More Terms that Drive Me Nuts (part 4).....According to Your Paycheck, the Government Determines if you are Really "Working"

“Working class” – In order to strike another blow for cultural pandering, we can no longer allow anyone in the Middle Class feel as though they are average in the world of financial achievement. Now, we use the term “Working Class.” This, of course, completely ignores the possibility that someone in this group may not even work (I am not sure, but I may have been in the working class myself for most of this year). Perhaps some 54 year old is not interested in reaching the “upper class” and chooses to live off of a modest flow of interest income (don’t forget from my earlier rant that this individual does not “earn” anything according to the government, but yet has a “capital gain”). So there you have it, according to our social pandering country, you can be unemployed, not “earn” a dime according to the government, and be considered “working class.” Why? Simply to avoid telling Joe six pack that he is considered financially average or “middle.”

Actually, this may be a little more than social pandering and has roots to socialism, much like other recent trends in American history. I am really not sure exactly when this term started to become hip in American culture, but my first recollection of hearing it on a regular basis was around 4 or 5 years ago. I remember when we used terms like “middle class” and “upper class” when describing someone’s level of financial achievement. Lest we forget, by design, all of this terminology is an attempt by the government to lump the taxpayers into groups so we can identify with political candidates. Of course, this practice is as old as the “have’s” and the “have not’s.” Such terms have roots to Karl Marx who was a master at applying labels to people based upon their income, with the ultimate goal of his great classless society. Marx used the term “proletariat” to describe the working class who physically produced goods and services for the bourgeoisie, who owned the means of the production. Again, the notion here being that only those who swing a tool, dig a hole, move bricks, etc., actually “work”, while those who take great financial risk to provide the means of their work are not actually “working” at all.

What on earth would politicians do if we passed the Fair Tax (H.R. 25) and they had no clue how much money we earned? Who would they target for votes? How would they determine who to target for wealth redistribution so they could find people to vote themselves money (as I mentioned in another posting, Ben Franklin noted this practice would “herald the end of the Republic”). In the mortgage business, it is called “redlining” and is illegal. In politics, it is called “campaigning.”

In an ironic twist that is probably news to social panderers, referring to someone as a “proletariat” was a very derogatory expression in the days of Karl Marx. Remember that next time you refer to someone as “working class.” I am also trying to figure out what we are supposed to call the “upper class” nowadays. Maybe something like…..”Filthy, arrogant, capital gaining, rich people.” Ohhhh boy….brother Karl would sure be proud.

Put Your Hands on Your Head, and Step Away from the Buritto

In the latest example of government control over our daily lives, the Los Angeles City Council has unanimously approved a one year moratorium on the development or opening of fast food restaurants in the impoverished 32 square mile south Los Angeles community. It seems as though the local politicians are not satisfied to manipulate and control the daily lives of these people simply through subsidies, entitlements, social programs, tax breaks, and liberal bent substandard government run education. The city council substantiates their efforts with the fact that this community has the highest per capita concentration of fast food restaurants of anyplace in the United States. This, combined with horrendous health statistics, apparently calls for government intervention. The Los Angeles Times points out that the community in question also has a lower concentration of “eateries” than Hollywood. Duh? We are talking about the ghetto here folks! By the way, this community also has a lower concentration of good old fashioned grocery stores so the less expensive option of preparing a cheap meal at home is not an attractive undertaking (notice I said “OPTION”). Correct me if I am wrong, but I think you can get a whole shopping cart of Roman Noodles and Spam for about the same price as a carton of cigarettes. And yet Jan Perry, the Councilwoman who proposed the ordinance proclaims, “The people don’t want them [fast food restaurants], but when they don’t have any other options, they may gravitate to what’s there.” Oh yeah, I can see it now; the Crips and the Bloods sitting down at the little street corner café under the vine covered lattice, while sharing a fat free latte and fresh fruit.

Am I the only person who sees something seriously wrong with this? It has been proven time and time again that supply and demand prevails when left alone, which is the reason for the high concentration of fast food providers and the low concentration of grocery stores. The government does not provide options…..demand does! This is not about health nor is it about attracting nice restaurants (that no one will patronize anyway). This is about controlling people’s lives and crushing capitalism. Of course, none of these idiots have paused for a single second to consider the number of jobs these fast food restaurants provide to the community. I can see it now on the next episode of “Cops” in south L.A. as the officer is questioning a suspicious group of young men. “….you guys have any guns, knives, drugs, Big Macs, burittos, corndogs, anything like that I need to know about?” Of course, they answer “no” to the officer, but a subsequent search reveals a stash of fresh sausage biscuits under the passenger seat. “Those aren’t mine,” the driver proclaims. “I don’t know how those got there,” he says. The officer appears frustrated with his lies. Holding up the illegal food contraband, the officer says “do you know what this stuff is doing to the people in our community? What if a kid got a hold of this?” Of course, the next step would be to get the accused some help through Social Services to get them off the smack.

Not to miss their opportunity for tight control, in typical government fashion the City Council has worked hard to define the potential offenders as "any establishment which dispenses food for consumption on or off the premises, and which has the following characteristics: a limited menu, items prepared in advance or prepared or heated quickly, no table orders and food served in disposable wrapping or containers." Okay, I am not a lawyer, but it seems to me that McDonald’s has a far more extensive menu than Ruth’s Chris Steak House. Wouldn’t you just love to see McDonald’s stick it to the City Council by opening a bunch of new restaurants with table service (higher prices of course), cook it to order nice and slow, and serve it on a regular plate? And to think McDonald’s turned down my application for Director of Public Relations. Of course, the government will be there in the lobby with a stop watch to ensure it was not served too quickly. Leave it to the government to drive up costs and promote mediocrity.

Get ready for the next big headline in the L.A. Times. “South L.A. Sting Nets Record Cache of Big Macs, Corn Dogs, Chicken Nuggets, and Burritos.” Then, at a televised press conference, the Sherriff will proclaim, “The city is a safer place today thanks to the efforts of the brave men and women of the Los Angeles Police Department.”

Time to go now. I am working on my plan to earn a living by smuggling trans fat cooking oil into New York City.