Astronomy gave birth to Astrology

                 

Religion began with basic observation of Astronomy, Pharmacology, and Biology. Those who understood the predictability of natural cycles and other nature phenomena  found it gave them power to predict future events. They codified what they had learned in Stories that became the hidden knowledge. We now call them Religious Myths

Religion is like understanding the importance of water. Science is discovering the water components of hydrogen & oxygen. Pushing forward the boundaries of knowledge will eventually discover things that make the Stories of Mythology interpreted literally seem foolish. That is the root of the War between Religion and Science

   copyright © William Hodge  2014 

Poverty doesn't have to exist

My personal opinion is that every citizen [Rich or Poor} should be getting Food Stamps [ EBT Debit Card] for at least $500 a month or more. It would be the beginning of Universal Income.

Wal-Mart and other distributors to consumers is just a part of the Capitalist Distribution System and could go on being a part of the "Free Market System"

They could have their profit. All people would have food & clothes. We could let Social Security administer the program. We could eliminate the Federal Bureau for Begging that monitors our lives as moral judges The beginning of Freedom from despair would become part of the Social Fabric..

                     copyright © William Hodge 

Are Rights more than Privilege.

Where Rights are Born

Do you believe that all thing  including all Land and the things over & under it  should be owned by someone?  If so, how does the owner protect his claim to ownership from counter claims from other persons.  

If you claim land as yours and I need it to sustain my own life & purpose, what is to stop me from gathering sufficient force to simply take it from you?   It must be obvious that the philosophical claim that your "Right to Possess" is  not going to be defended by some Super Natural Creator. There is no historical evidence that widespread  Supernatural Intervention has ever protected any individual claim to any Right, no matter how Unalienable it may seem to the intellect of the claimant.

I ask the question, because those who usually make the claim also claim that Government has no right to interfere with their Unalienable Rights .  It appear to me that Government is essential to the protection of any rights. 

It seem to me that without Government there can be no rights at all. It would therefore follow that Government , not Gods, are the creators and protectors of any privilege [Rights] granted to the citizens of the Nation being governed.

 I am puzzled by those who would disavow the very power that insures they have any Rights at all.  It would seem to me that the only protection any of us have from ruthless opposition must come from Governance controlled by the some kind of democratic process that gives us voice in what Rights & Privilege we desire.

 copyright © William Hodge 2014  

The Dividend of Commonshare

                                           Mother Earth

The Human Community is by nature an omnivores herd that lives on the Common resources of the Earth. We have forgotten that we survive by being Interdependent not independent. We have forgotten that none can survive alone. No one person gathers fiber, Spins thread, weaves cloth and make his own clothes. No one person builds anything with out using the tools created and manufactured by the human Community. "No man is an island unto himself."
And yet, we have allowed our leaders to divided up the Commons to benefit the few.  We permit the exile of the uncompetitive in the herd to live or die with little sharing of resources taken from the Commons  . It becomes acceptable to view them as unworthy of life and not entitled to their share of the resources taken from the Earth that we claim to own as the Community of Human Beings.  
A single individual has no Right of Ownership.  Private use for personal gain is a privilege granted by the whole Community on the premise that private usage will bring greater benefit to all of as in the form of  rent[taxes] for private use of the Commons.  We all hold a Commonshare in the earth that feeds us all.  Each of us is entitled to our dividend  from ownership. 

copyright © William Hodge 2014 

Wage-Slavery destroys Democracy & Freedom.

Emma Goldman famously denounced wage slavery by saying: "The only difference is that you are hired slaves instead of block slaves."

Do not believe the lie that you have a fair chance to get rich if you work hard enough. As long as your work does not leave plenty of money to save & invest, you might as well buy a lottery ticket.

The only thing that will even the playing field for accumulating wealth is by starting everyday with a guarantee of sufficient food, adequate shelter. open access to full health care and free education to learn the skills necessary to compete in an open market. Only then will you have a chance to compete with the LEGACY CHILDREN. Hard work is a Fools Errand if you and your family are still a paycheck away from being hungry & homeless. That is no less Slavery than being bound in chains.

So far Democracy has been an effective leveler for equal opportunity only for short periods of time in our History. It is time to understand that the Economy is rigged against you. Only by knowing the truth can find a pathway to break the chains of Wage Slavery.

                              copyright © William Hodge 2014 

Health Care - Public or Private Insurance?

If you do not believe that a Government designed Health Care Plan can be created that is effective and comprehensive in the scope of medical application of coverage and universally provided to all citizens then show me a Private Sector Plan that gives everyone Health Care at every economic level that is equal to the best medicare/Medicaid Plan. No such plan currently exist. No such plan has ever existed. 

If anyone is excluded for any reason (medical condition or lack of money or age], it will not be equitable in performance. If no such plan can be delivered by the Private Sector without Government involvement, then the Private Sector has failed the American People. Your fear of the Government will not open any doors that solve the problem.

I may be just an uneducated country boy, but this seems self-evident to me. You can develop some personally desired universally available private-sector plan and work to bring it to fruition. You can argue that it is the Government's failure and destroy the Government's ability to act and hope everything will fall into its proper place in our Class structured Society.

It will not happen. A Society that sacrifices the Common Good in order to reward the privileged will be a Society that benefits a few at the expense of the many. It will be a Society that tolerates eternal Poverty to preserve the privilege of the right of the elite to rule from the back of the wage-slave.

                                    William Hodge 2014  

Can fair distribution replace Fair Wages?

Wage-Slavery is a Distribution problem 

Investing is a fun game and I have enjoyed it for most of my life and I am 72. But it is not the universal pathway to financial freedom. Most people do not have the ability or desire or the opportunity to accumulate the savings necessary to do it.

You might as well recommend that all people should be great Athletes earning million dollar paydays or that everyone could be great entertainers and become Rich & Famous. The truth is that most people have no pathway to self sustaining wealth.

Instead they must depend on what is produced in our economic Production System.  They must also personally participate in that system in a way that will give adequate income to purchase sufficient food & clothes, adequate shelter. and accesses to healthcare that will sustain life.  In other words, every person must have a job that will pay a wage that secures the essentials of life at a level exceeding the level of poverty that leads to desperation. 

We know that is not possible for some for physical or mental reasons. We know it is become less possible for many people because of moving jobs to wage-slave labor Nations. We know that jobs are also disappearing at an increasing rate due to the advance of technological automation and the increased use of Robotics.  We have created an economic system where hard work will not sustain life.  It will only create Wage-Slaves to serve the benefit the Owners [1%] of the Nation.

It is not that we cannot  supply sufficient food or shelter, or Medical care. Only a small portion of the Work Force is needed for this.  The problem is that we need a distribution system that distributes the basic commonshare without requiring work that does not exist.  

We must make work that is available desirable to those that have the skill and choose to do it, but we must distribute food & clothes, basic shelter, and Health Insurance, to every citizen without   regard to work or wealth status.  It is as simple as sending every adult a Social Security check that does not require anything but citizenship.  The retirement portion can be added at the appropriate time according to the workers earnings.

copyright © William Hodge 2014