The Some of Us
Managers, malingerers and mid-level morons making up the "elite"...
(Source: Getty Images)
Bill Bonner, reckoning today from Youghal, Ireland...
Yeah yeah oh hey now little water boy
Get your butt up offa the ground
Pick up that bucket of water son
Bring that bucket around
Lord if you don't like your job
Then lay that bucket down
~ Blue Yodel #8 by Jimmie Rogers
Thanks for staying tuned….
Our subject is real work… and why people aren’t so keen on it anymore.
And finally, the dots are coming together.
Of course people are quitting their jobs… the average Main Street worker has gotten a raise of only 32 cents per hour over the last half century. And now, adjusted for inflation, his earnings are going down.
Of course they want to join the elite – that’s where the money and status are. And of course, the Elite Establishment has become a parasitic burden – its ranks are padded with semi-competent managers, malingerers and hangers-on… over-proud, over-powerful and over-paid.
Of course prices are rising – the Fed is printing money. And of course Wall Street and its clients – the elite – have gotten rich; that’s where the bulk of the new money went.
Of course growth is slowing and the US empire is in decline… its upper classes have been corrupted by power and wealth. And its working classes – despised and ripped off by their ‘betters’ – are putting down their trowels and climbing down from the truck cabs.
The Some of Us
Let’s look at this more closely.
It was the ‘culture of work’ that made America such a powerhouse.
During WWII German prisoners of war, in America, were often given the opportunity to work on farms. After the war was over, some elected to stay. One explained it:
“Here, I can work as much as I want.”
But now… it seems fewer people like to work.
You’ll recall our explanation for the decline of the US. Every society has its elites. The government is never “all of us.” It’s some of us. There are those who govern and those who are misgoverned. Naturally, ambitious people aim for the cushy, front-row seats.
“If you keep getting grades like that,” mothers warn their children, “you’ll end up like your father, laying bricks.”
Masonry is an honorable profession. It adds to the real wealth of the world. Anyone can do it. But doing it well requires real skill, something you typically learn on the job. You begin as a helper or “mud (mortar) boy” or “hod (a wooden device used to carry bricks on a job site) carrier.” Then, you fill in here and there. And when the boss stops slapping your hand, you can call yourself a mason.
But the young man of today has other opportunities. And thanks to the federal government, he has an astonishing amount of rope to hang himself.
Instead of getting paid to learn carpentry, masonry, hospitality, baking or any one of dozens of useful trades, a young man takes out student loans and gets a degree in ‘management’ or ‘communications’ or ‘administration.’ Then, he can take his place among the people who work without getting their clothes dirty – schlepping in an air conditioned office to keep up with student debt, credit card debt, mortgage debt, auto debt… and the US national debt. He may never be among the real elite… or ever join the real ‘deciders,’ but he can still hold his head up… and feel good about himself. His mother will be proud of him.
More Butts
Besides, as a society becomes more regulated and controlled, more and more wannabe elites are needed to ‘manage’ it. While the number of students and teachers may remain more or less steady, for example, the number of ‘educators’ or ‘administrators’ goes up. It’s not enough to teach readin’, writin’ and ‘rithmetic; children also need to be indoctrinated with the elite catechism – that is, that they, the elite, should control the economy, the political structure, and the social and cultural rules of civil society. Anti-racism trainers are required… and experts to explain the need to switch to electric cars… and ‘economists’ who can keep a straight face.
So, too, are more butts needed in the seats of the medical industry. Again, while the quantity of doctors and nurses may be relatively stable, (many imported from Pakistan or India) somebody has to tell them how to treat their patients. And far more middle-muddlers are needed to master the intricate paperwork and arcane rules of Medicaid, Medicare and Obama Care, into which nearly half the population is currently enrolled.
The CDC has to keep track of who is vaccinated and who is not. The Small Business Administration must know who got PPP loans (a good bet – a high percentage went to the elite.) The SEC must charge someone with insider trading. The FBI must arrest criminals… and frame its political targets. The CIA must provide ‘intelligence’ to justify more ‘defense’ spending.
And so the wheels turn, but more and more slowly. Middle-management gums them up. Even superfluous parts must be greased, tended, connected to crankshafts and flywheels. Some cold and stationary, like a rusty DeSoto… others hot, young and in motion, but for no apparent reason; in the crankcase… in the transmission… more gears to turn… more parts to be oiled…
But none of them provide any motive force. No forward motion. No propulsion. They are ‘free riders’ in the economy who must be paid… whose medical needs must be met… whose retirements must be financed…
…and who vote for candidates who swear to God that they will never let interest rates go up.
More to come…
Tomorrow, we will look at the non-elite… the common man. If he doesn’t work, how does he support himself? Has he been corrupted too? And in his idleness, does he get depressed?
Regards,
Bill Bonner
P.S. Don’t forget to look out for Tom Dyson’s weekly investment update, due out later today. As mentioned in this space yesterday, Tom’s been on the hunt for real world value in what he calls the “Old Economy.” That is, companies in lucrative, stalwart industries with plenty of cash flow, which have been overlooked - and potentially underpriced - in the mad race for the “next shiny thing.”
These are companies that make things, haul things, freight things, and deliver things to market. Things real people need out there in the real world. Paid subscribers can expect his latest research this afternoon, including an update to his gold report. If you’d like to join our network, you can subscribe here for a couple of bucks a week.
Aghhhhh...today’s essay brought back memories. I was self employed for 35 years in a business I created. I set my own hours and the income was great when I worked (it was hard physical work, sometimes during weird hours). But the regulatory parasites that attached themselves eventually became overwhelming.
When I started in 1983, a permit cost $150 and involved about an hour of time and 3-4 pages of paperwork for a job that typically took 4-5 hours, or a full day with set-up and clean-up.
By the time I got out, that exact job, in exactly the same location, would require a permit costing the owner over $5,000, involving surveys and more than 70 pages in the application process. And where it had formerly taken no more than two weeks to get the permit, the “review process” became 3-4 months to sometimes more than a year. Again, for what was typically a one day job.
I often wondered how many bureaucrats’ families my little one man business helped support. Even the lowly “permit technician” (secretary), to whom I handed the paperwork to start the process, made more annually than I did. And what a sweet retirement she has, too.
I finally just walked away. Didn’t even try to sell the business. In hindsight, I should have been a bureaucrat.
You're being a little too hard on the American work force, Bill.
During the Covid shutdown, many people who worked at jobs they hated because they needed the money, had time to reflect with the forced idleness. They realized that they wanted work that was more satisfying and paid more money. So, when their old bosses re-opened their business and called them back to work, they said, "No, thanks," and began job-hunting.
Also, many people who seek the easy, glamorous, high-paying jobs of the elite, do so because they listened to their parents, who urged them to reach for that brass ring. I remember my own father . . . If he told me once, he told me a thousand times, that he wanted me to have a "desk job" where I didn't have to work hard for a living. Fortunately, I didn't listen. I've always had "manual labor" jobs -- even though I have a bachelors degree -- from stocking shelves in a grocery store, to fire-fighting, to fueling airliners, and I thank God every day, that I did. I'm in fantastic physical condition while friends who sat at a desk their whole lives and never lifted a finger other than to push a pencil or dial a phone, are are sickly weaklings who shuffle their feet when they walk, fall on their faces, and break hips.