Retired, retiring, unemployed or underemployed

finding three square meals ...

Before, working was a profession and earnings was to pay bills, buy food & save some for rainy days
Jobs were fairly stable and promotion were a given for hard-driving staffs with initiatives
The bottom line was important and so were staffs morale, motivation and commitment
There was loyalty and bosses reciprocate with commendations and rewards
The older, more experienced staffs were valued for their contributions, independence & knowledge

Now, even the S&P 500 stocks are doing better; bottomline and performances have improved
So have rewards but, alas, the very top are top-slicing the fruits
Automation and AI were used to make life easier and faster; efficiency rules
Managers run the operation and top management plot strategic growth & expansion
There is 'Onesome' & Unity

Surround yourself with people who take their work seriously, but not themselves, those who work hard and play hard - General Colin Powell

Nowadays, values have changed
Commitment & loyalty by workers do not necessarily translate into 'care & share' by the top
The top are blinded by 'blind obedience' to the main decision maker
Technology, automation & AI determines the staffs relevance & usefulness
Cheap is the answer to every replacement

Jobs were easily lost to cheaper substitutes, especially migrant workers
Loyalty & skills-sets, while expected, are no warranty against termination & retrenchment
Retired, underemployed & unemployed are synonyms while retiring comes earlier
Laws were passed to protect some but discriminate against many
Many professions level down...

The world has 7 billion plus people
Jobs were made redundant by technology, AI and e-commerce
With globalisation, cheap migrant & displaced workers flood the market
Like swarms of locusts, they leave nothing to chance helped by the local government indifference
Trump promised to make America great again & Duterte is spreading the bread & butter
  
Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate and doubt, to offer a solution everybody can understand ~ General Colin Powell


If the locals are not protected or their livelihoods not warrantied, what's the point of having a Government to lord over them? Pay to be punished must be the silliest request anyone can ask for


Generally, the mass population are commoners who live and let live
They are happy with their little warm enclaves, safe from the elements & a place called "home"
Power, fame and politics are far from their mind
They just wanted a fair share of the economic pie; enough to live happily
No revolution and disquiet can come out of a satisfied populace


If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking ~ General S Paton
- There goes collective thinking or Groupthink



Nobody owes anybody a living
The truth is if nobody bothers to stand up for their own rights and defend against suppression, how do you expect you fellowmen to 'take the bullet' for you? Beggars thy neighbor is a poison, not an antidote
If you want a better future, stand up, take a view and do not let others determine your Providence
When you do not, sooner rather than later, you will feel the taste of something you may not bargained for
Poor, down & ...out

Slavery is when you submits to your higher Lord

You have a choice