Imagine a bold new plan for our economy – one that employs the unemployed, promotes physical fitness, creates thousands if not millions of self-employed small businesspeople, ends the surplus pet population, AND decreases fossil fuel consumption, thereby dramatically slowing down climate change and actually saving the planet for the next generations. Behold the blueprint for a green, sound prosperous future of the USA.
As prelude, I often wondered how it is that our country has seen fit to “recapitalize” the errant banks with trillions of dollars which have had no noticeable trickle down effect to improve the conditions for multitudes of the worker class caught in a web of spiraling costs and stagnant wages.
I have mentioned before that I think those dollars would have been better employed as a direct distribution to every citizen to be used as they see fit. Upon further reflection I mused that such a government subsidized shopping spree would have no long term lasting results once the spree had ended. The cars would grow old, the clothes ragged, the electronics outdated and we would be pretty much back in the same place we were before the handout.
Oh well. But, then my ever restless subconscious tackled the problem as I lay inert from my third glass of evening wine. Upon wakening, I had several bromides at the front of my consciousness. One was the famous description of Britain as a nation of shopkeepers, the second was the saying that every dog has its day, and the third was the one about teaching a man to fish, etc.
I puzzled at the enigmatic message from the cerebral cortex; what were the little grey cells trying to tell me? That a nation of shopkeepers should fish with their dogs? That dogs should bring fish to shopkeepers? It was only after further contemplation over a hot cocoa and some Tums that I had the Eureka moment -
A Nation of Dog Walkers Could Earn Their Own Fish!
We are a service economy. We give service and also receive it. Why not simply embrace this concept and forget about old time thinking about returning to a manufacturing base? Those jobs are long gone and will never return. Humans will be replaced by ever more efficient means of production that essentially leave them out of the equation.
While I don’t belong to any prestigious think tank and I’m not practiced at writing a White Paper with footnotes, I hope you will continue with this rather crude presentation of what is at core a brilliantly simple idea -----
What if the government started a new Small Business Initiative that provided $50,000 in start-up money to every citizen who is ready, willing and able to start their own sole proprietorship dog-walking business? With this $50,000 one would also be required to purchase a dog of their own. Why is that? you ask. Because, while you are gainfully employed walking someone’s dog, another person will be gainfully employed walking yours! You will both essentially have a guaranteed job for the foreseeable future. In addition, you will exercise and get fit. If you hire a dog walker in your own neighborhood and get hired by one there as well, you will no longer have commuting expenses.
I have calculated the cost for walking one dog for one year in this program at 25K. In Year One, you have received 50K and been required to buy one dog, hire one dog walker yourself and be hired to walk one dog. This leaves 25K which is essentially your government prepaid profit. A smart person would hire themselves out to walk more than one dog but would restrict themselves to owning a single pooch in order to perpetuate the cycle and replenish the government seed money.
Try as I might, I can find no flaw with my reasoning.
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Okay, I’m making light, but where are the jobs? What is the government actually doing that will bring back jobs to the economy? Has anyone made a better suggestion than mine? If so, what is it? I open the floor to discussion.