3.08.2013

A short story

Ten people wash up on a desert island after their ship sank in a storm. They don't know where they are, but lucky for them a large crate of military MREs washed up on shore with them. It was being transported on the the ship. These ten people set about getting shelter and dividing up the food. They have no idea when they might be rescued, but the MRE crate holds 100 meals. If they ration the food they should be able to make it last long enough to be rescued.

One of the survivors is a big, burly, kinda dumb guy named Pete. Because he looks kinda scary, everyone puts him in charge of handing out the food. So he starts handing out food packs one at a time. When he comes to a guy named Ted, Ted demands that he be given 40 of the 100 MREs. Pete says "heck no, why should I do that?" Ted replies, "Do it my way and we both win. If you give me 40 meals, I'll give you two of them in return. We'll both be sure to survive with the extra food. If anyone complains, you can just growl at them. You're a big scary guy. Hey, you could even take a couple extra from the crate for yourself. No one would stop you. You just tell them this is the way it is."

Like I said, Pete wasn't very smart, but he was very hungry. So he agreed. He gave Ted the 40 meals, took an extra one for himself, and collected the two that Ted owed him for the deal. When the rest of the survivors protested, Ted just said, "Hey, these are the rules. I'm just playing by the rules." and Pete growled and everybody else cowered in fear.

I don't know if these people got rescued. What I do know is that no one would think this is a fair situation. Well, welcome to America. 1% of the population holds 40% of the wealth in America. And the only thing that trickles down from them is a few drips and drabs to make sure the idiot politicians keep everyone else afraid, pacified, or paralyzed.

Do I resent success? No. I admire Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. What I do resent is that the system has been schemed so that those with a lot of money have an easy time making more. They conjure more out of thin air. And if it goes wrong they go cry to the government for more money. These people aren't innovators. They make money from money. These people are not job creators. They are profit whores. I am a job creator. When I buy groceries, I create jobs. When I buy a car, I create jobs. When I hire someone to trim my trees, I create jobs. I don't have a lot, but no matter how much I have, I will not hoard it like a dragon under the mountain. For every Elon Musk there are a dozen others who just sit on their pile of gold and do nothing. It's time to slay the dragon.

Sources:
http://www.epi.org/publication/ib330-productivity-vs-compensation/
http://www.raisetheminimumwage.com/facts/entry/amount-with-inflation/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPKKQnijnsM&feature=youtu.be