This post was inspired by Monroe Anderson (I still can’t believe that he reads my blog. I am not worth the crossing of his t’s. He is the man.)
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The first shop I went to when we landed here in the US two years ago was a convenience store just down the road from us. It’s called Honey Farms. Just your run-of-the-mill convenience store like a 7-Eleven. Nothing much. Bread, milk, cigarettes, Coke and chocolates. Everything I need to get through the day if pushed. That’s where I met them. The people working at Honey Farms.
The first guy I met was this old guy that must been at least 65 in the shade. But still in excellent shape. He cycles to work and back. We just called him ‘the old guy’. My lovely wife knew who I was talking about whenever I told her I had a chat with the old guy at Honey Farms. He was the first American I had a just a normal general chat with. Good guy. Exceptionally good guy.
It started off like any normal chat for us foreigners over here in smaller towns. The accent. He loved my wife’s accent. Called it “the Queen’s English”. Well, she does have a pretty good English accent even though she is South African. He made her talk just so he could listen to her accent. And then he will just be like a little kid and be all giddy. And tell all the other customers to listen to her speak. Yes, I think he had a bit of a crush on her.
I didn’t get the same treatment. But then, my accent is a bit more harsh. Less exotic, more farmer. But what can you do? We did have many good chats – me and the old guy from Honey Farms. Anything really – and he was as funny as hell.
Whenever I bought my cigarettes he would offer me “free” matches. And he used to say that they are so committed to customer service that they are happy to replace the matches if I am unhappy with them at any time. Yes, they were free to start off with.
Or the time I walked in and asked if they had dish washing liquid or tablets for the dishwasher. He made a huge scene claiming that they have the best dishwasher liquid in the whole of downtown Natick - if not in greater downtown Natick. (You can’t buy or find it anywhere else in downtown Natick.) He went to tell me how good this dishwasher liquid is. His wife swears by it. And he has never had a customer come back to say it didn’t do the job. With a smile I asked him if he has ever used it. He shook his head and said no. Never used the stuff. He still washes his dishes by hand. And then laughed a bit more. Both of us.
Yeah, he was a funny guy. Always something funny to say or a smart comment to make me leave with a smile.
But it always bugged me. Why is he still working when he should be taking it easy? When he should be retired. So I asked him. I asked him why is he still working. And he stared at me for a little while. And then just uttered a simple little concept…
“healthcare…”
“Why healthcare”, I asked. Simple, he needs to be covered if something happens to him or his wife. Especially in their old age. And he needs the extra money to pay for it. As security for when they really need it. The government will help but it might not be enough. In his old age he has to worry about that. He never had to worry about it when he was covered when he was young and healthy and looked after.
He also told me that he got his daughter a job at Honey Farms. But that he had to make her stop working there and found her another job. He was worried about her safety. When she worked the late shift. When some of the rougher and drunker guys came around. Nothing ever happened. But it wasn’t good for her to be exposed. It was good enough for the old man, but not good enough for his daughter.
He left my Honey Farms a few months back. He got a better offer to actually run a Honey Farms in the town next to ours. We still walk into each other now and again. And we still have our chats then. He still makes me laugh. And he still cycles to work.
Actually, he is doing more than that. One of the many discussions we had was about American addiction to cars. Hell, people will drive 200 yards to Honey Farms to buy their stuff. But more than that, single drivers keep on driving to work and back or to downtown Natick on a beautiful day when they could be walking. It bugged him. And he decided to do something about it. A campaign. A campaign to get Natick people to cycle more.
This old man decided to do it on his own. He got a plan together that we spoke about a few times. And he took it to the local authorities to get their backing. And convinced them to support him. Not with money. But with communications – posters, notices, free bicycles etc. And off he went. His “cycle more” campaign. Good for traffic and good for your health. This old man that should be retired did it because it bugged him. Never made a cent out of it. It was all about getting people out of their cars and start cycling when they go to downtown Natick. Yep, he was an activist in his own way.
I really liked him. Still do.
He is America for me. Him and the other people I have met at Honey Farms. The other slightly less old guy who knows everything anybody ever wants to know about the history of coins – American coins. Or the gay middle aged woman who suffers from depression. Or the woman whose kids always come to visit her when she works the late shift on a weekend. Or the young black kid from the wrong side of Natick that is taking extra jobs to stay out of trouble and build himself a future. All of them. They have been America to me. Proud. Strong. Easy to talk to. Friendly as hell.
Yes, they might not know as much of the world as what the world knows of them, but these people are good decent people that I would be happy to call my own. I can see in their eyes why America is great. Because they are great people.
So why am I telling you this? Why is this even important? I’ll tell you why…
…McCain and taxes…
What?
Yep, McCain and taxes. McCain is attacking Obama for wanting to raise the taxes of the wealthiest of Americans. One key line of argument from McCain is that the top 1% of Americans will pay almost 35% of American taxes under the Obama plan. That just doesn’t sound right. That is just unfair. It isn’t just. Why should 1% pay so much of the taxes? Well… Because that same 1% also own almost 35% of America’s net worth. That’s why. Mr McCain.
If you own 35% then it makes perfect sense that 35% of the taxes will come from you. Easy economics. Not socialism. Just easy economics.
And before I forget. Just 10% of the population owns 71% of America’s wealth… I expect that 10% to pay 71% of the taxes…
I won’t even mention that “in a survey of 120 major cities, New York was found to be the ninth most unequal in the world and Atlanta, New Orleans, Washington, and Miami had similar inequality levels to those of Nairobi, Kenya and Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Many were above an internationally recognised acceptable “alert” line used to warn governments”. I won’t go into that. Just saying that the distribution of wealth in America is beyond unfair. It ranks with the most unjust systems in the world…
Tell me why should the wealthiest not pay according to the share of wealth they have? Are they better than the old guy from Honey Farms? Do they mean more to America than the Honey Farms people? I don’t think that either group means more to America than the other. Or at least, I don’t believe that either group should mean more to America. CEO’s can be replaced as easily as the guy in Honey Farms. Don’t let them tell you otherwise. I work with CEO’s of some of the biggest American companies out there today. The biggest of the biggest. The best of the best. Make no mistake… I can count on my one hand how many of them are truly irreplaceable. And they generally earn a sh*tload of money. Way more than their counterparts from the rest of the world.
I get it that they earn more. I have no problem there. Maybe I have a problem with the extremes of what they earn, but I do get that they should earn a nice package to keep them in the job. But they are not more American than the old guy from Honey Farms. That much I know.
He has worked his backside off for this country. Never moaned. Never bitched. Never complained. When they ask him to serve he serves. When they ask him to sacrifice he sacrifices. He, and everyone else at Honey Farms, are the backbone of this country as much as what the CEO is. Without him there is no America. America is not a country of CEO’s. America is a country of Americans. And everyone should pay their share of being able to call themselves American. The old guy paid his dues. Through sweat and taxes. Even today in his old age. He kept that CEO in his job. Buying his stuff and protecting his rights. The CEO can afford to pay more taxes so that the old guy doesn’t have to work in his old age. Or that the woman suffering from depression can get good help even though she can’t afford it. She works her butt off. Each and every day. She doesn’t sit back and do nothing. She contributes. She pays taxes. According to what she can. Her share. Even though her share of the American wealth is nothing compared to the CEO. We can’t expect him to let it “trickle down”. It won’t. It never has. It’s a fallacy that Reagan tried to sell and we now know it doesn’t work. Mr CEO doesn’t buy from Honey Farms.
One more thing… Patriotism.
Conservative Republicans keep on saying that the American companies will take their business elsewhere if they don’t get the “breaks”. Can we then please question the patriotism of these companies? Who are they? Let’s all stop buying from them if they hate America so much. They made their money off the back of American sweat and American consumers. And now they want to leave? They made their American Dream come true through the hard work and money of other Americans. They made their American Dream off the back and sweat and hard earned cash of those Americans who defines the true American Dream – freedom, justice and liberty without the money attached. Let’s leave them alone if they don’t show the same commitment to America as the old guy from Honey Farms.
I like my old guy from Honey Farms. I like everyone who works at Honey Farms. They taught me about America. Not the CEO and his buddies that I have known for many years. They are also Americans. But they are not America. It was Honey Farms that made me realize what America is all about. The spirit. The belief. The patriotism. The people.
I earn more than the guy at Honey Farms. Way more. I don’t earn $250,000 p.a. (Not yet!) But I am willing to pay a little more to make sure that the old guy from Honey Farms can just ride his bicycle and not worry about the cost of his healthcare. He is America and I am willing to do what it takes to make that work. I am willing to pay my share according to the share I own and earn. That should be the American way.
October 25, 2008 at 6:25 am
I like to believe that being an American means caring for those that cannot easily care for themselves, if I have the means to do so…. that is what this speaks to me. And, I always grew up with that being part of the definition of being an American: to help others to be self sufficient, but to assist them when they cannot be…….. we are interdependent in this world, and that means financially as well as other ways….
Great post my friend…. I missed you!!!
October 25, 2008 at 8:57 am
@vanessaleighsblog – Thank you! That’s how I see America. Strongly independent, but helping when needed. (I’m not back yet! Just one that came up last night and something I have been thinking about but never sure how to write.)
October 25, 2008 at 9:45 am
AA: I was wondering how anything I wrote connected to the Honey Farms man until you made the connection on the non seqitur seamlessly.
Nice job. That’s why I read your blog and, I’m sure, others do as well.
October 25, 2008 at 9:47 am
I’m right with you on not patronizing companies that move their manufacturing overseas. I’ve seen it happen a dozen times in my industry. The problem is that you still have to do your job. If you decide to go cold turkey on these products, you’ll soon be out of work.
90% of the equipment I service is assembled in China. Ten years ago it was more in the range of 10%.
I currently focus my service on products built in country. Unfortunately the one company that still produces equipment now regularly uses parts that are sourced in china.
It’s impossible to find an discrete electronics that are not made domestically. Try to buy a TV made in the US!
There are other problems you have not touched on:
Health care fraud. Two individuals here in Miami were indicted for 3 Billion dollars worth of medicare fraud!
Our government is likely to create a mess so bad that it will make our current economic crisis look like a cake walk.
Our Litigous society has driven up the cost of health care exponentially. Until we have reform of our legal system, we will never have a handle on the mess our health care system is in now.
There are too many personal injury lawyers circling the sky waiting for another corpse to drop. They’ll descend and fight over every last scrap.
October 25, 2008 at 11:35 am
As usual, very well put, more than interesting enough to keep me reading and written in a way that covers all those points that make me so angry without sounding angry! You rock.
October 26, 2008 at 1:03 am
Hey African,
When enough of us let our lights shine, this world will have a chance. Keep on shining…you and your family and others of us who want this planet to be the best that it can be.
Did you see the segment on PBS Bill Moyers Journal Friday night about a documentary movie ~ Playing For Change – Peace Through Music? If not check out http://ilovemylifebrothersandsisters.blogspot.com/2008/10/we-have-everything-we-need-for-peace.html
We Can Make A Difference…one good thought at a time.
October 26, 2008 at 9:47 am
Extremely well written! Oh how I missed reading you while I was on vacation in Japan! I missed reading about the political ins and outs from people (who unlike myself) are actually intelligent and articulate enough to discuss such.
Here’s a sidenote for you: on the last night of my vacation, I was invited to a dinner party through a friend of a friend of a friend. (you know how that goes) So picture this … a dinner party with 3 Japanese, 2 Americans and 1 Romanian … sitting on the floor around the table … drinking Sake … and what were we discussing? Obama, of course!
It was surreal!
October 26, 2008 at 4:50 pm
@Monroe Anderson – Thank you for that compliment. That is uge for me because of where it comes from. I enjoy reading your insights as it opens up America to me.
@scienkoptic – I agree. We can’t stop buying the stuff. But people don’t speak out. They just accept. And I agree on health care. Lawyers… And bad management. I just find it odd that a country that spends more on health care per capita than anyone else in the world is stuck with this mess.
@janet – Thanks! I don’t feel that angry at the moment. I look around and can just shake my head at the madness.
@ilovemylife – Thank you. That’s what I am aiming at. Just one good thing at a time. Sometimes looking at the bigger picture brings me down. Like Scienkoptic said earlier, just one step at a time.
@Fitch – Welcome back! I saw the pics. Want more! And Obama rules no matter where you go!
October 26, 2008 at 5:28 pm
@AA – I’ve had several customers who are doctors, retire and go do things like boat maintenance and carpentry, because it is difficult for them to make a living doing what they were trained to do.
One of them quit after being sued for something he had nothing to do with. It was just that he had treated the patient after the fact and it was convenient to add him to the list of defendants.
His malpractice went up and he decided he’d had enough.
October 26, 2008 at 5:51 pm
@scienkoptic – It is a sad reflection on society. I don’t think the “traditional” leaders of society like doctors, teachers and the police get the kind of respect they deserve anymore. Some doctors do it to make money. But most GP’s do it because they want to help. And then we sue them when they make a mistake. It’s a sad, sad state of affairs. Do you think there is something that can be done about the sue culture in the US?
October 26, 2008 at 6:57 pm
@AA – I doubt it. I’ve thought about what I want to do after I retire from my current career. I’ve thought about several things I’d like to do. One is country doctor. I’m not yet 40, I could still get a bunch of good years in. I’ve mentioned other things I’d consider doing.
In the end, what I do now has little benefit to anyone but my customers. I’d certainly like to find something that cures my apathy.
I see the bulk of PILs to be nothing more than Highwaymen who hide behind the fear of litigation. They’re extortionists that know very well that a majority of people will settle strictly out of fear of protracted litigation ($$$$).
This is most true in Medical Malpractice.
October 26, 2008 at 9:36 pm
If the schools were producing well educated students, the roads were pristine, healthcare was availible to all, jobs were well paying, crime was low, housing was above standard and everyone had an equal opportunity – taxes wouldn’t be a pboblem.
It’s what one gets for there buck that really matters.
October 27, 2008 at 7:50 am
Very good post. Me like. It’s just a little funny how you must emphasize that it’s not socialism. Is that a swear word in the US nowadays…?
One day when I have time I will investigate what happened in the US. You know, back in the 1890’s when the european workers started marching on the street on the 1st of May demanding equal rights, and an 8-hour day of work. Which led to worker’s rights, equal rights to vote, etc, etc.
I still think that super-socialistic Sweden (which has a conservative government now, by the way) is exagerrating. There’s no country where people doing nothing get so much, and where people studying and working hard get so little.
Still, Sweden is a welfare paradise. There’s 13 months maternity/paternity leave (At least one month each, the rest is up to the parents to decide), there’s free university education plus good term loans from the state to keep you from working while you study (with the obvious disadvantage that more and more college students study greek flower arrangements and turkish oud playing). Sweden has made this possible mostly due to staying away from war since 1817. Very economic and very clever…
There are good and there are bad things about socialism. In easy words the more socialistic a country is, the more equally divided is the economic cake, and the smaller it is. The more capitalistic a country is, the larger the cake is and the more unequally it is divided. Exagerration to either part is never good. The ultimate capitalism is “work or die”. That’s where the big corporate owners earn everything by doing nothing, sitting on the workers’ backs, letting them work for starvation wage, and they have to, otherwise they’ll starve. The ultimate socialism would be the idealistic communistic idea. State takes everyone’s money and divide it equally. No one would invest, because the state would tax the begeesus out of him and no one would work because he could make a living by just sitting at home.
The key when it comes to run a country, economically, is to balance these two correctly. To make it worth to work and to invest, but still to avoid above mentioned capitalistic legal robbery. The ultimate capitalistic countries are countries without economic regulations. basically any country without government would be capitallistic. When you let the free market do its thing. The laissez-nous principle. We can see this in countries where people starve and government do nothing. Mostly 3rd world countries. And the United States. The ultimate socialistic are the control countries like China, where big brother is watching. In these countries the unequalness still exist, simply because the communistic idea put into practice doesn’t work.
The socialistic Sweden has actually made it. People don’t starve there. There are no beggars on the street – because they can make more money begging from the government. The government has an obligation to its citizens that they have the right to live. The right to survive. The difference between the highest paid salary and the lowest paid salary is one of the smallest in the world.
I personally think that the ideal policy would be that of a capitalistic government – work and survive, don’t work and starve. But then add the commitment to the citizens. Make it possible to survive – but just barely – on staying at home doing nothing. No one wants to barely survive. Make sure the quality of life given that way is the same as that of a prisoner. Give them better pay if they actively look for job at the government owned work finding place. Give the work seekers one day off a week to go to interviews (besides the weekend of course) and have them pick oranges, dig dirt or whatever on the other days. Make basic health insurance part of taxes – must at least be the same as prisoners get. Give everyone the possibility to pay to get better insurance. Free education including university is a must in order to avoid rich people getting educated and poor people don’t. But demand money back if they drop out, and make it dependent on the grades. Give a year maternity/paternity leave and let the parents decide who takes out how much.
Yeah, that’s the society I’d want. Push people to work, make it worth it to work. But still have a basic commitment that no free person should get worse conditions than a prisoner. And 5 weeks paid vacation a year.
October 27, 2008 at 7:54 am
Oh, and state kindergarten should start when maternity leave stops. State kindergarten should continue until the obligatory school starts. The state kindergarten will cost a fixed price that every parent will receive as “kindergarten grant”. That way they can decide if they prefer to use the money to send the kid to kindergarten or if they prefer to keep him at home for a few years, and use the money as a possibility for not working during that time.
October 27, 2008 at 10:23 am
@scienkoptic – I now know why doctors over here sit behind their desks and don’t touch you. Back in South Africa the doctors actually have to know more and deal with more. And they are respected most of the time. Lawyers…
@uglyblackjohn – I agree 100%. I just find it funny that they can put the effort in to develop a missile with pint point accuracy. But not find a better solution to schools, roads etc. You know what one of the reasons are? The military gets funded to a level that is stupid over here but the others not. Because of “security”. The rest have to try and do patch work with the change they get. The money doesn’t work because they can’t do a decent job with the funding they get. Teachers getting underpaid results in… People not wanting to be teachers. Roads are easy. We know the problem and we know the solution. But they will not fund that adequately.
@thatdudeyouknow – Man, man, man. I wish more Americans will open their eyes on this. They throw the words socialism and liberalism at anything and hope it will stick. I have argued with so many people over here about the meaning of both. They just don’t get it. Sweden is a perfect example. Small little country, not perfect at all, but punches way above it’s weight because of equality. I find it odd that China and America are at the extremes of political philosophy, but the inequalities across the board is in the extremes for both. Yes, it is better to be in the US. But boy, if you are at the bottom of the pile in the US… No way out.
October 27, 2008 at 4:05 pm
Unrealated, but a hate filled triple play:
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She was a McCain volunteer!
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2008/10/police_mccain_volunteer_made_u_1.php
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Questions of a sharper kind:
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/239900.php
.
And, my least favorite bit o’ news, kinda what I feared when two weeks ago, racial hatred was all the rage at Palin and McCain rallies:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27405681/
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Yes, these GOPers’ are certainly using acceptable tactics, according to some…
October 27, 2008 at 4:19 pm
How did I get on as 53_3, anyway. WordPress accounts work here, too?
Anyway, I hate to jump in with a real life horror story, but one of my brothers-in-law had to go to the hospital because he tried to keep going on two jobs to make ends meet while having a lung infection.
What did it net him?
After 15 days at Harborview, he’s netted a $500,000 bill from them. Another equally large missive is headed his way after his exended stay at a rehabilitation clinic that has no in-house doctors, a staff of 30, and 200 patients, but charges, well, uh, guess what?
$800 / day?
Nope.
$2000 / day?
Nope. Giss again…
$4000 / day?
Da winner and new champeen! You win the, uh, er, prize! Yup, you too can go broke here. But hey, guess what?
On $15 / hour, no insurance, guess what? Medicaid wouldn’t pick it all up, and neither would charity. I guess, yes, in other countries, you might have to wait for some treatment, but, um, in this case, it’s either pay or die, or, if you are close enough to a designated trauma center where you can’t be turned away, it live and face ruination.
Ahyuh! Ahyuh! We dones gots the danged best red-white-and-blue-All-American-keep-you-choices health system in teh world!