The “game” of capitalism

Games are supposed to be fun, right? When you were a child, didn’t you enjoy playing games, whether it was a board game, or hide & seek inside the house, or even just going outside and playing? Life was simpler then and we actually looked forward to growing up. I remember being 8 years old, standing with my dad in line at the DMV, and feeling anxious because I had to wait another 8 years just to get my own driver’s license. Does anyone actually enjoy going to the DMV now? Of course not. But the DMV is just a small part of a larger “game”, one that everyone plays daily, yet so few actually get to enjoy. Many of us are just tired of being forced to play along.

The game of life is all-encompassing and it is customize-able, meaning you can create a little corner of “the game” with your own rules that benefit *you*, and if the other players (uh,… I mean “people” or “fellow human citizens”) don’t play by your rules, you get to punish them (emotionally, physically, but usually just financially). I’ve said before that this is a the perfect game, but some folks are more adept at playing than others. Don’t hate the player, hate the game….. right?

So what exactly are some of the ways that “the game” sucks us in and keeps us stuck in this never-ending quagmire? Let’s take a cursory look…..

• Think you’re talented enough to charge a high price for your time or labor? Sure, go ahead and charge that amount, just make certain that you pay the government a piece of your pie (income tax), otherwise they’ll toss you in jail and take everything you own.
• Want to provide goods and services to others? Start a business! Just make sure you’ve got the correct permits, zoning, licenses with the state/county/city, and insurance coverage for every possible calamity that might occur on the job site or to any employee.
• But not all businesses work in a positive manner. How many businesses actually rely on other people’s failures? Think about it for a minute…
  • Lawyers (in general) – get paid to argue legal points on the behalf of other people. It’s in their best (financial) interest that everyone else doesn’t understand all those laws that keep getting passed (behind your back).
  • Divorce lawyer – his business directly profits from other people’s lives falling apart.
  • Auto body repair shop – If everybody was a perfect driver, then this business would close their doors.
  • Mortgage loan company – they make money buy getting people in debt for a long time. And if they happen to make a loan to someone who can’t really afford it, all the better, because they’ll foreclose on your house, then sell it to another “player” in the game.
  • Bail Bonds – Helping release people from jail by charging a fee based on their crime. And if you’re later proven to be innocent, guess what? You don’t get that fee back.
  • Insurance – It’s a form of gambling – betting (with money) every month (paid premiums) that you won’t need their services and hoping that if you do (file a claim), they’ll pay it (pay out).
  • The stock market – This is one of the biggest scams in all of capitalism. Betting on how stock prices will fluctuate. Up or down, there is always a way for someone to make a buck. And none of it has any direct correlation to the actual goods or products that those companies produce. It’s a legalized form of gambling that the casinos in Las Vegas would love to utilize.
  • Financial advisor – He tells you what to do with your money and he gets paid whether or not his advice is correct.

 

There is a never-ending list of laws that you don’t know about but they do apply to you, and guess what – lawmakers are making thousands of new laws every year! They are literally changing the rules of “the game” while you are playing it. Is that acceptable in any other area of real life outside of capitalism?

Don’t like the rules that you are forced to play by? Corruption exists in many forms and at nearly every level of the game, that is if you can afford to bribe your way out of a sticky situation.

Would any business owner pay their employees double (or triple) of what they are currently paying them? Of course not, that would cut into their profit margin! And capitalism is all about getting more capital (money) than the next person. (Though they are trying to do the same with you)

Capitalism is a reverse-ponzi-scheme, that keeps every player continuously indebted to the game. You (the player) has to keep adding more and more of your efforts (inflation) into the game just to stay in it. Anyone who can “get ahead” of the game is someone who knows which rules to bend in what direction to tip the scales in their favor.

Personally, I’m tired of being forced to play this game. And I’m not alone.

#ResourcedBasedEconomy