I recall driving over to my favorite pick up place in downtown Danbury — the bus station chock full of day laborers. All just waiting for me because I hadn’t swung by in over a year. Unlocking the doors I instantly had a Range Rover packed with Ecuadorians. But to my utter dismay they all disembarked when I declared I was willing to pay $15 per hour. I drove around the block in disbelief and then returned to load up again — same thing. On the third and final approach I managed to cajole one lone Pakistani with the promise of $20 per hour. He turned out to be completely useless and I drove him home with full pay shortly after providing him with lunch.

The point of this longwinded story is that I failed to get it through my thick head that the market had changed. A year later anticipating market changes I offered $35 per hour to each of a four man team — they were awesome!

How can business owners be savvy to the market when pricing their burgers for customers but so thick headed when it comes to labor? Just as the price of soup soared at the outset of Corona, labor has swung now from being too much while closing down to not enough opening up. It’s probably temporary — but maybe not. People for the most part are human and are neither sacks of flour nor robots. As the world moves forward we maybe wise to distinguish the difference because machines (according to my mentor Andrew Yang) are poised to take over yet again and that the recognition and value of human qualities is essential to any kind of social, political and economic harmony.

That people take advantage of the extended unemployment payments is not altogether bad. Are there some who simply wait out this time doing little? yes of course. But, there are others reassessing their opportunities for their own success and in turn the success of the U.S. It’s not unlikely that many have used this respite to learn new skills (I have learnt to write during this time and although it’s not a massive bread winner I believe my efforts contribute to a better and more enjoyable society). Others are taking this time to put business plans together or learning to play the guitar. There are good reasons to be happy in our occupations which are often overlooked and unappreciated — we are generally more productive for one.

Ah! getting back to the comments made by CC and BNS. For a country obsessed with the freedom of the individual, we are so quick to tell others how to behave — especially when it’s those people.

Unemployment Pay May Again Require a Job Search. Is It Too Soon? by Sydney Ember, New York Times May 16, 2021

4

One Sunny Day Doesn’t Make a Summer

— but surely we can appreciate it all the same.

Frank Bruni is one of my favorite columnists from the New York Times — his opinion always imbedded in color and humor. He discusses the slit vision of Liz Cheney because of her absolute failure to go along with “the big lie”.

Villains are quite possible of being heroes and vice-versa. The total picture though depends on the tallies in the credit and debit columns over time. We are often unwilling to give people a break from being so good — or so bad. I recall Bernie Sanders having to explain after agreeing with Donald Trump on the rescue payment issue — “even a broken clock is correct twice a day” was his reply.

Giving an opponent credit for a stance well taken even when we don’t like their hairdo gives us strength and in no way diminishes our position. Actually, it means that we are focusing on the ideas in hand as opposed to people and families we just love or harbor contempt for. Golly, Thomas Friedman enthusiastically praised Jared Kushner and even his boss for the Abraham Accords normalizing Israeli and Arab relations. That was no way a blanket endorsement of their actions, but simply credit where credit was due.

This mixed bag of praise and disapproval should apply to Liz Cheney but somehow that makes us uncomfortable. It’s as if we can’t rattle more than time or idea in our heads — but exactly this is demanded of us. If we could more sort through things and weigh up in orderly fashion. Andrew Yang presented the balmy idea of giving cash to everyone which actually made sense but some of his other ideas are barmier than balmy. Joe Biden has had a pretty successful 100 days but there are three and a half years still to go.

We perhaps get ourselves so locked into the here and now that we are oblivious to both history and future.

We continue to demand unwavering heroes and in real life they just don’t come like that. And, holding out for that kind of perfection is a futile endeavor, full of disappointment and even heartbreak. In our personal lives we would never have friends, be detached from cousins — and as for a relationship? well, forget it.

Liz Cheney is adamant that the former President has no clothes and all with eyes open know that he’s fat naked.

“Is Liz Cheney a Martyr — or Just a Hack in Holy drag?” By Frank Bruni, Opinion Columnist, the New York Times May 8, 2021