A job is a piece of work, a task, something to be done, but probably for pay. A career on the other hand is a path one follows which is typified by a life's work. How many of us have jobs? How many of us have careers? How many of us would like either? How many of us are really content or satisfied?
Many of our lives flow on a path where we emerge from our young academic life equipped with a degree, debt and the hope of cashing the check that is called the American Dream. Let's assume you've come out of law school. And with the student loans you may have amassed, while you'd really prefer defending workers' rights, the thought of the higher paying position defending corporations is more sensible at this point. There will be plenty of time to do volunteer work later. With boundless youthful energy you enter into your profession, successfully compete with others (as we you throughout school) and climb the career ladder. And with such climbing the nicely appointed townhouse in the city, the convertible BMW, the plasma TV and Club Med are yours.
We may even repay our student loans. Depending upon where your interviewing skills landed you, after about a year of waking up, getting to the office early and thrusting yourself into this joyous new world where you are compensated for your time, the layoffs hit. In the employee meeting it is announced that "these are difficult times, we need everyone to pull together and work harder and those that are fortunate enough to remain can continue to be gainfully employed." So the 70 hour weeks you were putting in before the meeting (five more than your counterpart that was just let go, hah! -dodged that bullet) becomes 80 hour weeks. Your salary remains the same, but you are given some additional responsibility. Aren't you the lucky one? About three years into this lifestyle the thought of a twelve hour day at the office, and then clubbing at night in the hope of temporarily sating this growing emptiness you feel inside yourself entwined in an intimate physical encounter with another tortured soul simply doesn't cut it anymore. You marry. Just as you make the last of your student loan payments you purchase a ring (we are trained like seals to know that the two carat ring really says "I love you", diamonds are forever, etc.) and charge up a beautiful wedding ceremony. You risk your first vacation from work for your honeymoon in Europe (you'll never make partner now --unless you come back and make up the time) and a few months later -guess who's having a baby! Now the townhouse in the city with no backyard isn't going to suffice. The used convertible BMW is impractical -and the two years of payments left represent almost all principal (the first three years were interest --nice how the auto loans are structured, isn't it?). So by your fourth year into the career world you are in the suburbs, big mortgage, car payments and you are owned. "Volunteer work, are you kidding me? Workers' rights? Someone should be defending me!" are all thoughts going through your head as you reflect back upon your early idealist view, smile wistfully and shake your head. The next time promotions or layoffs are announced -it is very personal. It isn't simply about the student loan anymore, it is your family and their quality of life you are fighting for.
I believe a competitive economy is a generally positive environment. If someone is able to produce greater value through intense effort then I believe they should be rewarded. This is what a free market is intended to accomplish. While an oversimplification, there is a delicate equilibrium that ebbs and flows between corporation, worker and society. If something occurs outside of the control of the corporation such as the cost of a raw material rising dramatically it may cause a rise in prices which impacts society. If society is unwilling to pay and demand for product falters it can cause adjustments in expenses that may include layoffs. Such adjustments are a natural part of a free market system and as demand may decline in one area, demand is usually growing in another.
At issue is when the free market pressure, without proper balance becomes economic tyranny. When an employer or an industry creates an environment of fear, pays its workers less and then generates more profit this is the type of behavior that society must not reward or encourage. For example, lets say a leading "Big Box" store opens in Flagstaff. Soon, small stores that were an important part of the community experience a sharp drop off in demand. They begin to let workers go and are finally forced out of business. Fortunately, the Big Box Mart is hiring. Of course, they are the only ones in town hiring. So you'd better work on their terms, with the work schedule they provide. Medical insurance? "HA HA HA HA HA". Since you don't earn above the poverty level working for minimum wage on a 22 hour week, you must apply for state assistance. Now Big Box Mart has their workers' medical insurance paid for by taxpayers --that's you and me if you are still paying attention. And we are the same taxpayers that hired our elected 'representatives'. The same elected officials that voted to let Big Box Mart come to town. And guess what --the husbands or wives of those elected officials may now be driving newer cars. And Big Box Mart may have been given some tax incentives to come to Flagstaff.
Thankfully we have unions. While not always without fault, a compelling way to fight powerful economic tyranny was for workers to organize into unions and collectively say "we want to have a reasonable quality of life for ourselves and our families and other members of our union. We need a decent wage and fundamental medical coverage for our families. We don't want to be on government assistance". So people would get together and address such issues as one through a union. That is until the Reagan administration and PATCO (the Professional Air Traffic Controllers in 1981). The government interaction into a situation between employees and employer had historically been a welcome event (although certainly not always --thus the phrase "We're with the government, we're here to help you"). However the government entering and essentially breaking up the union by replacing all the workers continues to have dramatic influence over the ability of people to come together to fight tyranny. Such conspiring with industry over the rights of the workers was a dangerous step over a fascist line and was the first of many incremental victories won by a small extremist group we call neocons, and could just as easily be termed fascists and whom I'd prefer calling 'convicts' and/or 'war criminals'.
Where does this leave all of us? For those fortunate enough to have jobs we must begin an new era which I call the era of the Social Values Economy. It is a free market with one fundamental difference, the marketforce demand includes one more factor before it makes a purchase. Presently we typically look at product or service price and quality. We can forever change our world if we include one more criterion -what behavior are we perpetuating when we exchange our money, essentially our capital resources with this company for their goods or services? Do they treat their work force well? Are they reducing their environmental footprint through controlling their emissions? Are they using alternative energy? Are they undermining our political process through lobbying efforts and campaign contributions?
We must move beyond being a simple consumer into being an informed, educated marketforce demand. And services such as alonovo, ethiquette.ca, Idealswork, CoopAmerica and other services that are emerging to help us improve the quality and dignity of life everywhere.
Just a few thoughts from my over-caffeinated alphabetic mind.
About the Author: Mr. Polisner founded alonovo.com in March of 2005. He has been working in most aspects of Information Technology since 1981 and was an early commercial adopter of the UNIX operating system. Prior to founding alonovo.com earlier this year, George was a Director at Oracle Corporation. He is a frequent contributor to newspapers regarding political and economic policy and often appears as a guest on radio programs. In fact, when it comes to alonovo.com, it's pretty difficult to get him to stop talking.