The Soul of Man Under Socialism

[Shawnee123]

There is the underlying stigma that those who are poor must not work hard enough. That if you would just work harder, the money would come. This doesn't take into account many people who serve the public; jobs that require a LOT of skill, a bachelor's degree at minimum, many long hours for relatively little pay. Why do we keep doing it? For me, I've done the corporate thing, the supervisory experience in high tech manufacturing. As tough as it can be, there are satisfactions in this job that can't be measured.

No, maybe me and those like me are not living in poverty, but lacking the cushion of cash that becomes so important when you can't just go buy a new car because yours keeps breaking, hoping to make all the bills. The feeling that why does everything have to be so damn hard? The knowledge that the 10 grand some dude spends on a motorbike (or whatever...just an example) would relieve most of the frustration in your life; it gets old after a period of time.

It's very tough to catch up once you've fallen behind.

As I've said many times...we are losing our middle class and a society without a middle class cannot sustain itself.

Then I think about how lucky I am; how much worse things could be. My electric was shut off for a day and I had to wait for the next day to beg, borrow, and steal the payment. I woke up in the morning and it was under 40 degrees in my place. I thought how horrible it must be to be homeless.

Yet, every day stress of needing more, wanting more, looking for just a little relief from financial worries take its toll on a person.

I'm reminded of The Rocking Horse Winner by DH Lawrence.

(I hope I haven't offended or challenged anyone. It just seemed like a good thread to post some of the issues I have been dealing with as of late.) Thanks for the ears (eyes)