oppressed, the good people are responsible for being involved in correcting the problem. If good people refuse to be involved in just revolution, then they are just as responsible for whatever oppression the new government creates as if they had actively helped that government come into power.
"All that is required for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." When good men support oppressive governments, because they don't want to get involved, or because they believe that their religion opposes self defense, they are as guilty for the oppression as those in power. We are responsible for recognizing when a government has become oppressive. We are responsible for doing whatever we can to defend our freedom. Sometimes we can assert our authority through our voice and our vote. Other times, we must assert our authority with violence. Are we going to be those people who are eternally oppressed because we find self defense to be distasteful, or are we going to assert our authority by defending our right live without oppression?
Lord Rybec
In feudal Europe, revolutions were generally led by nobles that wanted to control the government themselves. The nobles often felt that they were oppressed by the royalty, but when they succeeded in taking control they were as bad or worse. These revolutions did not generally have the support of the general population, except so far as the nobles had control over them.
Many other revolutions did have the support of the general populace. Sometimes these revolutions were incited by members of the oppressed lower classes, but many times, these revolutions were incited by people with a lust for power, who were able to use the oppression of the government to convince the lower classes to band together. Whichever the case, most revolutions have ended up with leaders who did not have the interest of the general populace in mind. In short, most revolutions have become engines for putting people aspiring to gain control into power. These are most often people who care as little or less than the previous government for the general populace. Again, most revolutions end with a worse government than the one that is overthrown.
So, now for the question: Why is this? When people overthrow their government to escape tyranny, why do they put up with someone worse? How do these aspiring tyrants gain control of the revolutions in the first place? Why don't good people stop them? The answer is that good people tend to oppose revolution, even when they are obviously oppressed.
Out of the many revolutions in the world, the American Revolution was an exception to this. No aspiring tyrant with ulterior motives got control of this revolution. The government that this revolution eventually established was a government that, for the most part, did care about the general populace. How was this revolution different from the vast majority? How did this revolution end up being lead by good people, instead of people trying to gain absolute control of the general population?
The answer is very complicated. First, the population of the American colonies at the time was mostly people trying to escape tyranny. The population was small, and the technology level was inferior to that of Europe. People desiring control like to have a lot of people to control, and stuff (read: technology) to make them more powerful. In short, the American colonies were not very tempting, so few aspiring tyrants bothered coming. The result was a population of people who valued freedom and were not interested in controlling everyone else (right, there were some Puritan sects that did try to control people, but this was a vast minority). This was not everything though. Many good people did oppose the revolution, on moral grounds. This is one of the strongest reasons that revolutions tend to be led by people without ethics.
As the American Revolution began to turn into a significant force, there were many good people who opposed it, on religious grounds. Religious discussions on the subject were very common. In the New Testament, there are many passages that establish the importance of government and of being subject to government. Many people took this to mean that God wanted them to submit to the oppressive British government. Many preachers urged pacifism and submission, on religious grounds. One of the big breaking points were a few preachers that took the same scriptures to mean something different. The same scriptures used to suggest that revolution was a violation of Biblical principals were taken by other preachers to mean that the people should submit only to righteous governments. These preachers became very popular among good people, because the people saw that there was a problem. These preachers were not the typical aspiring tyrants trying to get control. They were part of the general populace that wanted freedom for themselves and everyone else. Without them, any revolution probably would have been controlled by someone with ulterior motives. Instead, a lot of good people were convinced that they had not only a right to overthrow an oppressive government, but a moral responsibility to do so. Instead of a lot of angry rabble rebelling against an oppressive government by rioting in the streets and rushing government buildings, only to put in a worse government, the American Revolution was led by good, intelligent, and organized people, who only had a desire to free themselves and everyone else from the government that was oppressing them, and to establish a free government that did not oppress the people.
Revolutions require the participation of good people to be truly successful. If a government is truly corrupt and oppressive, the people have the responsibility for correcting the situation. When the majority does not feel oppressed, they have a responsibility to fight against revolution. When the majority does feel oppressed, the good people are responsible for being involved in correcting the problem. If good people refuse to be involved in just revolution, then they are just as responsible for whatever oppression the new government creates as if they had actively helped that government come into power.
"All that is required for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." When good men support oppressive governments, because they don't want to get involved, or because they believe that their religion opposes self defense, they are as guilty for the oppression as those in power. We are responsible for recognizing when a government has become oppressive. We are responsible for doing whatever we can to defend our freedom. Sometimes we can assert our authority through our voice and our vote. Other times, we must assert our authority with violence. Are we going to be those people who are eternally oppressed because we find self defense to be distasteful, or are we going to assert our authority by defending our right live without oppression?
Lord Rybec
14 February 2012
Death Penalty
I support the death penalty. I support it in cases when someone is such a threat to society that it would not be just to force society to pay for their room and board in a jail. I support the death penalty in cases like first degree murder, violent rape, and similar extreme cases of violation of human rights. I don't support the death penalty because criminals deserve to be punished. I support it as a means of protecting society from dangerous criminals. I support it because I find it extremely unjust that society should be forced to pay the upkeep of these people who will never be safe to release into the general public.
I do not support the death penalty for laziness. Right, long ago laziness was the difference between obtaining enough food to eat, or starving to death. Back then the death penalty (by starvation) might have been just for those who were too lazy to pull their share of the weight. That was a law imposed by nature. In some places this natural law still holds sway over humans, but not in the US. According to Wikipedia, only 2-3 percent of the US labor population works in agriculture. "US agriculture has long since passed the point of being able to meet the demand for food in the US population. Much of US agricultural production is now exported to other countries. For example, the United States exports 60 percent of its wheat crop and 30 percent of its soybeans. Agricultural products make up 10 percent of all exported US merchandise." (portaec.net) Forcing people to starve because they are lazy, or because there is not enough work to go around is essentially enforcing the death penalty for laziness. In the case of those who are not working because they cannot find work, but are looking, it is enforcing the death penalty for involuntary laziness. I know of no State in the US that enforces the death penalty for involuntary homicide. Why then is it tolerated for involuntary laziness?
I also do not support the death penalty for those with health problems that prevent them from working, or health problems that cost too much for them to pay for on their pathetically low salary, even though they may work a full 40 hours a week. This goes back to the production issue. The US produces far more than it needs to survive. Doctors might deserve to get paid for their work, but no one deserves to die for their health problems just because they don't work or don't get paid enough. Are health problems really so dangerous to society at large that those who have them deserve the death penalty because they cannot afford to pay for care? Right, I understand that people with health problems might have been an inconvenience that could have substantially harmed the rest of society, long ago. Just like food though, this is not the case in the modern US. The claim that our society cannot afford to give health care to those who cannot afford it is a lie. Humans only need a few things for survival. Specifically, humans need food, water, shelter, and clothing (and not even this in some climates). If US society had to pay for health care for everyone who cannot afford it, which of those four things would we suddenly be unable to provide for everyone? In short, those who need health care, who cannot afford it for whatever reason, do not deserve the death penalty. Again, this especially applies to those who have heath problems involuntarily (voluntary health problems would include those caused be poor choices, like smoking or reckless driving).
The US produces enough for every single citizen to have enough food, water, housing, and clothing. Our current record unemployment is a testament to the fact that the US can produce enough for everyone, even when over half the population is not working. The fact that anyone lives on the streets involuntarily, the fact that anyone in the US is undernourished, and the fact that many people in the US die every day due to lack of medical care, is a testament to the fact that we are no better than uncivilized barbarians (actually, historically barbarians helped their own when needed). The fact that many US citizens take political stands in support of this barbarism is testament that even when the tools to create a Utopia are handed to them on a platter, petty humans will just use them to cruelly rip each other off.
I support the death penalty when a heinous crime has been committed and death is the only truly just punishment. I do not support the barbaric practice of death penalty by inaction when the only crimes are laziness and poor health, at least, not when these things do not pose the slightest threat to the rest of society. Right now, humans are still uncivilized barbarians. Yes, we are barbarians with buildings, computers, cellphone, cars, and all manner of technology, but we are still barbarians. It is time to choose: Are we going to be worthless barbarians forever, or are we going to take the tools we have been given and create a truly civilized Utopia? Are we going to rise from uncivilized barbarians to become the first civilized species on Earth, or are we going stay here, playing in our own filth and killing each other over century old ideals that no longer apply?
Lord Rybec
I do not support the death penalty for laziness. Right, long ago laziness was the difference between obtaining enough food to eat, or starving to death. Back then the death penalty (by starvation) might have been just for those who were too lazy to pull their share of the weight. That was a law imposed by nature. In some places this natural law still holds sway over humans, but not in the US. According to Wikipedia, only 2-3 percent of the US labor population works in agriculture. "US agriculture has long since passed the point of being able to meet the demand for food in the US population. Much of US agricultural production is now exported to other countries. For example, the United States exports 60 percent of its wheat crop and 30 percent of its soybeans. Agricultural products make up 10 percent of all exported US merchandise." (portaec.net) Forcing people to starve because they are lazy, or because there is not enough work to go around is essentially enforcing the death penalty for laziness. In the case of those who are not working because they cannot find work, but are looking, it is enforcing the death penalty for involuntary laziness. I know of no State in the US that enforces the death penalty for involuntary homicide. Why then is it tolerated for involuntary laziness?
I also do not support the death penalty for those with health problems that prevent them from working, or health problems that cost too much for them to pay for on their pathetically low salary, even though they may work a full 40 hours a week. This goes back to the production issue. The US produces far more than it needs to survive. Doctors might deserve to get paid for their work, but no one deserves to die for their health problems just because they don't work or don't get paid enough. Are health problems really so dangerous to society at large that those who have them deserve the death penalty because they cannot afford to pay for care? Right, I understand that people with health problems might have been an inconvenience that could have substantially harmed the rest of society, long ago. Just like food though, this is not the case in the modern US. The claim that our society cannot afford to give health care to those who cannot afford it is a lie. Humans only need a few things for survival. Specifically, humans need food, water, shelter, and clothing (and not even this in some climates). If US society had to pay for health care for everyone who cannot afford it, which of those four things would we suddenly be unable to provide for everyone? In short, those who need health care, who cannot afford it for whatever reason, do not deserve the death penalty. Again, this especially applies to those who have heath problems involuntarily (voluntary health problems would include those caused be poor choices, like smoking or reckless driving).
The US produces enough for every single citizen to have enough food, water, housing, and clothing. Our current record unemployment is a testament to the fact that the US can produce enough for everyone, even when over half the population is not working. The fact that anyone lives on the streets involuntarily, the fact that anyone in the US is undernourished, and the fact that many people in the US die every day due to lack of medical care, is a testament to the fact that we are no better than uncivilized barbarians (actually, historically barbarians helped their own when needed). The fact that many US citizens take political stands in support of this barbarism is testament that even when the tools to create a Utopia are handed to them on a platter, petty humans will just use them to cruelly rip each other off.
I support the death penalty when a heinous crime has been committed and death is the only truly just punishment. I do not support the barbaric practice of death penalty by inaction when the only crimes are laziness and poor health, at least, not when these things do not pose the slightest threat to the rest of society. Right now, humans are still uncivilized barbarians. Yes, we are barbarians with buildings, computers, cellphone, cars, and all manner of technology, but we are still barbarians. It is time to choose: Are we going to be worthless barbarians forever, or are we going to take the tools we have been given and create a truly civilized Utopia? Are we going to rise from uncivilized barbarians to become the first civilized species on Earth, or are we going stay here, playing in our own filth and killing each other over century old ideals that no longer apply?
Lord Rybec
23 January 2012
Inflation vs Wage Increase
I recently wrote a paper for an English class (which I will post here eventually) based on the income distribution problems in the US. This paper required actual research and citations, so I ended up looking up things like average inflation and wage increase over the last 50 years. What I found is appalling and rather damning for large businesses. It turns out that the current situation is many times worse than I had initially thought.
The two above mentioned statistics (inflation and wage increase) should give a very clear indication of exactly where the problem lies. The statistics are as follows: average inflation from 1961 to now (the last 50 years) is 659%, and average wage increase for the lower 99% of wage earners is 75%. If you don't see the problem, let me explain.
This means that businesses are charging 6.5 times more for goods, but only paying 1.75 times more wages (to 99% of the population). Note that for the top 1%, wage increase is 250%, which is still only half of the rate of inflation. In short, everyone is getting ripped off, except for the few CEOs that are keeping the enormous leftovers.
Ok, this might sound kind of bad now (to me, this by itself is appalling). There is more though. The cost of production is literally at all time lows. I am not talking monetary costs. In the end, all production costs break down to labor. The cost, in labor, of producing even the most advanced technology is less than it has ever been, in the entire history of mankind. Our ability to produce food is legendary. The US produces many times more food than we need and with only a tiny fraction of the available labor. This goes for nearly everything produced in the US. Instead of lower prices however, businesses are raising them. Instead of using the surplus cash to pay their workers a fair wage though, they hoard it, paying their CEOs absurdly high wages (see that xkcd.com comic I posted a bit ago; typical CEO wages are $5,000 an hour), and squandering it on other fairly pointless endeavors.
I tried to explain this to someone recently, and the excuse for inaction was that it is none of our business if other people are getting ripped off by businesses. I was told that I could leave the US if I did not like how the businesses here treat people. First, to my knowledge, there is no place in the world that employers treat their employees fairly. The US and Europe are the best we have (actually, this is debatable) and both stink. This idea that ripping off people is ethical as long as they agree to it is nauseating to me (I believe I also posted my opinion on the idea that it is ethical to charge as much as people are willing to pay; I feel the same about the idea that it is ethical to pay the lowest wages people are willing to work for). Now the first argument, that it is none of our business, is just as bad. This is the argument used by Germans who were not willing to help the Jews. I know a cliche that fits this situation perfectly: "All that is needed for evil to triumph, is for good men to do nothing." I apologize if some people find this comparison to Nazi Germany to be offensive, but if you will take the time to think about it, you will find that there is little difference. If you believe that slavery in the South was bad and that freeing the slaves was a good thing, then it is hypocritical to claim that this injustice is none of your business. (When I post my paper, you will find that what is happening in the US now is not that far from actual slavery.)
I am a member of the LDS Church, commonly known as Mormons. Most Mormons that I know are very conservative. I consider myself to be fairly conservative (though I do not like to associate myself with the Republican party, as I have found it to be no less corrupt than any other party). Still, my religion dictates that it is my business to care that my fellow humans are being treated unfairly and are being oppressed. I have heard the argument that those running businesses have the agency to choose how to treat their employees. This, however, is not a valid excuse to allow them to continue to rob them of fairly earned wages. This argument is as valid as the argument that thieves should not be prevented from robbery (or punished for it), because they have the agency to act as they please. We live in a democratically run government (at least, in theory). It is the business of the people to enforce fairness. This is the purpose of a democratic government. My religion specifically states that I am my brother's keeper and that the term "brother" is used to represent every human ever born and that ever will be born. In short, my religion expressly dictates that how others are treated by their employers is my business. The agency of others does not even apply in this case. Any Mormon that tries to use this argument as an excuse for inaction does not understand the teachings of their religion. This applies equally to any religion that believes the Bible to be the Word of God.
One of these days, I will work out the math for these rates and post a projection for cost versus pay 50 years from now. I suspect that it will predict that 99% (or more) of the US population will not make enough money to eat without being on welfare in 50 years.
I doubt that this will ever happen, however. If the situation continues to decay, the Occupy Wall Street movement will eventually evolve into a violent revolution, and our government and all of the big businesses that control it will be destroyed. If the government tries to quell the movement, it will be another Tienanmen Square and will probably result in even a more violent revolution. Of course, maybe this is what SOPA and PIPA are all about. Maybe our government is trying to gain control of the internet so that they can kill thousands of protestors and then cover it up, just like China did. I doubt that it will work here, however. If nothing else, the nerds (I include myself in this group) will manage to spread the news even against all the efforts of the government to cover it up.
Since my last few posts, the government has not done anything significant to appease the 99%. In fact, they have blatantly tried to further oppress them (SOPA, PIPA). At the rate they are going, revolution is nigh. I recommend preparing. Still, don't give up. If it is possible to force our government to acknowledge that it is at the mercy of the people, peacefully, then it will take the effort of as much of the US population as possible.
Lord Rybec
The two above mentioned statistics (inflation and wage increase) should give a very clear indication of exactly where the problem lies. The statistics are as follows: average inflation from 1961 to now (the last 50 years) is 659%, and average wage increase for the lower 99% of wage earners is 75%. If you don't see the problem, let me explain.
This means that businesses are charging 6.5 times more for goods, but only paying 1.75 times more wages (to 99% of the population). Note that for the top 1%, wage increase is 250%, which is still only half of the rate of inflation. In short, everyone is getting ripped off, except for the few CEOs that are keeping the enormous leftovers.
Ok, this might sound kind of bad now (to me, this by itself is appalling). There is more though. The cost of production is literally at all time lows. I am not talking monetary costs. In the end, all production costs break down to labor. The cost, in labor, of producing even the most advanced technology is less than it has ever been, in the entire history of mankind. Our ability to produce food is legendary. The US produces many times more food than we need and with only a tiny fraction of the available labor. This goes for nearly everything produced in the US. Instead of lower prices however, businesses are raising them. Instead of using the surplus cash to pay their workers a fair wage though, they hoard it, paying their CEOs absurdly high wages (see that xkcd.com comic I posted a bit ago; typical CEO wages are $5,000 an hour), and squandering it on other fairly pointless endeavors.
I tried to explain this to someone recently, and the excuse for inaction was that it is none of our business if other people are getting ripped off by businesses. I was told that I could leave the US if I did not like how the businesses here treat people. First, to my knowledge, there is no place in the world that employers treat their employees fairly. The US and Europe are the best we have (actually, this is debatable) and both stink. This idea that ripping off people is ethical as long as they agree to it is nauseating to me (I believe I also posted my opinion on the idea that it is ethical to charge as much as people are willing to pay; I feel the same about the idea that it is ethical to pay the lowest wages people are willing to work for). Now the first argument, that it is none of our business, is just as bad. This is the argument used by Germans who were not willing to help the Jews. I know a cliche that fits this situation perfectly: "All that is needed for evil to triumph, is for good men to do nothing." I apologize if some people find this comparison to Nazi Germany to be offensive, but if you will take the time to think about it, you will find that there is little difference. If you believe that slavery in the South was bad and that freeing the slaves was a good thing, then it is hypocritical to claim that this injustice is none of your business. (When I post my paper, you will find that what is happening in the US now is not that far from actual slavery.)
I am a member of the LDS Church, commonly known as Mormons. Most Mormons that I know are very conservative. I consider myself to be fairly conservative (though I do not like to associate myself with the Republican party, as I have found it to be no less corrupt than any other party). Still, my religion dictates that it is my business to care that my fellow humans are being treated unfairly and are being oppressed. I have heard the argument that those running businesses have the agency to choose how to treat their employees. This, however, is not a valid excuse to allow them to continue to rob them of fairly earned wages. This argument is as valid as the argument that thieves should not be prevented from robbery (or punished for it), because they have the agency to act as they please. We live in a democratically run government (at least, in theory). It is the business of the people to enforce fairness. This is the purpose of a democratic government. My religion specifically states that I am my brother's keeper and that the term "brother" is used to represent every human ever born and that ever will be born. In short, my religion expressly dictates that how others are treated by their employers is my business. The agency of others does not even apply in this case. Any Mormon that tries to use this argument as an excuse for inaction does not understand the teachings of their religion. This applies equally to any religion that believes the Bible to be the Word of God.
One of these days, I will work out the math for these rates and post a projection for cost versus pay 50 years from now. I suspect that it will predict that 99% (or more) of the US population will not make enough money to eat without being on welfare in 50 years.
I doubt that this will ever happen, however. If the situation continues to decay, the Occupy Wall Street movement will eventually evolve into a violent revolution, and our government and all of the big businesses that control it will be destroyed. If the government tries to quell the movement, it will be another Tienanmen Square and will probably result in even a more violent revolution. Of course, maybe this is what SOPA and PIPA are all about. Maybe our government is trying to gain control of the internet so that they can kill thousands of protestors and then cover it up, just like China did. I doubt that it will work here, however. If nothing else, the nerds (I include myself in this group) will manage to spread the news even against all the efforts of the government to cover it up.
Since my last few posts, the government has not done anything significant to appease the 99%. In fact, they have blatantly tried to further oppress them (SOPA, PIPA). At the rate they are going, revolution is nigh. I recommend preparing. Still, don't give up. If it is possible to force our government to acknowledge that it is at the mercy of the people, peacefully, then it will take the effort of as much of the US population as possible.
Lord Rybec
30 November 2011
Corporate Dishonesty
http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/app-installed-on-millions-of-phones-secretly-records-all-activity/
This sickens me. Seriously, how many blatantly dishonest people did it take to get this onto millions of Android, BlackBerry, and Nokia phones? From now on, anyone who tells me that they have any doubt that corporate America is utterly corrupt and evil is either too stupid to do their research, extremely gullible, or part of the corruption. To get this software onto so many phones, first a number of people had to knowingly create and market this to phone companies. Then, a fair number of people at each of those companies had to endorse the software and install it on their products. This must have required the cooperation of large numbers of corporate officials, upper management, engineers, and software developers. This attack on the American people, from within, should be treated as treason by our government.
The behavior of these companies and individuals is very close to that of revolutionaries. Historically, powerful organizations have used their influence to infiltrate and control the general populace. In the past, this was done by getting sympathizers to record and report the behavior of people around them that might be a threat to the movement, or that might be potential sympathizers themselves. These people might also record data on business transactions and other things that the organizations might be able to use to increase their power, or to gain control of people. Often this data was used to blackmail or even assassinate those who could be dangerous to the organization. It would sometimes be used to control those with sensitive information, or even as a means of collecting sensitive information, without detection. Now, we have technology that is, evidently, extremely easy to misuse for such purposes, with much smaller chances of detection.
If you are not convinced that this is dangerous enough to warrant charges of treason, consider one more thing: How many government officials use Android, BlackBerry, or Nokia phones? How many of these officials use those phones for confidential communications? Right, there are probably rules against that, but don't kid yourself. If you know anything about the ethics of our government officials, you should have no doubt that nearly all of them have, at least once, used their phones to transfer, or at least store sensitive information. While this by itself is only a potential security risk, if those phones contained this software that logs and reports key strokes to some company, this is no longer a "potential security risk." No, it is a leak. In this case, it is potentially thousands of leaks.
By putting this software on their phones, without informing their customers, these companies have created potentially one of the biggest security risks the US government has ever faced. These companies first should be given extremely heavy fines, for their crimes against their customers. Second, they should be exhaustively investigated by the US government to ensure that no sensitive data was obtained using this extremely unethical system. Third, any of these companies that has obtained sensitive data should be charged with treason, and further investigation should be done to determine who else may have obtained that data. In addition, each individual who was involved with, or knew about this and did not report it should be charged with crimes against the people who's data may have been compromised by this system, and with treason, if any of the companies involved obtained any amount of sensitive government data. None of these people should ever be allowed to work in communications jobs again.
It may seem hard to believe that this could have been intended for harmful purposes. I submit that if this were really just some innocent plan devised to learn habits of customers and how they use their phone software, it would have been advertised as a feature, not hidden from view and kept extremely secretive. This was intentional dishonesty, not some innocent plan with unexpected side effects. It should be treated as such. If we do not send a message that we will not tolerate this kind of violation, eventually some company will gain enough information to become a very serious threat to our freedom.
Lord Rybec
This sickens me. Seriously, how many blatantly dishonest people did it take to get this onto millions of Android, BlackBerry, and Nokia phones? From now on, anyone who tells me that they have any doubt that corporate America is utterly corrupt and evil is either too stupid to do their research, extremely gullible, or part of the corruption. To get this software onto so many phones, first a number of people had to knowingly create and market this to phone companies. Then, a fair number of people at each of those companies had to endorse the software and install it on their products. This must have required the cooperation of large numbers of corporate officials, upper management, engineers, and software developers. This attack on the American people, from within, should be treated as treason by our government.
The behavior of these companies and individuals is very close to that of revolutionaries. Historically, powerful organizations have used their influence to infiltrate and control the general populace. In the past, this was done by getting sympathizers to record and report the behavior of people around them that might be a threat to the movement, or that might be potential sympathizers themselves. These people might also record data on business transactions and other things that the organizations might be able to use to increase their power, or to gain control of people. Often this data was used to blackmail or even assassinate those who could be dangerous to the organization. It would sometimes be used to control those with sensitive information, or even as a means of collecting sensitive information, without detection. Now, we have technology that is, evidently, extremely easy to misuse for such purposes, with much smaller chances of detection.
If you are not convinced that this is dangerous enough to warrant charges of treason, consider one more thing: How many government officials use Android, BlackBerry, or Nokia phones? How many of these officials use those phones for confidential communications? Right, there are probably rules against that, but don't kid yourself. If you know anything about the ethics of our government officials, you should have no doubt that nearly all of them have, at least once, used their phones to transfer, or at least store sensitive information. While this by itself is only a potential security risk, if those phones contained this software that logs and reports key strokes to some company, this is no longer a "potential security risk." No, it is a leak. In this case, it is potentially thousands of leaks.
By putting this software on their phones, without informing their customers, these companies have created potentially one of the biggest security risks the US government has ever faced. These companies first should be given extremely heavy fines, for their crimes against their customers. Second, they should be exhaustively investigated by the US government to ensure that no sensitive data was obtained using this extremely unethical system. Third, any of these companies that has obtained sensitive data should be charged with treason, and further investigation should be done to determine who else may have obtained that data. In addition, each individual who was involved with, or knew about this and did not report it should be charged with crimes against the people who's data may have been compromised by this system, and with treason, if any of the companies involved obtained any amount of sensitive government data. None of these people should ever be allowed to work in communications jobs again.
It may seem hard to believe that this could have been intended for harmful purposes. I submit that if this were really just some innocent plan devised to learn habits of customers and how they use their phone software, it would have been advertised as a feature, not hidden from view and kept extremely secretive. This was intentional dishonesty, not some innocent plan with unexpected side effects. It should be treated as such. If we do not send a message that we will not tolerate this kind of violation, eventually some company will gain enough information to become a very serious threat to our freedom.
Lord Rybec
21 November 2011
xkcd Money Chart
http://xkcd.com/980
I am tempted to print this on my 2' wide printer and put it on the wall. This is the most comprehensive chart of where money in the US is/goes that I have ever seen, and I just finished extensive research on this subject for a paper. I wish this had been posted a week ago.
Ok, so there are people starving in the US, while our government is spending $11 billion on military aid, and another $11 billion on foreign humanitarian aid (not certain if that is yearly, or total, but yearly makes more sense). Total US population (in 2009 according to Google) is 307 million. That is equal to $71 per person. If you discount the 50% of the population that is totally above the poverty line, and does not need the money, that is $142 per person. Note that this is not money that we are paying for our own defense. Also note that in the past this money has been used explicitly against us (by Iran and Iraq, for instance).
Corporate tax deductions are at $125 billion, which is equal to $407 per person.
Cost of war in Afghanistan is $321 billion, at $1,045 per person.
Iraq war was $784 billion, at $2,553 per person.
Stimulus spending was $206 billion in 2008 and $748 billion in 2009, totaling at $954 billion and $3,107 per person.
Recent bailouts totaled around $393 billion, $1,280 per person.
US annual charitable giving: $295 billion, at $960 per person.
And a bunch of small stuff that probably totals at several more trillion (not willing to take the hours to count it all).
So, the totals of the stuff that I provided values for is $2,872 billion. That comes out to $9,355 per person. If that money was distributed only to those that actually need it (the lower 50%), it would be $18,710 per person. xkcd.com assumes around $22,000 as the poverty level (on a per household basis). In a household of 2 people, $18,710 per person is enough money to survive on for a year, without even working a job. Many of the above are yearly figures, meaning that the government could dramatically improve the standard of living of the bottom 50% by giving them money, instead of wasting it on useless projects (admittedly, some of the money is spent on useful stuff, for instance, stimulus includes some education grants).
Note that the lower 50% includes households that earn less than $55,000 a year. Those making more than $40,000 a year and only include 2 people could be excluded based on research showing that $20,000 a year per person is the optimum income for happiness. This would further increase the per person payout of the nearly $3 trillion counted above.
Also, a wage cap and a profit cap for businesses would extremely dramatically redistribute wealth. A $500 million profit cap (I support something even more aggressive) would save $15.5 billion from Walmart (I'll be rounding down to the nearest $.5 billion), $29.5 billion from ExxonMobil, $5.5 billion from PepsiCo, $11 billion from Coca-Cola, $2 billion from VISA, $1 billion from MasterCard, $11 billion from GE, $12 billion from Berkshire Hathaway, $5.5 billion from GM, $6 billion from Ford, $19 billion from AT&T, $1.5 billion from Bank of America, $16.5 billion from JP Morgan Chase, $2 billion from Verizon, $10 billion from Citigroup, $51.5 billion from HP, $13.5 billion from Apple, $18 billion from MS, and $8 billion from Google. That totals to $239 billion, which is another $1,557 per person, and this time entirely on a yearly basis (and automatically adjusted for inflation even). And, this only includes a very small number of businesses that make over $500 million a year. If this money was distributed among the lower 50%, it would be $3,114 per year per person, enough to pull quite a few people out of the poverty level.
I don't want to do the work for finding the benefits of the wage cap, but I am certain they are at least as dramatic as the profit cap.
In short, if our government would quit squandering money, and if it would enforce a wage and profit cap, everyone one in the entire US could be living above the poverty level. (Hmm, according to the dollar section of the xkcd.com chart, the average CEO in the US makes $5,420 per hour. I could work for a single day every year at those wages, and be just barely at the poverty level. I take this to mean that each day of work for a typical CEO is robbing one person of an entire year's salary. Of course, this is presuming an 8 hour work day.)
If, in addition to this, taxes for the top 10% of wage earners was increased by even a little bit (ie, a few percent), it would generate enough more money to put the entire US population in the middle class. Note that this does not include large businesses, which would generate far more than that with a similar tax increase.
Anyhow, I like this chart. It gives very complete information (and would have made a nice reference for my paper, if it had come a week earlier).
Lord Rybec
I am tempted to print this on my 2' wide printer and put it on the wall. This is the most comprehensive chart of where money in the US is/goes that I have ever seen, and I just finished extensive research on this subject for a paper. I wish this had been posted a week ago.
Ok, so there are people starving in the US, while our government is spending $11 billion on military aid, and another $11 billion on foreign humanitarian aid (not certain if that is yearly, or total, but yearly makes more sense). Total US population (in 2009 according to Google) is 307 million. That is equal to $71 per person. If you discount the 50% of the population that is totally above the poverty line, and does not need the money, that is $142 per person. Note that this is not money that we are paying for our own defense. Also note that in the past this money has been used explicitly against us (by Iran and Iraq, for instance).
Corporate tax deductions are at $125 billion, which is equal to $407 per person.
Cost of war in Afghanistan is $321 billion, at $1,045 per person.
Iraq war was $784 billion, at $2,553 per person.
Stimulus spending was $206 billion in 2008 and $748 billion in 2009, totaling at $954 billion and $3,107 per person.
Recent bailouts totaled around $393 billion, $1,280 per person.
US annual charitable giving: $295 billion, at $960 per person.
And a bunch of small stuff that probably totals at several more trillion (not willing to take the hours to count it all).
So, the totals of the stuff that I provided values for is $2,872 billion. That comes out to $9,355 per person. If that money was distributed only to those that actually need it (the lower 50%), it would be $18,710 per person. xkcd.com assumes around $22,000 as the poverty level (on a per household basis). In a household of 2 people, $18,710 per person is enough money to survive on for a year, without even working a job. Many of the above are yearly figures, meaning that the government could dramatically improve the standard of living of the bottom 50% by giving them money, instead of wasting it on useless projects (admittedly, some of the money is spent on useful stuff, for instance, stimulus includes some education grants).
Note that the lower 50% includes households that earn less than $55,000 a year. Those making more than $40,000 a year and only include 2 people could be excluded based on research showing that $20,000 a year per person is the optimum income for happiness. This would further increase the per person payout of the nearly $3 trillion counted above.
Also, a wage cap and a profit cap for businesses would extremely dramatically redistribute wealth. A $500 million profit cap (I support something even more aggressive) would save $15.5 billion from Walmart (I'll be rounding down to the nearest $.5 billion), $29.5 billion from ExxonMobil, $5.5 billion from PepsiCo, $11 billion from Coca-Cola, $2 billion from VISA, $1 billion from MasterCard, $11 billion from GE, $12 billion from Berkshire Hathaway, $5.5 billion from GM, $6 billion from Ford, $19 billion from AT&T, $1.5 billion from Bank of America, $16.5 billion from JP Morgan Chase, $2 billion from Verizon, $10 billion from Citigroup, $51.5 billion from HP, $13.5 billion from Apple, $18 billion from MS, and $8 billion from Google. That totals to $239 billion, which is another $1,557 per person, and this time entirely on a yearly basis (and automatically adjusted for inflation even). And, this only includes a very small number of businesses that make over $500 million a year. If this money was distributed among the lower 50%, it would be $3,114 per year per person, enough to pull quite a few people out of the poverty level.
I don't want to do the work for finding the benefits of the wage cap, but I am certain they are at least as dramatic as the profit cap.
In short, if our government would quit squandering money, and if it would enforce a wage and profit cap, everyone one in the entire US could be living above the poverty level. (Hmm, according to the dollar section of the xkcd.com chart, the average CEO in the US makes $5,420 per hour. I could work for a single day every year at those wages, and be just barely at the poverty level. I take this to mean that each day of work for a typical CEO is robbing one person of an entire year's salary. Of course, this is presuming an 8 hour work day.)
If, in addition to this, taxes for the top 10% of wage earners was increased by even a little bit (ie, a few percent), it would generate enough more money to put the entire US population in the middle class. Note that this does not include large businesses, which would generate far more than that with a similar tax increase.
Anyhow, I like this chart. It gives very complete information (and would have made a nice reference for my paper, if it had come a week earlier).
Lord Rybec
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