The bad news seems to be that we cant rely on big corporations and rich people to behave ethically, nor on our government to legislate or enforce appropriate ethics for them. But if were wasting our time waiting for those things to happen, dont we still have another option? Cant we refuse to support them? I propose we Human Beings stop worshiping rich people by not watching TV shows about them, reading books and magazines about them, and emulating them. Lets embrace and celebrate our various socioeconomic statuses. Lets make a point of crossing the lines and spending quality time with people from different backgrounds. Dont buy faux designer handbags in an attempt to emulate them, and for heavens sake, do NOT put yourself in financial distress in order to acquire a real one! Dont make jokes about people who apparently dont spend much money on their clothes or car or hair. Instead, stop and consider whether they might be putting higher financial priorities like health or education in front of appearances. Lets make those people our celebrities! And as for the big companies that are sucking our countrys money up to the 1% and then giving back a mere pittance, Im going to look into the feasibility of not buying their products. Its hard NOT to shop at Wal-Mart, especially if youre poor, but 4 of the top 10 richest people in America are Wal-Mart heirs. I know this is hard to imagine, but if shopping at Wal-Mart became unpopular because we begin to tie our shopping there to the growing income inequality problem, then wouldnt that help solve the problem? Im also going to look into the defense of Wal-Mart and other giant corps. I know the defenders say that unemployment would skyrocket without these guys, and that they do, in fact, give back quite a bit. That second part is why I didnt mention two of the other top-tenners (Bill Gates and Warren Buffett). Buffetts well-known for his frugal lifestyle and refusal to pass his money down. Gates has a foundation that sounds like it does really great things. But the jurys still out on Wal-Mart for me. Will report my findings here. npr.org/2013/11/04/242410497/double-take-toons-richly-deserved
Posted on: Mon, 04 Nov 2013 13:33:56 +0000
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