Doing Without

One can't help but notice that we have to 'do without' a lot more these days. Costs are soaring and incomes aren't... sometimes incomes shrink. It seems like the only people doing well are doing it on Wall Street.

Wall Street wields an enormous amount of power. The wealthiest corporations control most of the world. They, in turn, answer to their major shareholders. Those shareholders, a.k.a the 1%, demand corporate profits. Their livelihood depends on it. Corporations have to make profits, and set correct expectations about the amount of the profits.

It's all about the stocks. CEOs' high salaries are 'chicken feed' in comparison to their stock options. Lesser employees' salaries are chicken feed in comparison to the CEO. At the bottom of the ladder, salaries might literally be chicken feed. (It depends where manufacturing has been outsourced.)

You see, to keep stock prices high, corporations have to do whatever it takes to make those numbers. They'll lay people off, cut entire divisions of the company, and move manufacturing overseas. They'll lower safety and quality standards. They'll realign, merge, and redefine.

People who have been around awhile might sense a problem here. Corporations can only cut so deep before there's nothing left to cut. Outrageous laws, tax dodges, cover-ups, churning, and bluffing can only go so far before that big ol' bubble pops. And when it does, guess who is left holding the bag? Hint: Check your mirror.

What can we peons do? We're just trying to keep going. We sit helplessly as the cost of everything rises. Businesses pass increased costs to their customer.  At the end of the day, we're at the end. Nobody's left to pass the cost on to. If you want to live somewhere, eat, and... well... survive, you need to decide what to do without.

I think we should do without Wall Street. Clearly we can't afford it. Those parasites are just too damned expensive.