For our first Whoopee Cushion Butt Salute I pulled this piece from commencement season 2017. It is part one of two. Enjoy!
Lunacy at Harvard
In his address at Cambridge, Mark Zuckerburg, (CEO Facebook) called for a universal wage. He likened it to a “cushion” for people lesser than himself. There are so many things wrong with this it is hard to know where to start.
Zuckerburg makes one of two things clear. As a man who knows how to grow a social network, he has learned absolutely none of the lessons this endeavor should teach. OR… he has learned them all and is ready to abuse his fellow citizens with what he knows.
First the ignorance.
I have quoted George Will on this s few times, most notably in my book, on an important social dynamic. If by some miracle, Will asks, we were to wake up and find everyone’s income, measured against purchasing power, triple overnight, would we then suddenly hear an end to the constant whining about income inequality?
The answer is, of course not. Those people who suddenly go from $30,000/year to $90,000 would decry the fact that they cannot afford the same lakefront house as those who recently only made $70,000/year. And that just isn’t fair. People are both competitive and envious. The disciplined adult will control the envy and compete to move up in the world. The lazy will eschew the work required to improve their lot in life, instead venting their envy.
What we euphemistically call government today, sees opportunity in taking from the competitive and giving to the lazy.
Before you get your panties in a wad, read the next paragraph.
This makes Zuckerburg comments doubly ignorant.
We already have the “cushion” Zuckerburg refers to. It’s called Welfare. It is supposed to be legitimate government assistance for those citizens who actually cannot do for themselves. As much as the loonies would love you to believe otherwise, there is no one – NO ONE – who would begrudge the truly incapacitated of this benefit. NO ONE.
Sadly the system is abused. Far too many people are on the dole who needn’t be. Too many could easily rise out of poverty and make something of themselves. But they are taught from an early age, in the streets, in their “churches” and in school, that it is their right to simply demand more from productive citizens rather than being productive themselves.
And it is here where Zuck appears to have learned nothing of his experience of bringing countless billions to his place of business. By having the government give EVERYONE some kind of stipend, we accomplish absolutely nothing. People will still want or need the exact same things they wanted or needed yesterday. By handing people a lump of money, the availability of what they want or need will be adversely affected.
Result, competing entities who fill these wants or needs will know that there is much more money available for meeting the wants/needs. More money than there is product to sell. Many more people will be clamoring for their products or services. As sure as night follows day, prices will immediately rise and soon stabilize at the same place, relative to income, as they were when the government first started the lunatic give-away program.
What we call “poverty” in this country would find a new place marker relative to prices, ALL OF WHICH will have risen uniformly.
Is Zuckerburg really that short-sighted? After all he has accomplished, can he really be this blind?
There are those, including myself who don’t think so. If we are right, then his comments are not just cynical. They smack of evil.
Matt Jordan is the author of Street Politics: It Ain’t Your Daddy’s GOP Anymore! Grab your copy here.
Kindle version here!
Or just start reading for free on Kindle Unlimited!
How Worthless is a Harvard Education
For our first Whoopee Cushion Butt Salute I pulled this piece from commencement season 2017. It is part one of two. Enjoy!
Lunacy at Harvard
In his address at Cambridge, Mark Zuckerburg, (CEO Facebook) called for a universal wage. He likened it to a “cushion” for people lesser than himself. There are so many things wrong with this it is hard to know where to start.
Zuckerburg makes one of two things clear. As a man who knows how to grow a social network, he has learned absolutely none of the lessons this endeavor should teach. OR… he has learned them all and is ready to abuse his fellow citizens with what he knows.
First the ignorance.
I have quoted George Will on this s few times, most notably in my book, on an important social dynamic. If by some miracle, Will asks, we were to wake up and find everyone’s income, measured against purchasing power, triple overnight, would we then suddenly hear an end to the constant whining about income inequality?
The answer is, of course not. Those people who suddenly go from $30,000/year to $90,000 would decry the fact that they cannot afford the same lakefront house as those who recently only made $70,000/year. And that just isn’t fair. People are both competitive and envious. The disciplined adult will control the envy and compete to move up in the world. The lazy will eschew the work required to improve their lot in life, instead venting their envy.
What we euphemistically call government today, sees opportunity in taking from the competitive and giving to the lazy.
Before you get your panties in a wad, read the next paragraph.
This makes Zuckerburg comments doubly ignorant.
We already have the “cushion” Zuckerburg refers to. It’s called Welfare. It is supposed to be legitimate government assistance for those citizens who actually cannot do for themselves. As much as the loonies would love you to believe otherwise, there is no one – NO ONE – who would begrudge the truly incapacitated of this benefit. NO ONE.
Sadly the system is abused. Far too many people are on the dole who needn’t be. Too many could easily rise out of poverty and make something of themselves. But they are taught from an early age, in the streets, in their “churches” and in school, that it is their right to simply demand more from productive citizens rather than being productive themselves.
And it is here where Zuck appears to have learned nothing of his experience of bringing countless billions to his place of business. By having the government give EVERYONE some kind of stipend, we accomplish absolutely nothing. People will still want or need the exact same things they wanted or needed yesterday. By handing people a lump of money, the availability of what they want or need will be adversely affected.
Result, competing entities who fill these wants or needs will know that there is much more money available for meeting the wants/needs. More money than there is product to sell. Many more people will be clamoring for their products or services. As sure as night follows day, prices will immediately rise and soon stabilize at the same place, relative to income, as they were when the government first started the lunatic give-away program.
What we call “poverty” in this country would find a new place marker relative to prices, ALL OF WHICH will have risen uniformly.
Is Zuckerburg really that short-sighted? After all he has accomplished, can he really be this blind?
There are those, including myself who don’t think so. If we are right, then his comments are not just cynical. They smack of evil.
More in the next segment.
Kindle version here!
Or just start reading for free on Kindle Unlimited!