Comments on: We Don’t Get The Money http://newpackage.wordpress.com/2008/01/09/we-dont-get-the-money/ Thu, 15 Jan 2009 01:14:46 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: ashley http://newpackage.wordpress.com/2008/01/09/we-dont-get-the-money/#comment-92 ashley Thu, 10 Jan 2008 05:32:18 +0000 http://newpackage.wordpress.com/2008/01/09/we-dont-get-the-money/#comment-92 To me, this is a smaller part of what capitalism has become. Part of our "advantage" in the 50s-70s was in the space race. The communist worker had the "we pretend to work and they pretend to pay us" ideal, and supposedly we were all in about the same middle class rat race. But think about back then....was it required that both parents work? Was your standard of living better? Could a young couple afford to buy a new home? Now, in this post-capitalistic era, the only thing that matters is profit for the shareholders, or sometimes just for the board. That middle class is foreclosing, and the GOP is banking on fear. Welcome. To me, this is a smaller part of what capitalism has become.

Part of our “advantage” in the 50s-70s was in the space race. The communist worker had the “we pretend to work and they pretend to pay us” ideal, and supposedly we were all in about the same middle class rat race. But think about back then….was it required that both parents work? Was your standard of living better? Could a young couple afford to buy a new home?

Now, in this post-capitalistic era, the only thing that matters is profit for the shareholders, or sometimes just for the board. That middle class is foreclosing, and the GOP is banking on fear. Welcome.

]]> By: virgotex http://newpackage.wordpress.com/2008/01/09/we-dont-get-the-money/#comment-91 virgotex Thu, 10 Jan 2008 04:13:55 +0000 http://newpackage.wordpress.com/2008/01/09/we-dont-get-the-money/#comment-91 Oh baby, you didn’t tell me you were gonna quote Sondheim. Now if you tell me you know the show and didn’t just hear the song quoted on Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, well…. oh mama…. <i>We don’t fight because we’ve convinced ourselves we can’t. There’s all these things out there that we’re so sure we know, about what choices we have and how certain things are going to happen, and we don’t consider anything </i> Because you know why? It’s easier that way. It’s a lot less scary and frustrating if we don’t look outside that box, and chances are that the person next door, or the business next door, or the agency on the next floor is just fine with us not making waves because god knows that’s the option they’ve chosen too. Remember this scene from <b>Broadcast News</b>? <i>PAUL You're just absolutely right and I'm absolutely wrong? It must be nice to always believe you know better. To think you're always the smartest person in the room. JANE No, it's awful. Oh my, it's awful.</i> I haven’t seen that movie in years and I had problems with it (James Brooks’ stuff is so pat/precious) but that scene came back to me recently because I spent the better part of the last three or four months struggling with ‘superiors’ at my job about why they need to fix stuff and spend money and provide more resources or the wheels are going to come off the bus. And they keep coming back with how complicated and difficult it would be to change things and don’t I see what it might mean and how many people might possibly get their noises out of joint if we actually changed and did…. I dunno… <b>our job</B>. The right way. I don’t know fuck all about the economics of journalism but as for what you say about having to change and stop settling for less and going along to get along, well you’re right, it is everywhere. It’s like mediocrity is our new national pastime or something. Oh baby, you didn’t tell me you were gonna quote Sondheim. Now if you tell me you know the show and didn’t just hear the song quoted on Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, well…. oh mama….

We don’t fight because we’ve convinced ourselves we can’t. There’s all these things out there that we’re so sure we know, about what choices we have and how certain things are going to happen, and we don’t consider anything

Because you know why? It’s easier that way. It’s a lot less scary and frustrating if we don’t look outside that box, and chances are that the person next door, or the business next door, or the agency on the next floor is just fine with us not making waves because god knows that’s the option they’ve chosen too.

Remember this scene from Broadcast News?
PAUL
You’re just absolutely right and I’m absolutely wrong? It must be nice to always believe you know better. To think you’re always the smartest person in the room.
JANE
No, it’s awful. Oh my, it’s awful.

I haven’t seen that movie in years and I had problems with it (James Brooks’ stuff is so pat/precious) but that scene came back to me recently because I spent the better part of the last three or four months struggling with ‘superiors’ at my job about why they need to fix stuff and spend money and provide more resources or the wheels are going to come off the bus. And they keep coming back with how complicated and difficult it would be to change things and don’t I see what it might mean and how many people might possibly get their noises out of joint if we actually changed and did…. I dunno… our job. The right way.
I don’t know fuck all about the economics of journalism but as for what you say about having to change and stop settling for less and going along to get along, well you’re right, it is everywhere. It’s like mediocrity is our new national pastime or something.

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