Poor by choice

 Kadizzle just got a cup of coffee and looked out the window toward Dave's camper. The thought ran through Kadizzle's head about Dave. Dave provides a service. Dave does a great job of fixing the signs for the National Forest, and he also makes new signs. Dave does not get paid for his work, but Dave is able to scrape by because the National Forest Service gives him a place to live with free sewer, water, and electric. There is a lesson in this we will get to later. First, another volunteer, Bill.  Bill is like Dave. Bill is the only person who is repairing all the odds and ends that make the place work. Bill most importantly takes care of the plumbing, and the bathrooms. 

Now to the point. Both these men are making a useful contribution to society. Both have a marginal income, and are able to make it working for free with the basics provided. How many people could be just nudged a little to become productive? Forest Service volunteers work mostly unsupervised and are asked to work for 24 hours per week. The volunteers save the Forest Service millions of dollars. Almost forgot Ken and Shirley, Shirley works at the front desk of the visitor center, and Ken does odds and ends. 

As a nation we can make it work. The big problem is a will, and of course the Republican greed dogs.  Yesterday Kadizzle could have damn near cried as he rode his bike through the deteriorating campground down below here. 40 million dollars was spent to provide one of the best camping facilities in the United States, but there is no money for upkeep. Meanwhile the billionaires are taking joy rides into space and Bezos is making 12 million dollars an hour. There is no poverty problem, it is a distribution problem.  The New York Times reported that billionaires pay 8% tax.  Even the lowest working man pays more than that. Trickle down has been a massive failure. Now, 400 families have as much wealth as the rest of the country. Our only problem is the Republican Party which makes this greed possible. The lives of so many people could be massively improved, but the Fox News mentality has put the Hoopleheads into a self induced poverty coma.