It’s a subject that is blogged about the world over and by better people than me. Wealth.
I sat watching the news about the current financial crisis. A hedge fund manager tipped up bleating how he would have to downsize his house and get rid of several cars. I found myself sat there hating a person I know nothing about. The only facts I had were that he had been loosing other peoples money and expected the public to have sympathy.
These are the people I feel for in this climate:
My Father. He served 25 years in the RAF. Has a piss poor pension from them so had to go out and find work elsewhere (not an uncommon thing for UK ex-service people). Two weeks ago and at the age of 60 he was given two days notice that he was being made redundant. He is now redundant and cannot get any help from the state, even after serving for 25 years, we really do not know how to treat our ex-service people in this country. So there is a real possibility that he could loose his house next year, and this plays on my mind all the time.
I walk past an ordinary three bedroomed house on my way to work every morning. This house is occupied by three mentally ill ladies. I say hello to the carer that lives with them most mornings. And I was astounded when she told me how much she earns for caring for these three wonderful ladies. It’s a pittance and it disgusts me. Carers have probably one of the most undervalued jobs within this society and they bring sunshine into the lives of the people they care for.
It begs the question why does this society reward those that look out for number one, the hedge funders the merchant bankers? Why does it not reward those that make a difference, our service people who put their lives on the line for us, the carers who make a huge contribution to the lives of others. I stand up and applaud these people these are the people that deserve the awards deserve the million pound bonuses.
So I am sorry to Mr Hedge funder on the news fuck off and give your Porche to a carer, a nurse, a soldier, an ex-serviceman/woman, a policeman, a fireman and to anyone else who enriches our society.
The people that enrich and give to society are the people that amaze me, and I think they should be justly rewarded. I want to be someone who enriches society.
Totally agree. Every day there are people struggling to survive, living from day to day on little to nothing. The Benefit system in this country is a shambles and a joke. Now more than ever, the sytem needs to get rid of the red tape and beuracracy that holds it back from giving help to those who genuinely need it. It makes me embarrassed to live in the UK.
Hi
In general, I agree with your point – certainly I would like to see those in less well-paid or pleasant professions earn more (I was that serviceman) – but there’s just one small point that’s often forgotten.
Yes, a banker or trader earns a lot of money. But the fact is that they are paid to make money – and not for themselves. Their investment decisions are what grow our pension funds, and provide the banks with the income that pays our interest. While some do make bad decisions (yet still end up well compensated, sadly) – if we didn’t have people who could do what they do, we’d ALL swiftly end up a lot worse off.
Cheers
D
Agrees totally but can’t see how we can change except becoming political ourselves
You inspired me to write on a similar theme today, thank you. I’d love to be someone who enriches society. i think i enrich my social circle (at least i hope i do), but as a contributer to society as a whole it’s a lot harder to tell. I try and do my bit for the world around me, but i’m not in a job that allows the kind of care/responsibility directly for other people that your post mentions. To be entirely honest i don’t think i am cut out for that kind of role. I have to enrich in other ways, in teh things i do each day. Regardless of who has the money we all have the responsibility to ourselves and society to be the best for each other that we can.
I never thought anything that I wrote would inspire someone else. I am humbled, I am also forever in your debt for all the help and encouragement you have given me
If I could get a room full of people together right now and record them applauding this post I would. It’s hard to have sympathy for these Wall Street people and their wives bitching about giving up club memberships and reducing their staff. People like your dad, that carer, my brother-in-law, teachers – these are the people that deserve the help. Great post.
Ern – I totally agree with you! Even here in the States, with our auto manufacturers executives showing up to request money from the government in jets … get off your high horses and realize that you live the life most people in this world only dream of. Instead of complaining about the money that they are losing or the MATERIAL items that they will longer have they should, indeed, just be grateful that they woke up this morning. I wish these people would take a moment to walk in the shoes of those people who are affected by the decisions they make!!!!!