Thursday, April 09, 2020

For Everyone Who Thinks Our Leaders are Being So Heroic. You're Wrong.

We've got ordinary people that decades of neoliberals have consigned to the precariat, the "Gig Economy," who now put their lives on the line for us every day and not from a podium distance away either. They're our heroes. Your job - your only job - Mr. prime minister, is to make damned sure we're not back in this mess or something far worse five years from now in such a vulnerable state.

We don't have the time to keep screwing around. These people are going to work, getting sick, some even dying - for us. Shouldn't we start respecting the chance they're giving us, their courage?


13 comments:

Anonymous said...

I must say that I find your posts welcome. A sense of thoughtfulness, sanity and logic prevails I find nowhere else. It's original stuff, not combed out of what someone else said to make a point we've all heard before. Of course, you cite others' writings, but in a way to enhance a point you're making. Excellent.

The point about Trudeau's job being to provide some sort of national standards to mitigate future pandemics is highly valid. We haven't had good government for decades, and the herd memory of a much better Canada has faded with the years.

BM

The Disaffected Lib said...


Hi, BM. Lately I've been thinking about the 'gig economy' that neoliberalism has inflicted on so many societies, including our own. In a world that's facing the likelihood of really seismic shocks such as this pandemic or climate breakdown events or even less predictable food insecurity challenges, what have we done to our new untermensch, the precariat who live from one unstable job to the next, paycheque to paycheque, never far from falling through the cracks.

These are the "job churn" class that our government says will just have to lump it. Why? Because that's the way our globalized trade regimes are structured. Years ago then Fed chief, Alan Greenspan, was caught on tape saying that the evolving precariat was good for the economy because it created a compliant work force, people who had no choice but to do as they were told. Doesn't that become a type of serfdom in a neo-feudal world?

Mirroring this miserable reality has been the rise of inequality as wealth is siphoned from the many into the accounts of the few. This gig economy creates economic imbalance and that means an unearned transfer of political power as well.

I think we'll pay dearly for this socio-economic contagion we've unleashed on our society. Perhaps not us but our children to be sure and theirs absolutely. Why are we doing that? Are we that accustomed to looking the other way? I don't know.

The Disaffected Lib said...

Hi, BM. I've been trying to understand how neoliberalism and the successful introduction of our untermensch, the precariat, are factoring into this pandemic.

Who is most vulnerable to the full spectrum of threats Covid-19 brings? Surely it's those gig economy workers, living paycheque to paycheque, in a world where they're utterly expendable. This class of people left with less than a living wage for whom any interruption in pay leaves them unable to pay their rent or their utilities or put food on the table.

Look how quickly governments have acted to flood vast amounts of money into the economy. What does that say about the economy they've crafted and the predicament they have created for the bottom rung. Isn't that an admission that they've created a wage slave culture?

Think of Teddy Roosevelt who, in 1910, said it was the fundamental responsibility of government to ensure that workers shared in the wealth so that not only could they securely provide for their families but could also perform other civic duties.

We have allowed the balance to shift much too far in favour of capital at the expense of labour but I don't think government wants to recognize that. Inequality is killing us and, like so many of the ills our societies experience, these are in large measure the result of choices made in our legislatures and parliament.

Owen Gray said...

As always, the real heroes are ordinary folks.

Trailblazer said...

I am at the age where I am quite aware of the wonderful world of nurses.
As we age we use the health care system more frequently.
I find it fascinating that a new neighbour, a nurse,who recently moved to Nanaimo BC and is,as yet, on call has not yet found employment!
SO FAR, this says lots of positive things about our attitude to Corona Virus.
That said we cannot be too smug when comparing ourselves to the rest of the world.
Today BC Ferries reported full sailings to vacation cottage destinations!

TB


The Disaffected Lib said...

Ordinary folks, indeed, Owen. Not all act out of altruism but a good many do. Time, perhaps, to channel the spirit of Will Rogers. It's time past due to start demanding a progressive restoration.

It's time to realize how much of what ails us traces back to the floors of our legislatures and parliaments. Inequality? That's legislated by elected representatives who fail to act in the interests of the many. Climate change, ditto. On and on.

"Practical equality of opportunity for all citizens, when we achieve it, will have two great results. First, every man will have a fair chance to make of himself all that in him lies; to reach the highest point to which his capacities, unassisted by special privilege of his own and unhampered by the special privilege of others, can carry him, and to get for himself and his family substantially what he has earned. Second, equality of opportunity means that the commonwealth will get from every citizen the highest service of which he is capable. No man who carries the burden of the special privileges of another can give to the commonwealth that service to which it is fairly entitled."

The Disaffected Lib said...

TB, you've struck a nerve. Some of my recent posts have been tinged with anger. I have looked for signs in this latest calamity, something of an epiphany, that we finally get it. We need, in dealing with this, to focus on the future. It's not enough to patch the latest hold in the hull when the whole thing is infested with dry rot. You have to haul the boat out, strip the rotted planks and replace them with sound wood.

What are we doing to restore soundness to our society?

Trailblazer said...

Remaining optimist is a challenge ; dont get me going on Alberta!

That said this and every day.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHPOzQzk9Qo


This clip has bee around forever!
Wren will we ever learn.


TB

the salamander said...

.. the hypocrisy.. the sheer insult level and boorishness of elected and unelected 'Public Servants' is truly hard to believe.. or swallow. At a fundamental level, Mound.. we are being constantly groomed & conditioned to expect such behaviour.. Its as if we are lesser beings, of a lower caste.. 'children' to be seen & not heard.. and seated at the little kids table as human props with Kraft Dinner - mac & cheese. Meanwhile the 'adults' are served exquisite epicure by servants and handmaidens and can discuss their portfolios and arrange golf weekends with their wealth managers and industry CEO's.

Job Churn aside.. the current reality is Sudden Sector Death Syndrome.. Oddly though, the Political Sector appears to have genetic herd immunity. Presumably the only hardships of Andrew Scheer for example, may be overexposure to actual child rearing. Certainly his Quality of Life remains that of royalty. Privy of course to advance warning of the onrushing calamity of Covid-19.. it would be a shocker to hear his portfolio took a hit. Meanwhile he can't attend his his usual hair salon prior to his daily screetchings.. the salon location is closed and any staff no doubt 'furloughed' as if they were disposable infantry. Fitness gyms ? The owners on wait lists to seek bank loans and waiting on federal bailout funds, restaurants the same, Cycle stores, likely closed, though some are open as bike repair is seen as essential service.

Thus its easier to list the sectors that have died and lost their personnel.. than attempt to list all the actual occupations & variations within the sectors. The completely bizarro Alberta Healthcare Tale of Woe is highly educational. As thin gruel as Jason Kenney is.. while being completely unctuous to his employers.. he churns along chopping at his employers employment.. wha ?? Hold on a sec !! But wait ! There's more !! Kenny's Capo. Tyler Shandro, Minister of Health, aint just fishing off the dock, hell, he's burning the dock to the waterline whole fishing for the leftover clients with his wife ! UCP as Tag Team synchro scandal machine !

Riddle me that.. the Public Service employees.. who interviewed and begged to be hired, paid with pension.. then they turns and bites off the hands that feed them.. Oopsy.. frontline highly skilled and driven Healthcare clinicians & personnel and Kenney et al just tore up the employment contract they had with the Province. Now I do understand that somehow in a truly blessed way.. a sort of transmogrification occurs when a basic Ottawa carpetbagger, claiming he lived in 3 domiciles gets elected via byelection or provincial election whilst being the undisputed leader of rhe brand new Party.. that also snares a majority. Some chemkcal or holy dispensation is thereby granted from above.. and hey presto.. the new hire starts mouthing off to some of the very folks who pay him and will pension him.. but in turn, he can claim their pension funds are his to invest..

And here we are today.. modern day Alberta.. unbelievable tale.. the servant is now the master ! An election promise made & promise kept ?





Trailblazer said...

This my help.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

TB

Trailblazer said...

Best info yet.

* Hydrogen peroxide helps a lot after soap, alcohol and chlorine, because peroxide dissolves the proteins of the virus, but you have to use it pure and it hurts the skin.

NO BACTERICIDES. The virus is not a living organism like bacteria; one cannot kill with antibiotics what is not alive, but rapidly disintegrate its structure with all that has been said.

* NEVER shake used or unused clothing, sheets or clothing. While it is glued on a porous surface, it is very inert and disintegrates only between 3 hours (fabric and porous), 4 hours (copper, because it is naturally antiseptic; and wood, because it removes all moisture and does not let it detach and disintegrates), 24 hours (cardboard), 42 hours (metal) and 72 hours (plastic). But if you shake it or use a duster, the virus molecules float in the air for up to 3 hours and can settle in your nose.

Viral molecules remain very stable in external or artificial cold like air conditioners in homes and cars. They also need moisture to remain stable and especially darkness. Therefore, dehumidified, dry, warm and bright environments will degrade it more quickly.

* UV LIGHT on any object that may contain it breaks the virus protein. For example, to disinfect and reuse a mask is perfect. Be careful, it also breaks down collagen (which is a protein) in the skin, eventually causing wrinkles and skin cancer.

* The virus CANNOT go through healthy skin.

* Vinegar is NOT useful because it does not break the protective layer of fat.

NO ALCOHOL or VODKA. The strongest vodka is 40% alcohol and you need 65%.

* LISTERINA (it's an American mouthwash) IF YOU NEED IT! It's 65% alcohol.

* The more space is limited, the higher the concentration of the virus. More open or naturally ventilated, less.

* This is super said, but you have to wash your hands before and after touching the mucous membrane, food, locks, knobs, switches, remote control, cell phone, watches, computers, desks, TV, etc. And when using the bathroom.

* You must HUMIDIFY DRY HANDS, for example wash them a lot, because molecules can hide in micro wrinkles or cuts. The denser the moisturizer,


the better.

* Also keep your nails short so that the virus doesn't hide there.


Hope this helps.

TB

The Disaffected Lib said...

Thanks for the links, TB. I'm doing a bit of social distancing from this blog at the moment. I think I'll spend the afternoon reading some Carl Sagan. It's a remarkable elixir in times of angst and woe.

The Disaffected Lib said...

I suppose we'll know soon enough whose interests our pols will serve in the post-pandemic Canada.

There was an item from CBC a couple of days ago about the wonderful environmental programmes the feds are planning. The main one given was hiring unemployed oil patch workers to have a go at Alberta's orphan wells.

You can't argue against getting people back to work and a paycheque. That part is fine. What irks me is that the environmental costs of remediation are lifted from the shoulders of the energy giants who created those wells and then slipped free of any responsibility to deal with the aftermath, a burden now to be borne by the public. What's especially galling in this is that this same federal government will continue to lavish billions in grants, subsidies, deferrals and other benefits on these very same energy giants.

That is hardly a government I would consider heroic.