+25 27 2
Published 8 years ago by kraftykitty with 15 Comments

"If you're unemployed, it's not because there isn't any work."

"As long as we have unsatisfied needs, there's work to be done."

 

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  • LacquerCritic
    +16

    From the title I thought I was about to read another "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" argument. Glad I was wrong.

    • kraftykitty (edited 8 years ago)
      +5

      I'm glad, too. If more of us banded together, perhaps we could figure out how to get this work done? I don't want to be an armchair activist, but this kind of rhetoric really makes me realize how off-course some elements of our society seem to be.

      I've stared tribes for /t/millennials and /t/livingwage. If you're interested in these topics, stop on by! I am looking for other interested folk, contributors, and moderators!

      • LacquerCritic
        +3

        I've joined both!

        • kraftykitty
          +3

          Thanks, friend! If you're interested in moderating a burgeoning new community, let me know! By our powers combined...

          • LacquerCritic
            +3

            I'll hold off for now, mostly because I started a few little tribes of my own and someone made me moderator of a porn-for-women tribe - if I can manage keeping those tribes looking alright first along with finding some good snaps for your tribe, then I'll come back and see if you still need help. I don't want to be a burden of a moderator! :)

            • kraftykitty
              +3

              Totally understood... I have to ask, though... what is the tribe for women you mentioned?

            • LacquerCritic
              +2
              @kraftykitty -

              The porn-for-women one? /t/hotmencave - very new and more difficult to find content for than I'd imagined, but I'm working on it! I clarified with the chief of that tribe and it seems to be focused more on porn for non-lesbians (hence the 'men' part) so porn-for-straight-ish-women is probably the better term for it.

  • i208khonsu
    +4

    Hell yeah! Working people should band together and form an organization to get work done! We don't need no stinking corporations or government! And now I know there's a lot to be done, so there will be some delegation needed. We can all just get together and appoint a few individuals to do this delegation. Now all of this is going to cost money so we'll need to pool our money together using some system to pay for all of this. People could also stand up independently and lead other groups of people for other tasks that the mutual group hasn't tackled yet and they can just charge for those services.

    Yeah! Fuck corporations, Fuck government. We can do all this without them!

    • septimine
      +1

      But then you'll be pissed because they raised taxes to build the school. The problem with infrastructure is everyone wants it, but no one wants to pay for it. You want great schools but any time they ask for money to pay for it, the pitchforks come out.

      • i208khonsu
        +1

        Personally I have no problem with higher taxes. I'm paranoid of living outside my means and keep a heavy surplus. That said I recognize a great sum of citizens live paycheck to paycheck and worry about feeding their kids if taxes increase a tenth of a percent.

        • septimine
          +1

          Not you personally, but this is the general attitude of most people. They want great schools, but vote no on tax increases, and try to remove any school board members who suggested such a thing. Same with roads. Sure we want great roads, but again, don't suggest taxes, because you're not going to be re elected if you do.

  • Squid4Hire
    +3

    I dont think this sounds right. "Its working people who should control the work to be done" The work to be done: housing, pollution, crime, schools. But who is going to pay for the workers to work in those areas? Either the government or business. I guess one could say non-profit organizations, but then thats not work its volunteering. Or if its paid volunteered work then that money would just be coming from profitable businesses or their employees through donations. And "As long as employment is tied to someone elses profits the work won't get done"? Lots of work is tied to profits and is still done.

    • wekjak (edited 8 years ago)
      +4

      I dont think this sounds right. "Its working people who should control the work to be done" The work to be done: housing, pollution, crime, schools. But who is going to pay for the workers to work in those areas? Either the government or business.

      Have you ever heard of worker cooperatives? It's essentially a business that is completely owned and in control of the workers, so they have a direct interest in giving back to their community. You're drawing a false dichotomy between capitalist enterprise and the state. There are proven ways in which workers can be in control of their workplaces and communities without the need for intrusive special interests.

      The greatest experiments in this type of governance have historically taken place in Spain. During the Spanish Revolution, many areas of Spain were under the control of libertarian socialists, who ran those areas along anarcho-syndicalist principles for about three years. Economically, they were strong. Production increased over that period compared to the previously capitalist economy. Unfortunately, they were undermined by Marxist-Leninists (with funding from the Soviet Union) and eventually defeated by fascists (led by Franco). But, the spirit of the revolution still exists in the Basque region of Spain, where the economy is controlled almost entirely by the Mondragon Corporation, the world's largest conglomerate of worker-owned cooperatives. When the Global Financial Crisis reached Spain, unemployment skyrocketed in every region except the Basque Country.

      And "As long as employment is tied to someone elses profits the work won't get done"? Lots of work is tied to profits and is still done.

      In context, this means that as long as employment is tied solely to profits, the work that is not profitable will not get done, even if it would benefit society if it did get done. A capitalist economy is extremely short-sighted. Investments that have long-term or non-monetary value are often ignored in favor of ones that provide quick, tangible returns.

    • CDefense7
      +1

      I agree. The idea sounds great in theory, but the money has to come from somewhere. With corporations and wealthy Americans lobbying for tax breaks there is less money to spend on things like schools and infrastructure. And of course they are not just lobbying the government, they are lobbying the people and the people eat it up.

      They don't want higher taxes especially if it is to pay for a park because they don't have kids. Of course I'm generalizing and this is no way is an indictment of everyone. It's just that from personal experience with friends and family, it seems like the "low taxes no matter what" mindset with no though of repercussions is winning.

      Of course (almost) no one ENJOYS paying taxes. Of course we (almost) ALL wish we could keep all of our money.

  • akpak
    +2

    I can't read much of the fine print here... Is this organization in favor of a Universal Basic Income?

    The flyer has a nice sentiment, but what do they propose to do about it?

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