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.
Commiserations........I too had a nice little one man operation in Australia...the bureaucrats didn't get me ever but boy I saw them and we feel for you!
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.
Love the writing, stories and analysis. Will we finally connect all the dots? I think not, but will enjoy the journey. All the best to you and your family.
Safe travels and look forward to hearing tales from Argentina!
Have several friends whose fathers were solid blue collar, and "realized" they did not want to follow that paths limited opportunity to make money, their #1 concern. So, they became slick financial advisors and lawyers, full of themselves, money, and self esteem. Not sure whose life was richer.
include some pictures of the stone walls being built and more information as to height , how wide , do they require footings , are there height restrictions , placement where on property lines ? thank you AM
Easy money has inflated away workers' wages for at least 30 years while markets soared. When the going got tough during Covid, "essential workers" were forced to endure dangerous conditions while those of us with desk jobs were safe at home. Stimulus checks and the pandemic reset offered some blue collar workers an opportunity to bargain for better jobs, not to quit working altogether. And so what if they did? No one is entitled to another's labor. "Job creators" are getting a taste of what a free market for labor might look like - where people are not forced to take whatever employers want to offer.
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.
Commiserations........I too had a nice little one man operation in Australia...the bureaucrats didn't get me ever but boy I saw them and we feel for you!
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.
Bill,
Love the writing, stories and analysis. Will we finally connect all the dots? I think not, but will enjoy the journey. All the best to you and your family.
Safe travels and look forward to hearing tales from Argentina!
Have several friends whose fathers were solid blue collar, and "realized" they did not want to follow that paths limited opportunity to make money, their #1 concern. So, they became slick financial advisors and lawyers, full of themselves, money, and self esteem. Not sure whose life was richer.
Spot on. Succinctly, just juxtapose America to the Roman empire.
include some pictures of the stone walls being built and more information as to height , how wide , do they require footings , are there height restrictions , placement where on property lines ? thank you AM
Easy money has inflated away workers' wages for at least 30 years while markets soared. When the going got tough during Covid, "essential workers" were forced to endure dangerous conditions while those of us with desk jobs were safe at home. Stimulus checks and the pandemic reset offered some blue collar workers an opportunity to bargain for better jobs, not to quit working altogether. And so what if they did? No one is entitled to another's labor. "Job creators" are getting a taste of what a free market for labor might look like - where people are not forced to take whatever employers want to offer.
Thank you again, I have always enjoyed your writing; yes I am a freeloader to your letter- wish it was other wise
Are you completely sure you're not a 21st century luddite? Just asking!