When I see the queues of people crowding round food distribution stalls, I'm ashamed to be part of this world. Rich countries or not, we are incapable of providing people with jobs that are sufficiently solid and remunerative to enable them to live decently without having to panhandle as soon as the economy grinds to a halt.
I also feel guilty for feeling sorry for myself for years just because "I have too much work" and not enough time to live. These days, a lot of people would rather be stressed by their job than not have one. It reminds me of a spoiled child's whim. I feel like my kids are whining because they've been served a Migros yoghurt instead of a Emmi.
Yet, when you think about it, it's paradoxically the same mechanisms that are at play behind the fact that some people can no longer make ends meet, while others are overwhelmed by work. For almost a quarter of a century that I've been working, the level of stress in my business has steadily increased, particularly during phases of economic decline. The more unemployed people there are, the more work is shifted onto others, and the more can be asked of them with the implicit threat of redundancy. When the growth phase returns, restructuring means that we never get back to where we were before the crisis. The level of tension has become structurally higher. All that remains is to wait for the next shock to tighten the screws a little more.
Shareholders want more, bosses want more and consumers want more. Not to mention the workaholics who revel in this infernal cycle. Visit Rat Race explains this paradoxical world, in which one part of the population is squeezed like lemons while the others can no longer make ends meet, depending on the generosity (philanthropic or fiscal) of the former. To top it all off, she still manages to make us feel guilty...
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It's shocking indeed, but perhaps not completely surprising... it's the culture of profit maximization at all costs and at all levels, with exploitation of the productive tool (including people).
As far as investors are concerned, serious criteria for qualifying companies in terms of their social and environmental contributions are essential.
More generally, it really raises the question of our values. I wonder if these people's employers pay them for these days they don't work. Are housekeepers going to get paid? (It's done at 100% in my case and I would have done it too if she wasn't a legal resident).
It's an unfortunately naive concept to think that if everyone did something, things would be better for everyone, so a big thank you to those who do more!
Thinking about this is never a waste of time.
After pulling workers from the "working class" into the "middle class" during the 30 glorious years, it is now almost impossible to reach the middle class without qualifications.
I know several unskilled young people who are forced to hold down 2 jobs to barely survive. They are part of the "under-qualified class in a state of permanent insecurity".
And this crisis isn't going to help them...
Human exploitation...
Speaking of maximizing profit without regard for the human and environmental consequences, last night's rts documentary was edifying.
https://pages.rts.ch/docs/11208590-cargos-la-face-cachee-du-fret.html
I'm not blind. If you have a net worth of more than $93k, you're one of the 10% richest people on the planet (according to Crédit Suisse) and so, a priori, you're making this machine work. Everyone draws their own conclusions.
So all the Swiss over 40 who have a 2nd pillar are part of the 10% richest on the planet... Biz like stat from the CS...