If you are a small or mid size company in today’s fabulous USA, you really must spend every moment focused on being more “relevant” to the market. Unfortunately, in this "market," giant monopolies are shooting tired fish in a shrinking barrel, training consumers to want their products using expensive advertising, meanwhile getting fabulous tax breaks and using sketchy out-of-the-country shit in order to invest less in making the product. And then there’s the using money to influence politics, just so you can do it sketchier and same money on process. Once you succeed, you don't need to take shortcuts anymore, right? You have the time and money to do it right, right???
This crazy shit seems to impact you whether your small company provides a business service, farms lettuce, does catering for bar-mitzvahs, or makes music. It's true, to varying degrees, in almost every category you could pick. You don't fail because what you're doing doesn't have a market. You fail because no one can afford it. Their money is slipping into the (offshore?) accounts of people who take tax deductible work-vacations so they can plan some more fun ways to get tax breaks. Meanwhile, "the consumer" is being re-trained to like (and expect!) things that are cheap, expendable, and easy to mass produce for existing giant companies. So much for *your* business plan.
Also, the tax boys are going to get harder on you! More and more exciting "loopholes" for the big boys means the IRS needs $$$ --- and quite badly. You are a much easier target, because you don't have so many fancy lawyers, the money to pay off fines, and the time to strategize! You have to focus on being relevant to the market remember?
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To those who would debate me about how our economy works:
Meritocracy is a bankrupt notion 'round these parts' and I don’t want to hear it, especially from any of the smart, “successful”, well-off people in my life. Luck is everything in this world and you *really should* be grateful. You should be grateful every day, no exceptions. If you are lucky enough to have a good education, then you should know by now that being “right” about how economic systems work is not going to “make it better” for the decent, deserving human beings who not only suffer poverty, but also hard lives as addicts (to drugs, especially the LEGAL ones), having to work “under the table” because they can’t get other jobs. In addition to material wealth, health, poor housing, lack of education and limited access to GOOD ART(true wealth.), they also suffer shame and judgment from their wealthier friends up the road.
We should be figuring out ways to help out those who have less than us, not making fancy arguments about why they haven't earned it. Period and end of discussion.
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Who *is* going to help them, by the way? There's private wealth, public wealth, God and us. Private money is magnetic, and has a funny way of taking long vacations to other countries. We have a "cult of small government" trying to make sure the Public doesn't get any more of it. I hear God helps those who helps themselves, so maybe we should try.
Just representing those who have less than you in conversation around your peers is useful. Being there to say "hey I could be homeless someday. can we not rag on homeless people?" -- It's really a great thing to do, and it doesn't hurt anyone. And it's true. You really never know what's coming up for you in life.
If you are a very wealthy "person" (definition now includes corporations) -- maybe you should provide free healthcare for people with no access to other services, * no strings attached *. Create a service where a certain amount of your vast hoard can be used to get people going with a health care service. Maybe just for a couple years, so they can take care of some important stuff. Whatever you can spare is good! If you want a good reputation, do something awesome and deserve it.
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If this offended you, maybe you need to hear it. Also, you can afford good health care. Go drive your nice car to Kaiser and check in at the therapy center for a while. Stop and get a drive-thru starbucks. That's not a joke! If you're not going to help out the have-nots, at least go enjoy the "having" process.
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Every human being on this planet deserves a shot at dignity, and a decent life. Not just one shot! That's absurd. How about as many shots as they need to get it right? It's hard out here. No more shame and pain for the "losers" in our terrible game.
JUST SOME THOUGHTS!
<3 <3 <3
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