Which Way We Going?

(NASA Photo of our sun)

It is the center of our Solar system. And, not surprisingly, it looks nothing like you.

Priorities. Prioritizing. It's critical to the successful management of any undertaking. It assigns an order of importance to things. It requires decision, which operates on a perception of importance. It's not a difficult thing to do.

Fifteen years ago one in every fifteen hundred children born in America would suffer some form of Autism. 1 in 1,500. Today the statistic is one in every one hundred and ten. 1 in 110.

Let's prioritize. How important is this?

$300 Million Dollars. That's how important it is. That's the money our Government gave (in total) to deal with the matter of Autism. $300 Million.

$300 Million dollars is a lot of money, but then so is $100.00. Don't believe me? Next time you're broke imagine what you could do with a hundred bucks. $300 Million is a lot of money. It's also an insufficient amount of money. 1 in 110 children. In my view the increase in Autism is a national crisis. And by crisis I mean CRISIS. A plague. A national disaster.

Research and care and support are necessary. $300 Million . Inadequate. Superficial. Pathetic.

$300 Million. What was the amount our Government gave to Wall Street? Anyone remember? What was the amount spent - in real money and in borrowed funds - to wage war? Anyone remember? What was the amount spent on the last Presidential Campains? Anyone remember?

$300 Million. 1 out of every 110 new Americans.

I really don't need a calculater to figure out that $300 Million is woefully inadequate. Do you?

Priorities.

Hmm.

Disposable People

"At any given time," an Economist explained, "fully ten to fifteen percent of America's population is unnecessary."

"Unnecessary?"

"I know it sounds terrible, but... Yes. Unnecessary. Expendable."

"Expendable?"

Heavy sigh. "Look," he continued. "I'm not saying it's... Ok, it's callous, to be sure, but... It sounds terrible, I know." Another sigh. "But it's true. It's just the way it is. Those are the facts."

Unnecessary. Expendable. These are words that denote worth, value. To hear them applied to human beings is rather startling. Shocking, actually.

"It's an acceptable figure." the man continued. His eyes widened then he quickly added, "And by that, I mean the numbers. Ten to fifteen percent. I don't mean to imply that it's acceptable from... from... a moral standpoint."

His face flushed red.

"Unnecessary. Expendable. Disposable?"

It took a moment, and three more shades of crimson to color his face before he nodded his head slowly. "It's a sad fact of life, but a fact nonetheless."

I scratched my head not knowing what to say.

"But, they do serve a valuable purpose." he hurriedly added. "They are a good, necessary buffer. For the workforce. For the economy. For economic growth."

More words would not make this a more palatable concept.

"Look. It is the way it is." He set his jaw and stared at me, somewhat defiant.

Unnecessary. Expendable. Disposable.

"And what do we do with these unfortunate ten to fifteen percent?"

"That's not a concern of capitalism." he answered. That's a societal concern... a moral issue. It's not an issue in the study of capitalism. It has nothing to do with capitalism. It's not a factor."

"Not a factor?"

"No."

"I see."

"I mean... It's a factor for those involved in social issues, or... who have humanitarian concerns, or... It's not the concern of true capitalism itself. That's all I'm saying."

Indeed.