1y ago

How in the hell

123 comments

It's less of a pain when the work you do is fun and interesting, but ironically when that's the case you're usually making even more money for someone else.
- Nothing wrong in making money for someone else, IF you get yourself decent salary and have interesting work.
  
  I dunno, working in construction contracting has taught me that time in man hours is the ultimate pricing value point, that everything can be boiled down to. Someone who gives up their time should reap the most benefits. Someone who owns a business and pays others to work should be heavily taxed.
  Earning a bit more does help make it more palatable, but it still isn't fair.
  
  You make money for someone else in exchange for the safety of a consistent paycheck. Its like the old feudal system, in theory you are being protected in exchange for your labour.
  Of course in practise you are at the mercy of the company, and in the feudal system the protection you were afforded meant you needed to pay for your own armour and fight to the death to protect your owner.
  
  Eh, I'd argue that can make it more palatable, but honestly I do think, at least in most cases (I can think of outliers), it's generally pretty exploitative to profit off of someone else's labor that they themselves are not actually wanting to do themselves, especially if the threat of homelessness and hunger is the prime motivator for the person doing the work. Like, it's not really fair in the grand scheme of things.
  A simple way to fix that I guess would be if every company was a co-op. Since then everyone is profiting equally, and no one's labor is being exploited for the exclusive benefit of another.
  
  If you're one of the lucky few sure. But then you're kinda part of the problem. The vast, overwhelming majority of people on the planet work jobs they don't really like just to keep a roof above their heads.
- Walking barefoot on gravel is less painful than walking barefoot on nails.
  The greater difference is in being free.
- yes but a factotum is a person who does general, menial jobs, and Bukowski was writing about his (assumed true) experience finding work after being rejected for ~~thrww1~~ the WW2 draft. (EDIT: typo)
  
  It was WWII, and I don't know if he actually got rejected, the end of Ham on Rye implies he just didn't register.

Look at Mr. fancy pants, sleeping in until 6:30 every morning.

Keep in mind that in 1975 the top tax rate was 48%, some sources say the effective rate on corporate was 44%. This message went out right before the largest recorded increase in USA poverty from 1980 to 1983, and the Reagan Administration gutting federal regulatory bodies and slashing the corporate tax rates down to effective 0 rates, sometimes a negative rate if they received corporate welfare.
If anything, bro really jinxed it by saying "it can't possibly get worse, right?"

I don't really enjoy anything anymore. Might as well spend my time doing something.
- If you have a local DSA chapter, you could give it a visit and see if it's something you'd be into. They tend to have a good amount of genuinely nice friendly people, and they help people with mutual aid and other activities you may enjoy. Just an idea ^^
  
  Not based in the USA but I expect I'd find them helpful if I was, thank you.

Stealing this

Debt mainly.
- Money is created from debt and there will always be more debt than money.
  
  It feels somewhat disingenuous to compare the debt implicated in money creation with the debt imposed on ordinary workers simply to live.

How in the hell could a man work and be asked to be grateful for the opportunity to do so?
There are a lot of labor issues to discuss but putting a bunch of normal things you do anyway and sticking some face and a name on it is not it folks.
- I think the idea is that while these are things you do anyway, you are rushed to complete them quickly, earlier in the morning than you would likely prefer, all for the benefit of someone else to profit off you (I.e, to be exploited).
  I think someone that was in a co-op would not resent those things nearly as much, or at all, since all of that work and effort would be adequately rewarded.
- I definitely would not wear a bra if I don't need to go to the office. Hell, dressing and getting out of bed are also fairly optional, even if working from home and I don't know anyone who commutes for the fun of it. Also I'd definitely take the full worth of my labor please.
  
  It seems only sensible that someone would want to be paid the full value of their labor.
  Yet, in so many of my conversations, someone gives a reasons to justify a share of the value being taken by executives and billionaires.
  People are struggling to survive, but they act like their survival is less important than wealth being further accumulated by someone who already has enough wealth for countless lifetimes.

Buckowski is great, but who the hell is out there pooping before work?
- Some people poop more than once a day.
  
  I think he means "Why poop on your own time when it can be on company time?"
  
  Still too few, though.
- Save ur poop till ur on the clock baby!
  
  With IBS you lose some battles, but you always win the war.
- Miners.
- I poop before I shower.
  
  And I shower after I poop. The question remains.
- And does Bukowski not shower before work?

start your company and maybe you'll understand where is your place
- What do you mean by that?
  
  That managing a company is maybe not for you. Calm down, it is not for me either, I am in the middle of closing mine. Even though I am not bankrupt and have treasury, I will be in debt when closing it.

I don't mind working for someone as I get my due. I am more annoyed by my taxes being thrown to the toilet or given to Ukraine/Israel support (to follow actualities) than working 8+ hours for my employer. I am totally OK that my taxes serve to pay school, hospital, infrastructure, agriculture but these fat and senile representatives, nope!
- Thank you, I'm not crazy after all

Didn't people do this for centuries to farm and have enough food?
Who said that the goal of humanity is happiness and hedonism? Why not make responsibility your goal?
I can even contend that true happiness is reached through responsibility.
- It seems as though you and I read two completely different posts.
  Did you intend to put your comment elsewhere?
- Would you tell a slave to just focus on responsibility? Why would you tell someone working for a wage something similar? It doesn't seem hedonistic to me to want to enjoy the fruits of your own labour, or see your community made better by the work you did. Instead a lot of the value of your labour is siphoned off by people you will never meet and only have negative feelings for.
- I think different humans have different goals, and as long as those goals don't infringe on others, that's perfectly fine. So you wanting to take on responsibility (in whatever way that means for you) is totally chill.
  The issue with the current system is that the goals of business owners (the ruling class), infringe upon others, and those other people would prefer to have a system that doesn't do that, so that everyone can more freely try to achieve their goals without being exploited by a minority of others.
- to farm and have enough food?
  Farming is literally seasonal work. Meaning no, you don't do it every day. The main events are planting and harvesting.
  true happiness is reached through responsibility.
  Your main point could just as easily be used to defend capitalism - ie. Paying your bills. Can you get more specific about how I can use responsibility to create happiness in my life?

123 comments