Self Sufficiency For Freedom

Is Working for Other's Being Self Sufficient?

noreply@blogger.com (Don Shepard) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 11:38:00 +0000

I was asked to step in as a graduate assistant for another semester, even though I'm done with my course work and only working on getting my research on electronic waste done at this point. The pay is not much for teaching two labs, taking courses and working in the computer lab, but it's difficult to pass up guaranteed cash when your scraping by writing and working on your little urban homestead. We are attempting to make the urban homestead into a rural one...unfortunately it's going to take money. My best effort will be put forward to prevent this job from interfering with my gardening, chickens, rabbits, writing and misc duties/skills I'm learning. This job will end, but my needs won't.

This brings me to the issue of is working for others self sufficient behavior? In taking an adult learning course over the summer, it seems that field tends to think of self sufficiency as living on one's own without the need for assistance from other's to pay the bills--mainly through working a job--or doing acts of daily living. This is not true self sufficiency,as when we work for others we are at the mercy of our master's. Perhaps an exception is short-term labor, where we have a fall back to return to. This is where I'm at, and am vowing to never be caught up in the traditional full time job where I won't have time to pursue my passions to their fullest. I hope to uphold this vow. For now, I have to run and return to the computer lab I must watch over for my master's, in return for a paycheck.

No More Free Checking Accounts-Ditch The Banks

noreply@blogger.com (Don Shepard) — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 15:04:00 +0000

When I saw a monthly charge on my checking account I called asking what the deal was. My bank advised me that they no longer offer free checking unless you keep something like a minimum of $1000 in your account at once. This is another one of those, if you already have money you get to keep it, if you don't were going to take it kind of things.

Anti self-sufficiency policies and those that keep the poor, poor and the rich, rich often go hand in hand. Why can't everyone see this? Is it because they are too busy with their life of slavery or watching the latest episode of Friends or whatever the hell the newest, trendiest T.V. show is? Is it because we've been trained to have a set of ideologies, of which watching out for true individual rights is not one of them? Or perhaps it's because America's lower middle class and poor know that no matter what we do it means nothing unless you have the money or the connections to make it so?

Finding a way to ditch the bank is another small step to self-sufficiency, but as we all know, "they" make it extremely difficult to live without one. Most of my funds come through Pay Pal right now and I really want to ditch the bank by going straight through the Pap pal debit card in my eternal quest for freedom. Upon further investigation it appears the Pay Pal debit card is just as limiting, with fewer protections, so there goes that prospect. Perhaps getting some sort of pre-paid debit card to load from Pay-Pal would work? Hmmm...but me thinks Pay Pal requires you link your account to a bank account or credit card. Will look into this and report back if I find a way to ditch the bank, and their $7 monthly fee.

Free Our Stomachs and The Rest Can Follow

noreply@blogger.com (Don Shepard) — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 22:14:00 +0000

A revealing article on The Grist about raids on small farms and food supply clubs. Just another way the corporations keep us from living without them. Here's a little taste:

"While no one will say officially what the purpose of this latest raid was, aside from being part of an investigation in progress, what is very clear is that government raids of producers, distributors, and even consumers of nutritionally dense foods appear to be happening ever more frequently. Sometimes they are meant to counter raw dairy production, other times to challenge private food organizations over whether they should be licensed as food retailers."

Wow, why am I even surprised? Control of the food supply is control of the people. Like to know what licenses are really needed, when these laws were made, and why we let it happen? Everyone's been all up in arms about the proposed Food Safety and Modernization Act, and it's not even passed.

They don't need an act to make laws, the corps and the courts just do it. I think they all learned it from Nike.

Read the rest here...

Make Corporations Pay Taxes

noreply@blogger.com (Don Shepard) — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 22:57:00 +0000

A Government Accountability Office study states two out of every three United States corporations paid no federal income taxes from 1998 through 2005. Perhaps if they paid taxes, small business could compete?

Child Labor

noreply@blogger.com (Don Shepard) — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 02:07:00 +0000

O.K. child labor laws serve multiple purposes, but when we think about it, we see what may be the main purpose behind one particular law. According to the Indiana child laborl law, parents can't have their children under 14 working for them in their business. Think about that, just another barrier for a ma and pa type business to overcome. If a small business begins to infringe on a larger chains profits, they can always rat to the state labor board about how ma and pa have their ten twelve year old sweeping the floor of their farm store. Or maybe how the ten year old is sewing part of a hand made bag.

This also serves corporations in helping to prevent children from learning self sufficiency skills that pay off. A big middle finger to this particular Child Labor law!

Why Self Sufficiency: The Beginning of a Journey

noreply@blogger.com (Don Shepard) — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 17:52:00 +0000

Seeing all the jobs lost, not just during the recent "recession" but over the last couple of decades or so has many thinking about being more self sufficient. Things such as growing and raising your own food, creating your own heat source, and using candles at night are all part of self sufficiency. On another level, starting your own business is self sufficiency.

Self sufficient activities are generally better for the environment than the go to a job, get paid, buy all the stuff you "need" trend that corporate American and our government have taught us.

I'm compiling a list of laws, ordinances, and just generally shady practices that corporations and our government-aren't they really the same?-force upon us to maintain the status quo. Becoming more aware of these tools is the only way we have to fight the oppression.

The difficulties in having a small business keep mounting-i.e. pay more for health insurance, pay all your taxes, license fees for virtually everything. Local ordinances that limit things such as food production are another small example of the tools I speak of.

The list will be long, and presented as a journey, if anyone reads this and something to add, please drop me a note in the comments. Stay tuned, this is going to get good.