It is
audacious of me to suggest that I know what people across this country, and
around the world, really want. If I was
to say that they want to be happy I don’t think that would be a stretch. I am pretty sure that if you ask them “do you
want to be unhappy?” they would definitely disagree with you. So have a big cup of coffee and read on.
What would it take to make you
happy? Here’s what I am guessing would
make the 99% happy, enough money to make their world go around without
stress. Most people want to earn a
living and they would like that living to stretch enough to provide them with
the necessities of life with a little left over in the bank account for a rainy
day. Sure we all dream of winning the
6/49 lottery and allow our imaginations to run rampant when we contemplate a
few million dollars however realistically if we could always be in the black,
we’d be happy. We would like to enjoy
one vacation a year that would not have to be paid by credit card. In this 21st century it should not
be unreasonable to have a country’s complete population able to have this expectation.
You are probably at this point gasping in
shock that I would be so bold as to make this statement. I am here to inform you that in the
Scandinavian countries this is what happens.
Yes, I am sure you have heard of their high taxes (50%) but have you
heard of their high minimum wage? The negotiated
minimum wage is $20 per hour and at that rate would be taxed at 40% which would
mean that take home pay would be $12 per hour or $1,820 per month (based on a
35 hour work week). I’ve attached links
below so that you do not have to trust my facts. The rest of Scandinavia is similar in
structure and expectations.
Why are my thoughts running on this topic
today? I am listening to the debates
here in Canada as well as the electioneering that is happening in the USA where
the economy and taxes are always at the top of the agenda. This is what I see and why I have no interest
in hearing about deficits. I see
corporations big and small outsourcing their work to third world countries in
order for these companies to have a wider margin to issue dividends to
shareholders. I am a shareholder myself
but I would prefer to see a sound economy within my own country and take less
or no dividend because I have the common sense to realize that a sound economy
in my own country is better for everyone.
It is in Canada’s (and by Canada I mean the 99%) best interest to have
the 99% gainfully employed which will generate a spending economy. In order to have the 99% gainfully employed you
have to have the jobs within the country.
This would mean we would have shoe factories and our shoes would cost
more than $9.99 because the shoe factory workers would be earning at least $20
per hour. However if the economy has the
strength of 99% of the population working at rates like this then we can afford
to pay $89 for our shoes. For one thing,
the shoes would feet the Canadian feet rather than be made to fit a tiny
Chinese foot!
I’m not an economics expert but I can
certainly add numbers and read enough material on Scandinavia (and yes I do
have the advantage of dipping into my relatives’ knowledge) to know that what I
propose is feasible, it works elsewhere in the world, and what on earth are we
doing when we keep doing the same old thing?
If you
keep doing what you have always done you are going to continue to get what you’ve
always got.
Think about this next time you go out and
vote. Whose got your back? Forget about corporations, forget about
deficits, forget about everything but THE PEOPLE.
Articles to
look at:
Minimum wage
by country
The best
minimum wages in Europe
Taxes in
Denmark
Cost of
living in Denmark
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