Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Quick Thought--
I always wanted a bucket lifter. I had a Tonka Jeep you could basically sit on and ride. My cousin had a kick ass yellow dump truck but my Jeep could fit a 12inch action figure behind the wheel. I wouldn’t have traded my Jeep but I did eye those elaborate Tonka toys with envy.
The idea of getting into some dirt with a bucket loader or a dump truck or a bulldozer. Wow. Imagining being a construction worker digging and moving dirt. To build something? Who know. Just to move the soil around was good enough.
I never got the toys. I would play with my friends but it never had that special toy place in my heart that G.I. Joe occupied. That was my toy. I had Optimus Prime and Jetfire (which had the same design as a Robotech Mech) so I was good as far as those toys went.
Part of me still yearns for the toy. But I want something quality and metal and remote control. No more getting down in the dirt I want something I can drive from adult height. That is why I will never buy it. Besides that is just a shadow, the real yearning, the real kernel of fun, nugget of awesome, would be to actually drive them.
I don’t know if I would want to get a job doing it but there is something about the idea of driving a bucket lift, a dozer, a bobcat, etc; that just makes me smile. It makes the little boy in me want to get out and dig. I mean, if I could go to school and know I would get the chance to drive, I’d have to consider that. But hanging around for years hoping you get a shot to try? I don’t think so. Just a couple times a year, go out and dig. Move some earth and make a ramp. Bring my sister and cousins along and have a damn fun time being kids again. Just with very large toys. Laterz.
Labels: grow up, jobs, kid, wish
Friday, December 12, 2008
Got money?
Something that I have been thinking about. Who should be laid off?
If you were in charge, who would be the person that you pick to lose their job? Is it the person who has a family and has to take a lot of days off? Is is the person who uses more sick days? Should it be the younger person who should have no problem finding a job and has no kids be laid off? What about the company man that might have savings or is just about to make it to the pension? Are there some that deserve to keep their jobs more than others?
I don't even know if all bosses think about that. I guess on some level they might but then again I think most bosses are just covering their own asses.
This kind of thing was coming to mind when I was reading about the buyout that the car makers want from the government. The main argument for the "donation" is that it will save jobs. Yeah. I believe that. Maybe save a CEO or two.
What they should do is use that money for retraining. Give out low or no interest loans to people who want to go back to school to learn a new job skill. Help pay for college. Maybe they should help some people open some small businesses? Give a loan for that.
But they won't. Because average people don't have lobbyists. Average people foot the bill. Average people end up taking it up the ass while the rich get richer.
The idea of giving money to car companies that got buttfucked by the economy because they didn't plan ahead just pisses me off. Why the hell didn't they make more fuel efficient cars? Why didn't they make better cars? Why did they spend assloads of money fighting fuel, emission, and safety standards instead of making a better cars? They spent money advertising about the bigger engines, the faster speeds, the power of the vehicles but very little a cheap, safe, dependable, and just plain good car. Well, fuck them. I don't want the autoworkers to lose jobs but for the last 30-40 years the car companies have ignored or fought the signs of change. If they are that stupid then they should go. Change or die. That is an axiom of business.
But what do I know? I am not the President of a company. I am not a boss. I am not an economist. I am just a person who knows what it is like to have an empty pocket. I am just someone who knows what it's like when you have to save your money and pinch pennies. Shit. What do I know right? Laterzzz...
Labels: government, jobs, loan, money
