I got up this morning committed to going to Vancouver and returning the moho. Convinced it was the right thing to do. Then I read the morning news and found myself ‘changing my mind’….maybe. Dunno. Decision-making is made more difficult in the time of Virus. One minute you are brave and determined and the next you are quaking in your slippers. Well, Sal is, anyway. “I dunno. I am changing my mind. I am not sure. Kinda thinking that, if it is not life and death, why make it so?”
Neither of us think it is REALLY life or death but the news is increasingly bad. Every day is worse. The warnings increasingly prominent.
Do I really need this hassle?
There are counterpoints, of course. The moho has to goho sometime. What makes anyone think next month will be any better? Could be worse in April and May. Hell, they may even cancel the ferries altogether at some point and then that window will be shut. At least for awhile. Maybe we should just get going while the going is still possible?
The irony is that we are not afraid of C-19. I mean, of course, we are ‘respecting it and what it can do‘ but, for the trip we have in mind, we think we can go in, get out and NOT be anywhere near anyone. Touching nothing but credit cards and gas pumps. At all.
“What would you do if you were on the road and you saw a naked woman walking alone, obviously in some kind of trouble?”
“I’d slow down and throw her a towel.”
“Really? That’s it? Do we even have a towel in the car? And wouldn’t you feel that she needed help?”
“Oh, yeah. She needs help alright ’cause I ain’t stopping. She might have C-19.”
“OK….she also has a naked child with her…..you gonna stop then?”
“Nope. Only have one towel.”
C-19 is changing us, it seems. Well, Sal, anyway. She’d keep driving. I’d stop for a naked woman even in an Ebola epidemic but that’s just me. I am kinda noble that way. I’d ask her to put a towel over her head, maybe….for safety reasons, of course. “Breathe into the towel, OK? Stick your head out the window, maybe? No, no need to thank me. Just lean out the window. I am fine with this. It’s my duty.”
Our Off the Grid Home 
Fair is fair.
Would you stop for a naked man?
Take advantage of the non existent traffic these days.
Driving in the Lower Brainland is actually enjoyable……
The lack of traffice wont last forever.
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A naked man?! Of course. But he may have to ride on the roof rack……
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Blood type O is not as susceptible to catching the C 19 virus nor is it particularly fatal to type O blood types according to Chinese research done on their pandemic.
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So I heard. I guess that means I just send Sally…? She’s Super O. I’m B-. Seems we B- types drop like flies. I am also of Celtic origins and we, as a sub-species, are very short lived. If everything is going great, we expire at the latest by 70. Our ‘best by’ date is in our 30’s. I am currently the oldest Celt with B- type blood living on a remote island and hiking up and down hills and drinking scotch, eating red meat and driving like a fiend in boats and cars. I’d sell my stock short if I were you.
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Socialism is suddenly a given, 75% income protection,,for every and anyone
Watch out if your are in the bourgeoisie class with some rental income, you may not be paid and no evictions allowed.
But we’re are such an affluent society, flying and cruising everywhere, and choking down our 25$ burger and beers, that’s before the now expected 25% gratuity.
Hohum what could go wrong
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A world that is run by corporate capitalism flying in C 19 virus from all over the world into Canada, cutting health services. Hohum what possibly could go wrong with such a system?
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Therein lies the hypocrisy. Socialism is a ‘bad word’ if poor people benefit and businessmen can’t ‘exploit’ them for profit because the government is providing. But the minute Capitalism is in crisis (self inflicted, by the way, in most cases) they want BILLIONS in aid. I have no sympathy for capitalists that TAKE profits when the sun shines and then ‘beg’ for subsidies at the drop of a stock price.
Yes, it is true…there are a bunch o’ bums looking to cheat and slime their way into food stamps and trailer park rent. I know them well. But, if you take all the trailer park trash and feed ’em and support ’em, all their money goes to Walmart anyway. But subsidize BIG OIL? Subsidize banks? So Jamie Dimon can make $2B this year instead of just $1B!!?? Sorry. I hate corporate bums more than I hate trailer park bums. Why? A trailer park bum gets a free meal. A corporate bum gets a yacht, a super model and $1B. AND he does so by hurting people. It is not hard to side with the trailer park bum even if he has been a bum all his life.
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Trailer park bum,,?? Wtf ,, at least he has a roof and water and warmth,
We have thousands of homeless that get next to O, and that has been going on for decades
And there has been nothing but platitudes for these wretched souls, but all the insolvent delusional flyers and cruisers and influencers,get a bailout right now!,
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It seems that a statement was made recently that inequality was low in Canada. Now we hear from you that ‘the homeless get nothing but platitudes’…or “…next to O…” Zero eh, well the cost to society to care for the homeless is about $43,000 per year per person in BC. Bringing into place social distancing for the homeless will require many more shelters. Shelters require much more than zero dollars to run.
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Would you please cite references for the 43000$ per year per homeless person?
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Wahooo….opinions are coming out! But I am closer to Aldo than 123. If the homeless ‘cost’ us $43k, its because they count the social workers and cops salaries. The homeless get diddly. I know. I saw. Skid Row cost money but 90% went to social workers, not the rubbies. It’s like FN. Tons of money is spent on Indian affairs. Very little gets to the Indian. The victim is not the problem…..the system is.
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Aldo your reference as requested. Oct 9, 2017 as reported on the CBC “Canadians spending big money on homelessness..’ CBC cites “At home chez sol(CHCS) project.” CHCS puts the cost at $53,144 per person year in Vancouver BC. Turns out It is higher in Vegas where the cost is estimated according a study to be up to $100,000 per homeless person but America has a different system. This study is on google. BC does not charge for the MSP health care so cost might be higher than the the 2017 CHCS project reports. A neighbour recently spent a month is the hospital after being found near death. The cost to tax payers was tens of thousands of dollars as it would have been if a homeless person had been picked up on the street and hospitalized. Some people get hospital care and assume it is free…not so!.
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Does personal responsibility factor into this equation? At all? ‘’It is all the “systems fault.” It’s the use of the word “all.” The word all means without exception. Clearly parenting might be part of the issue, life choices made might to part of the issue , and many other mights could also be factors. I get hyperbole but scapegoating institutions. Huh!
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Well….you make a very good point. So good, in fact, that I should retract ‘some’ of that. But I cannot. Our system is ‘off’. Our system is ‘out of sync’, out of tune, mis directed. Basically: our system is wrong becuase it is money driven. NOW – to be fair – when I say that, I mean the larger system, not the misguided institutions that it has spawned. The institutions we have now are the end-result of a system that is ‘out of whack’ even if the institution is 100% oriented to do good. Basically, the Capitalist system just doesn’t work properly. Should health care workers be driven by salary? NO!!! But they have to be because they are embedded in the money system. They HAVE to say NO to people in need because those people don’t have the money to be cared for. But that is a discussion that would take an infinite number of professors an infinite number of years to resolve. We have a system that puts money paramount. And THAT is insane. And self limiting. Different states, fer gawd’s sake, are bidding against each other for medical supplies. THAT Is money-love madness. BUT THAT IS THE SYSTEM WE HAVE EMBRACED. It is out of whack.
But – to your point – don’t folks carry some responsibility? ABSOLUTELY. And that is an argument for my opinion. We do NOT invest in parenting. We do NOT invest in children. We do not invest in marriages and blah, blah, blah….why? Because there is no money in that! Our system is like a guy who sells windows but whose hobby is chucking rocks at people’s windows.
There is a HUGE industry involved in the ‘dysfunction of others’ but it is more parasitic than helpful.
Thanks for the opportunity to explain.
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Taking the time to discuss one’s opinion is important for so many reasons. Being unambiguous might help to promote informed discussion and perhaps help to dispense with glittering generalizations. Claims like none, no one, nothing, all, zero and other absolute statements that admit no exceptions are on their face false. Take the statement or the claim unproven that “All politicians are corrupt.” This statement clearly has exceptions so the claim is false. Recently I heard a claim that Canadians are afraid of the C 19 virus. As written this claim is false. But if the claim had been “Some Canadians fear the C 19 virus.” Yes this is a assertion that could be proven to be true. So these claims about the ‘homeless’ need to be made in the form of a qualified or restricted claim. This pandemic has demonstrated to a certain extent that, “‘ All capitalism is bad,” but is on its face this is false. Nor is it true to say, “All socialism is good.” On its face this claim is also false. Allow for exceptions in thought recognizing that some folks hold opinions that are categorically not yet proven or provable. Opinions are not facts and lack the weight of truth. The attack upon facts with uninformed opinions might be contributing to the rapid spread of C 19 virus. Categorical absolutes firmly held might be dangerous as in the case of the Florida pastor who claimed his rights under the USA Constitution allowed him to ignore the science of social distancing as described in Florida’s Health regulations.
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True. Intelligent response. My excuse: I write tight. My readers won’t/don’t/can’t take the time to read anything over 1000 words. Of course, some do. Most don’t. So I resort to a variety of writer’s short cuts. Hyperbole, a quick word picture, common phrases, quotes and the like. And sometimes even (gasp) generalizations.
It’s a blog, not even a Ted Talk.
Re Capitalism. It is a system modelled on human behaviour. And that is why it works better than most any other system. But human behaviour has flaws (for the planet AND the species). Human behaviour theoretically aspires to being better than animals. We have guiding principles, morals, ideals and the golden rule. Capitalism today does not. Therefore, in my opinion, Capitalism is missing the best part of humanity despite the near starving NGOs and our under supported institutiions. In modern capitalism the stock market, wealth, business and ruthless exploitation come first. I think that is wrong. Even animals do a better job.
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Dave you write well. Your assertion about your readers’ deficiencies appear to be unnecessarily pessimistic. Some of your readers say they read every word you write. Take it on face value that they are avid readers. Many, many capitalists companies have moral missions statements, follow Health and Safety Regulations, honour collective agreements and adhere to various international treaties. To suggest that All capitalism is unconstrained and running amok and trampling on the worker is not true. But are some companies bad faith actors? Yes some companies are unethical but not all. Does capitalism have some deficiencies, of course! But well thought out regulation is partly beneficial to some companies? Not all companies see the value of regulation but Darwinian capitalism views harm them in many various ways.
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Thanks. But the stats tell me 1000 words is the limit. As soon as the blog climbs above that, the readers drop. If they are in the 500 – 750 range, the readership goes up. If I add anything even remotely salacious in the heading, the numbers jump. Two blogs back: ‘This is hard’ set a record. Before that, the most popular blog was titled Boobs, Guns and Booze (or something like that). Woohoo!
But I do know that the ‘regulars’ are not motivated that way. Still, the regs are a varied bunch. One couple will not read a single word on politics. Another is ‘bored of Ravens’ and still others are a smidge ticked that OTG tasks and plans are on the wane. That is the nature of it. I don’t mind. I like different subject matter myself so why not my readers?
Back to Capitalism. We do not disagree entirely. Lots of good companies. That is why I blame the larger system. The money-based system. When your bottom line is money, you do not make your bottom line anything else. Mission statements and theories and statements of ethics should all have the caveat attached: That is our mission but, if we lose money doing it, we have to abandon the mission statement otherwise we won’t be in business. So our mission statement really should read: we need money to do this mission statement and money comes first.
And, of course it does! It has to. Money is the common ‘energy’ we use to do human work. But this is a two year conversation over a lot of scotch and I can’t afford to buy all the scotch so we’ll never have a chance to design a better system – thus proving my allegation.
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Back to the original comment. you could travel to Van with very little worry if you make your own food, stay inside mohom. The problem is getting back. Buses by the way isolate passengers from each other no charge. Walking onto the ferry probably no problem few people are travelling. How you get from Ferry to Reid would be your biggest issue which I am sure you can resolve.
By the way in 1872 Australia had already discovered that democracy and capitalism does not work well together.
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Oddly, I am NOT against Capitalism in some form. It mirrors the human condition and should work. But, but, but…the human condition is somewhat flawed (it is why we have ideals and morals and such to which most of us aspire) and so, if the parallel holds true, we should devise a system or modify the old one so that the ugly side of humanity does not win out. Sociopaths do not aspire to higher ideals.
And mankind’s flaws with regard to money often manifest by way of sociopaths.
Trump is rich. Guzman was rich. Polluters get rich. Most stinkin’ rich folks do not deserve nor need all the billions they have. They got rich either by cheating, selling illicit products or casino-style luck. Yes, I still believe a hard worker saving and investing well can get wealthy. But, to be honest, I do not believe that same worker can be a gazillionaire. I do not see ‘playing by the rules and doing good work’ can make a person a billionaire. It’s my bias.
Yes, I think Bill Gates is an exception.
Now – as to the adventure into Virus Hell – you are right. We think we can get there without risk (save for another flat tire or other incident) and getting back should be easy, too, if all goes well. Sal will follow me down in the Pathfinder. So, it’s a convoy!
Our biggest challenge is doing it all in a one-day turnaround. That means making everything go like a Swiss watch. And did I mention….Murphy always comes along?
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Yes you are correct the ‘’exception does not prove the rule.’ Bill Gates is the ethical exception. Bill Gates earned and continued to earn wealth but as a grateful entrepreneur he seems to realize that he was standing on the shoulders of others. He did not amass his wealth by himself but through the work of teams of individuals. One of the Dragons on the TV show “Dragon’s Den” describes himself as “Mr Wonderful” and had commented that he is “Not a charity.” The is the sort argument made by Ayn Rand as she espouses the “selfishness as a virtue.” It is possible to extend this concept of selfish virtue to be a characteristic of ultra individualism. Ultra individualism possibly holds the belief that the role of society is to work as this individual desires. Evidently this individual has been success by standing on the shoulders of society. In “Civilizations” Kenneth Clark said,
‘’”We stand on the shoulders of giants.” Puzzling is the apparent claim that the individual owes no debt to society. Now the pandemic is here and individualism appears to be of little assurance. We have the lady in a remote spot in South America complaining that Canada had not sent a flight to evacuate her even though she has failed to registrar with Foreign Affairs Canada. Of course she claims that all politicians are corrupt, and government does not work for her. Why because in her view individualism must trump society’s goals and purposes.
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It is 100% true that we all stand on the shoulders of greats and charlatans, geniuses and monsters. We didn’t get here yesterday. The guy who invented the transistor would have been wasting his time had no one first invented the radio or, for that matter, copper! We all ‘owe’ the past. That, in itself, is not a compelling enough reason for me to think that individual effort today (despite being founded on the past) is NOT worth rewarding. I have no problem giving prizes for remarkable work, higher salaries for greater dedication and applied intelligence. I think reward based on merit is valid.
Part of the issue is what is merit? We have made people rich for doing things that have no inherent or noble merit. Don’t get me wrong – that Tom Brady, Tiger Woods or A-Rod are worth millions for playing ball is patently stupid but one could argue (weakly) that they entertain a lot of people and I wouldn’t argue (much). But Trump cheated and lied and stole from others to get rich. So did Milken, Maddoff and the Sacklers. So did the gang at Goldman Sachs and their ilk. These are bad actors being unconscionably rewarded. And THAT is the basic flaw with our corrupted form of Capitalism. We reward crooks and sociopaths MORE than we reward those who have done good work.
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Yes we have many individuals who game capitalism. But the backstop to such abuses is democracy, “if we can keep it” not sure which of the writers of the US Constitution said that. The point being that democracy acts as a buffer to these actions of those bad actors. The bad actors try to undermine democracy in many ways including cyber attacks out of Russia. What further sharpens these attacks is the Devil-May-Care attitude of some individuals who spread hatred about the lack of efficacy of democracy to serve their individual self directed needs.”No one is suggesting that individual effort should not be rewarded.” The salient point is that it is Not entirely success by individual’s efforts. Democracy provided some of the order and stability to create a ethos in which the entrepreneur could thrive. Please try not to distort what is actually being written.
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I didn’t. I just thought I was kinda sounding a bit socialistic and anti capitalism in my blog and responses so I added that to my answer so as to make clear that I am more a capitalist than I might have sounded. It is just that OUR form of capitalism is corrupted. OUR CURRENT system is flawed. But that doesn’t mean Adam Smith was all wrong. Capitalism done right might be the answer. I think it is because it mirrors the human condition so much more than any other system. I just have no experience with it done right and way too much experience with it done wrong. Oh! And when I say done ‘right’, I mean done right for the betterment of all.
You’ll forgive me for adding: please try not to distort what is actually being written.
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Robert Owen and his mill at New Lanark shows compassion and capitalism functioning together in the 18th century.
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AND I have a lot of very decent friends and acquaintances that are decent and good and doing well. The individual is NOT the problem. The system is the problem because it is rewarding evil more than good. And, if you don’t accept that – and there is an argument that it is wrong – then maybe you can accept that too much evil is being rewarded by the system even if it is NOT the majority?
What may seem benign – such as a mortgage – is not doing ‘good’ when the interest rates are punitive or take a lifetime to pay off. And the banker gets stinkin’ rich while the average Joe struggles to put food on the table.
Put another way: if the meek should inherit the earth, then why do sociopaths seem to own so much of it? Why do sociopaths play such a large role in managing corporations? Why are sociopaths regarded as heroes and villains in movies? If a rich man getting into heaven is as unlikely as a camel passing through the eye of a needle, then why do so many want to be rich?
I am not so sure we are really disagreeing but, regardless, I am moving on.
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Really I’m not disagreeing with you. As said earlier the gaming of capitalism is on going. As I see the issue capitalism is an umbrella term that lacks a clear definition. We have the sole proprietors, the mom and pop store, the predatory supply chain, Corporate versions, so many versions. When someone says capitalism…what do they mean? Hence the discontents.
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