What? Me Worry?

So, the junior son got a smart phone. As I have previously noted in this space, I do not want a smart phone; I want a dumb phone that rings when someone wants to talk to me. I don’t want it to sing, or speak, or honk or even whistle. I want the damn thing to ring. Is this asking so much?

But this is not about my phone. The kid has offered me his "old" iPod Touch. It’s actually  a pretty new one, and since I already have my iPod, Steve’s iPod (which is much, much lighter than my G1...that Steve gave me...yes, I was an early adaptor) and a Shuffle that I won in a raffle…I figured I could handle an iPod Touch, so I said yes. Then I thought about it a while. Then I called my daughter-in-law and said, “I told him yes…but other than play music, what does the thing do?” She explained in concise, simple terms…which is why I called her and not him...that it has apps. Hmmm. I’ll let you know what 'appens next. At least he's re-purposing the thing...he's giving it to his Troglodyte mother. 



Dr. Grandin's Cow Ramp

Meanwhile, back in the kitchen, I’ve been following the multiple attempts to pass a jobs bill, and with it, an extension of unemployment benefits. This is really interesting stuff. The bills sorta meander through the Washington stock shoot before they get to the slaughterhouse known as Congress. It’s not a pretty sight. None of those really cool curved ramps designed by Temple Grandin for calming livestock. Instead, whoever's written the latest version lobs it over the dome and onto the House floor where it's stomped to smithereens by Congressional pod people whose only interest is in preserving their own temp jobs and bennies. The hell with the rest of the country.

Keeping in mind that Congress's approval rating hovers around 9% these days, (and that's an optimistic figure),here's how I see it playing out:

If you follow the Republican line of thinking, the cessation of benefits is a necessary disaster. Cut off the bennies, all those lazy people will be forced to seek employment even if it's not in their field. Accountants will become farm workers, and factory workers will learn how to work in livestock and slaughter operations. Teachers can learn to flip burgers and clean hotels with great precision, thereby setting fine examples to all the kids coming out of high school and college.

#30 - December 1956

A new labor class emerges. These workers are highly educated and often highly skilled but unable to find jobs commensurate with experience and knowledge. Those entering this new work pool are needed to fill positions vacated by illegal aliens. Now if you're part of this new class, these jobs will get some income into your pocket even if the rate is minimum wage, the hours may not be regular or permanent, and it's unlikely there are benefits like health insurance or vacation days.

The Democrats, on the other hand, know that their approval ratings are equally in the toilet, so they're betting the farm, the factory, the schools, the libraries, and the clinics that the people in their district/state want something "else," so they just stomp on their own ideas in order to look like their fighting for something, only they're not really fighting for anything. They can rant and rave about the need to protect the elderly, the poor, the disadvantaged children, the huddled masses yearning to be free and whatever else they want to parade down 5th Avenue, but the truth of the matter is that they are not standing up for anyone or anything. They are merely enabling those who would be midwife to the birth of that new labor class while looking pathetically helpless. 

These clowns just don't get it. Not the right, not the left, not even the center. 

So don't count on any extension on jobless benefits. The shift of jobs is going to happen, and it will be sooner rather than later just based on the inaction of Congress. Of course, a really good pandemic would significantly help cull the herd.

The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week

The Talmud says it is the responsibility of parents 

to teach each child how to swim and a trade.

If you think about it, these two things are the keys to surviving in an adverse world.