Our souls, sold fresh on a Kaiser Roll!

In a world where we can get information at the push of a button, how come it takes forever just to get a prescription filled? We like to think that this is an age of progress, but the fact of the matter is, that progress is something that I don't think that we're reaching.

Look at the world. Every single one of us is enveloped in a debt load that most of us will never recover from. The world itself is deteriorating around us at an alarming rate. People are becoming more and more socially awkward, because we're doing nothing but communicating via machines more than we're doing in person. Everyone hates everyone, yet we're not allowed to express our feelings of hate to anyone, out of fear of being ostracized by the general populace, and what are we doing to fix this world of problems??

The solution??? There is no solution. Well at least I can't think of one. I honestly believe that in the age that we're living in, we're slowly destroying ourselves. Political Correctness, Corporate Greed, Moving Jobs to other Countries, Unions, and many other things are fixing to destroy the very world that we have evolved into. We've progressed technology-wise, but we're nowhere closer to bridging the gap to make this world the peace-filled future that we see in our own humanity in shows like "Star Trek".

Don't get me wrong, I think that we're headed in the exact direction that the world go to before the utopia that is the "United Federation of Planets". If you ever watch "Deep Space Nine" (And I did, on occasion) There was an episode where Capt. (I think that he was a Captain at this point, may have still been a Commander) Sisko. Travelled back in time to I believe the late 2000's-Early 2100's. And it was explained that before Starfleet and the Federation, the Humans were suffering through poverty, and fighting amongst one another, and basically the human race was destroying itself from within.

I don't remember the exact specifics of the episode itself. But I do remember that Sisko ended up making sure that the past had been preserved, however he was put into the historical records, and one of his commanding officers showed him a picture from that time showing him, that he was, in fact in the past.

That's not the point that I am making, but hopefully, the point that I end up making is that it's going to probably get a lot worse before it gets better. While technology is going to always be evolving, the amount of people who are going to have access to that tech is going to be more and more limited. Why? Because things are always getting more expensive, but the amount of money being made by the average person is going down.

I would love it if the world was more like the one that we see in Star Trek. A Person such as myself would be able to work the job best suited to their individual talents, because of things like no money, and people merely working for the benefit of mankind, but let's face facts. Nothing like that will ever happen in this lifetime.

I swore to myself at the age of 15, that I would never, ever say to anyone that "I remember a day when...." but I find myself doing it more and more all of the time, and I am only 32. But It's amazing 1. That 9 years ago, I was making more money than I do in 2009. When I first started driving, gas was at the cost of 45-49 cents a liter. A loaf of bread was 99 cents, It cost $5 to go to the movies, and Minimum wage was like $6.85/hr.

Today, gas is 80-85 cents a liter, almost double what it was in 1995, and that's down from the whopping $1.35/liter it was last summer. We're thanking our lucky stars that we're only paying that for gas, however, are we any better off? It's almost double the cost it was 15 years ago! Heck, I remember when gas was at about 56 cents a liter, I was working at KFC at the time, and I remember delivery drivers threatening to quit, because Gas was too expensive! Seriously? Decorum prevents me from being able to say the things I do for gas at that price!

Now, I go through a lot of bread. And for those who know me well, it's because I eat an exorbitant amount of Grilled Cheese. But bread, as well costs literally double what it did when I first started driving. And that's just the "Price Chopper/Food Basics" Generic brand. $2/loaf. That's silly. For one of the staples in one's grocery lists, it's double the cost.

The movies is the worst culprit of them all. When I was 17 years old, and just starting out driving, I went to the movies with my friends all of the time, at the Seaway Cinemas, it cost a whopping $4.25 to go see a movie anytime. In St. Catharines, it was like $5, if you went on Tuesdays, it was like $2, and if you were willing to wait a couple of months, you could see a movie at the second-run theater for $1.25. Now? Well if you wanna go to Welland, I think that it's like $7-8 to go, same with Niagara Falls. Welland's movie theater is garbage, and it's worth spending the extra in gas to go to The Falls, because the two main theaters haven't even been updated in almost 20 years, by the looks of it, the seats, the screen, the sound, all the same! At least in Niagara Falls. The theater is newer, and the screens and sound is pretty good! But if you wanna see a show in St. Kitts? You're looking at like $11 to go! At least that was the cost the last time that I went! Nice Theater? Yes. But no nicer than the one in the falls! Regardless, the fact remains that the cost has nearly doubled in all of that time.

Now ask yourself. Why are these prices double? What possible reason could there be, to justify increasing the cost of anything, without taking into consideration that the finances of the individual consumer, haven't even come close to doubling. I have no idea what the current minimum wage is in Ontario/Canada, but I am assuming that it's not anywhere close to $13.70 an hour. Because if it is, I am making Minimum wage at my present job. That would explain why I barely make enough to get by. Now I know, that the minimum wage is closer to $8.00, but how do you expect anyone who works 40 hours a week at that rate to be able to afford any of the above things, without sacrificing a decent rate of living.

Who's to blame for this fiasco??? Well the blame is the easiest to point at corporations. That is where, I at least place the blame. Executives at these large companies care more about pandering to stockholders, and more to the "Bottom Line" than they care about making sure that the people who want/need their product can afford it. Take for example, my insulin. I am a diabetic, and have been for 6 years now. I work at a job that covers 90% of my prescription costs, and I still pay $45/month for insulin. so if I am paying 1/10th of the cost of my prescription, that means that without benefits, I would have to pay $450/month for medication in order to SURVIVE! $450/month! That's not including the cost of needles, test strips, a Glucometer, batteries to operate the Glucometer, or any other expenses that I may be overlooking right now. That's insanity.

Take the price cars. Look at the state of the Auto industry. The "Big Three" Automakers of North America, are trying to get the governments to bail them out of their current predicament, which they, themselves put themselves in! It's a Vicious circle. Look at it! The Car company builds a car, which is supposed to be an "Entry Level" car to sell to consumers. Let's say for this scenario, the Chevrolet Cavalier (And yes, I know they don't make it anymore.) So the Automaker builds this car. A Base Model, nothing fancy, and prices it, so that the middle-lower income families can barely scrape by to afford one. The car itself is a piece of garbage, and the owner has to keep paying into it, to keep it on the road, which they can't afford to do, so not only are they paying for a car, that they can't afford, they're paying for parts to fix the car that they can't afford. So the owner of said car, when it comes time to make a decision: Do I keep fixing it, or buy another brand of vehicle? 9 times out of 10, if they can afford to, they go to a different make of vehicle, and remove brand-loyalty to their previous decision. Then the Automakers stand with their hands out, asking... What the hell happened? We make a decent car! The truth is, no. You don't! You may make a decent High-End vehicle, but you don't make a decent entry level car. Not at least one that the general populace can afford. Then you ask banks, and the Government to bail you out? Why don't you start by attempting to make a half-decent car that anyone can afford? I am sure that the profit-margin on the sale of any car that is built by any auto-maker is quite substantial. The people I feel bad for in all of this, is the Auto worker.

Actually? You know what? No. I don't feel bad for the Auto worker. Sure, their jobs have been threatened a number of times, and automation of the industry has left more than their fair share without gainful employment, but the auto workers have only themselves to blame for their current employment woes. The reason? Unions.

Now I have never been a fan of the Union. In my opinion (And I repeat, my opinion) I feel that a Union only gives a lazy person more of a chance to remain lazy. I have worked in two jobs where the workforce was unionized. The Second place? It didn't make a difference, most of the people did their job with limited issue, however when it came time to negotiate a pay raise, what happened? STRIKE! STRIKE! Now, I didn't work for the company at the time, however, when I came to visit a friend of mine that wasn't in the union who worked there? The people who I worked side-by-side with, wouldn't even let me pass. Even though they knew me, personally, they had to make my life difficult. What possible point were they making when they were doing that, other than, I want more money, so I am going to bitch and complain and not work, or make ANY money until you start paying me more!

The first place that I worked at, was more of a service, then it was a "plant" and the Union was a joke. Basically, it was a job, which required my services of parking cars. This is how the union worked here. The guy at the top, took the keys, wrote everything down, handed the slip, gave it to owner, and passed the keys to the guy under him. Then he passed it to the guy under him, and then so on and so forth, until the guy at the bottom took the keys, parked the car, and walked back, while 7 guys stood there, looking like a bunch of slackers. That's the Union in action.

Getting back to my point about the Auto workers, I am not placing blame on any one individual. I am placing it on everyone as a whole. Why? Because the Union is responsible for most of these people losing their jobs. The Union has its points, but it's only become some sort of enforcer, really only there to serve the Union's ends, not the worker. How? Union dues. I have no idea what the average auto worker makes, but I am sure that it's a hell of a lot more than what I make. And these guys don't have difficult work. I am sure that it's intense to a degree, but I am sure that it's no more emotionally draining than working in a call center for $10/hr. But they bitch and complain about standard of living, or cost of living, or wages, when people with more education, are flipping burgers, because when they started working at these places out of High School, or dropped out of High School and landed this job, and have made a decent go of it. But like everything in life, we want, we want, we want.

I am sure I wouldn't like working in an auto plant, but for the amount of money I'd make there, instead of the current job that I have that I hate, I am sure that it would be much more tolerable. Money is a terrific motivator.

Getting back to the Big Three. Do I think that they should get bailed out? Yes. Not because I love them so much, but because the long term impacts that would occur by these companies going under would be catastrophic on our overall economy. There would be a massive trickle-down effect that would impact every single person. So we have no choice. Do I like it? No. But the fact remains that we need to do something.

But at the same time, these Corporate "Fat Cats" that run these companies need to do some things.

1. Stop worrying about the Bottom Line, as much as making a good product, that the average person can afford.

2. Stop closing down factories, that employ local people building the products that these same people would purchase, and moving those jobs to Mexico/India/Guatemala or where ever, only because you'll save a massive amount of money on labor.

3. Work with your employees, instead of against them (And vice/versa) Because if the Boss/Employee relationship is a stable and productive one, you'll get more out of your job, and I honestly believe that you'll get more out of your product.

4. BUILD A BETTER PRODUCT!!! I can not stress this enough! I don't think that there should be no Chevy Cavaliers on the road, but build them so that in 2 years the doors still close, and the body doesn't rust at 10,000km.

5. Make your products affordable. If you want people to buy your merchandise. Make it so that most people can actually go and buy it! No wonder you companies are going under! No one can afford them! This ties in with "The Bottom Line". Sure, make $10,000 profit on a car, and you're laughing, but is profit more important than "Brand Loyalty" or "Market Share"??? Personally? I think not. Repeat customers drives business, and getting someone once, is not going to be enough to maintain a company. You need to create a product that people love enough to buy again, when it comes time to replace it.

It makes sense to me, and I am sure that it probably will make sense to you. The problem is getting he guy at the top to understand it. That's going to be tricky. And until we do, I don't see things getting any better. And my Star Trek future is never going to happen.

But that's just my opinion... What do I know???

F.M.