Zeus' Law, Capitalism and Socialism, and 2 Cows....
Zeus’ Law
I went to the movies the other day and saw The Odyssey. What a fantastic movie—probably one of the best I have seen in a long time. Anyway, throughout the movie, they talked about Zeus’ Law. This movie is about Greek Mythology and Zeus is the top God. His law stated: “a host had to treat guests with complete respect and care, since you never know if the lowliest beggar is actually Zeus or another god in disguise.” In other words, “treat others as you want to be treated.”
Patriots
My memaw and my grandpa were true Americans. My grandpa served in the Air Force, was a tail-gun fighter in WWII, and was shot down. He was a POW (prisoner of war) for a time and earned a purple heart. My memaw worked in the factory during the war to help for the cause. They had a huge flag pole in their front yard and only flew the American Flag on it. Grandpa retired from the Air Force and both are buried in Fort Custer National Cemetery (for veterans and their spouses).
Isms….
Ann Landers, for those that don’t know, is a columnist who had people write in with their problems and she would offer worldly advice. She died a long time ago, but her daughter took over the column. Before her death, she wrote about how to understand different types of government….the “Isms…”
Socialism: You have two cows. Give one cow to your neighbor.
Communism: You have two cows. Give both cows to the government, and they may give you some milk.
Fascism: You have two cows. You give all of the milk to the government, and the government sells it.
Nazism: You have two cows. The government shoots you and takes both cows.
Anarchism: You have two cows. Keep both cows, shoot the government agent and steal another cow.
Capitalism: You have two cows. Sell one, buy a bull.
I think our government and our society is made up of democracy, capitalism, and socialism. I want to talk about the last two.
Capitalism
I truly believe in capitalism. I believe, in our country and what makes it so great, is that you can be whoever you want—with hard work, determination, and grit. It probably won’t be easy, but you can achieve your dreams if you want. There are a lot of roadblocks and that is where the grit and resilience comes into play. You have to first “get those 2 cows”. I, myself, may not always agree with choices some people make, but it is their life and they get the right and freedom to make those choices.
Examples of capitalism: Sometimes I roll my eyes in the way celebrities spend their massive fortune. For example, Katy Perry spent $3 million to go up into space for 10 minutes. Now, I know the experience is once-in-a-lifetime, but 3 million dollars?? For 10 minutes?? Cue the eye rolling.
Taylor Swift spent between $20-30 million on her wedding. Holy crap!! Yup, eye rolling…but I am going to rise to her defense. Someone wrote to the editor of our local paper about how it was ridiculous to spend that much on a wedding (I agree) but then he went on about homelessness and the starving children of Africa. Ok, hold on, dude. Do you know that days before the wedding, Taylor and Travis gave $26 million to many different charities? I agree with the “too much spending on the wedding” but she did her stewardship of her fortune and gave just as much to charity. Capitalism at its finest hour.
Socialism
Yes, in my opinion, I think capitalism is wonderful but I also feel we have a duty, a stewardship, to society. What do I mean by that? Socialism. Yes, we need to take care of the less fortunate and give one cow to them. Through our hard work, we will get another cow. The cow we gave away? For some people, something happened in their life and they became less fortunate and probably felt hopeless and helpless. Hopefully, by giving them a cow, they start feeling like there is hope and they can work hard to get back on their feet. To me, that is what socialism is. And although I think of myself as fortunate, I do partake in the socialism programs. I am at the local library every few days and use the free Internet that is offered. My daughters both attended the local park district for dance and softball. Sometimes my husband and I play pickleball on the local park’s courts.
Now, I’m also not the starry-eyed naive person who thinks socialism is the total answer. Nope, because I have seen people take advantage (and not in a good way) of the help they receive. I have a family member who is separated and has 2 children. She told me flat out that she doesn’t work “because she gets more money a month on welfare than if she worked”. Huh?? So, instead of having the government help her out until she is back on her feet, she just sits at home all day and does nothing. Her kids are both in school so it is not like she has a baby at home. How is this possible?? Well, I did some research.
Do you know that the federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour? If you worked at the Dollar Store and made the minimum wage, you would gross $290 for a 40-hour week. That is $1,160 per month. Now, that is before any taxes are taken out. How do you live and feed a family of 3 on that? I don’t think even a single person could live on that—between rent, utilities, transportation, and oh yeah, FOOD!! What the hell? So how much does she get on Medicaid (welfare)? $3754 a month. Ohhhhh, I see……
Hmmm….that does make sense. No, she is not motivated to “better herself” and get more education (she has a high school diploma) to get a career. No, she does not feel that “work” will help her self-esteem (which we all know it will because it gives her a sense of accomplishment and independence). She just sees the bottom line and calls it.
Does the government make her look for work? What does the government do to encourage her to be more independent and less dependent on Medicaid until someday she is no longer receiving it? That would be a blessing for her and the government.
The government does nothing. They say it is unlawful to make people prove they are looking for work or ways to get off of Medicaid. It is literally a federal law (42 U.S.C. 1396a) that does not allow work as a condition of Medicaid eligibility.
Say what???
Georgia is the ONLY state that has what is called the Georgia Gateway. How they get around the federal law is that in order to be eligible for Medicaid each month you must do 80 hours per month of work, job training, education, or community service (or a combination of any of those). Georgia is making people do something! 80 hours per month is not many hours and what they require is not just a “job” but other ways to better yourself, raise your self esteem, and get off your ass. The hope is that when you feel better about yourself, you will try to do those things that help you work hard, face roadblocks, and get that second cow yourself. Then you can sell it, buy a bull, and have a whole bunch of cows, without any more help from the government. Socialism got you started; now become a capitalist.
I started this blog about Zeus’ law. I truly believe in socialism and taking care of others that need it. Treat everyone as a person. No, I don’t believe that God is dressed up as a beggar but I do think we need to have compassion for others. Yes, there are some problems with the socialism programs but fix the problems, don’t eliminate them. I think Georgia has the right idea and maybe all states should look at this program Georgia Gateway. It is a win-win for all. Then maybe even my family member will feel better about herself and become a productive member of society.
We live in a great country. We have a good combination of capitalism and socialism but we are not perfect. Make some adjustments and I think things could even be better. I know the cows would think so…..
Blog Website: https://www.lifelessonsfrommemaw.com/
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