Profit Before People
My wife and I had the same dentist and optometrist for many years. We spent thousands of hard-earned dollars as they became increasingly wealthy. We were loyal patrons until we lost our insurance, and made the mistake of believing they appreciated our business and our loyalty equally.
Businesses Lie to their Customers
Years ago, I had my own business, and customer loyalty was extremely important and greatly appreciated. I not only conveyed these facts with words, but I also showed them with actions, treating them for who they were, important to me and to my business.
Recently, my wife had some problems with her vision and pain in her mouth, possibly related to previous dental services. The dentist, let’s call him “Dr. Z,” said my wife would be considered a “new patient,” and that required great expense prior to any treatment. Our only income is Social Security.
The optometrist, “Dr. W,” simply turned her down, claiming that he was not taking new patients. He referred her to one of his associates who attempted to talk her into extremely costly treatments we could not afford, and never actually performed a complete eye exam, although she was charged about $225.
America has Lost Its Way
America is a business in the 21st century. People don’t matter. The only issue of great importance is the size of your house and how many things you own.
Greedflation is the Only Reality For Americans
This brings me to what the media, big business, and our government are calling “inflation.” I claim that it is “Greedflation.”
It is a fact that not only did large corporations and individual billionaires make greater profits during the pandemic, but the number of billionaires and millionaires also increased. The cost of everything from food to cars, to gasoline, was greatly increased as the pandemic begin to fade. How f**king much profit do America’s businesses need? If your life is built on greed, you deserve the disrespect and anger from all Americans who actually work for a living.
Most Americans Continue to Struggle Financially
My wife and I are seniors. Our entire income comes from Social Security. If we suffer a major medical problem or structural problem with our home, we have no recourse. We will fall below the poverty line with an unsustainable debt-to-income ratio. Currently, we have Medicare part “A,” and nothing else. We cannot afford another payment, period.
Millions of Americans are in a similar situation. One-half of all Americans are in the low-income or poverty levels of our nation’s economy.
Plutocracies Lead to Fascism
Plutocrats are in complete control of the government of the United States of America. About 780 billionaires and more than 22 million millionaires elect candidates who are literally paid to ignore the needs and wishes of the vast majority of the American people.
Our former dentist and optometrist are two of many wealthy Americans who want to be part of the ruling class.
Refuse to Give Corporations Money They Do Not Deserve
My suggestion is to “shop wisely.” I recently changed home and car insurance companies and the company which provides streaming television service for our home. In both situations I removed 50 percent of our monthly bill, Several years ago we eliminated our unnecessary home phone service and signed on with a wireless company, decreasing our monthly payments by 60 percent.
In addition, we have eliminated certain food items, spend less than 100 dollars a month in gas, and buy nothing we do not need for survival. Survival is the word that applies to most of our nation’s people, but our government continues to serve special interests, ignoring the majority of our nation’s voters. Time for a change.
The Quality of Life for Most Americans is Sub Par
In the most recent poll, although politicians claim we are the richest nation in the world, the United States ranks last in the quality of life in all developed nations. This includes failures in the quality of education, and a failure by our nation’s health services to provide equal care for the rich and poor.
Social Security Increases are not Based on Reality
Finally, I want to talk about social security. Our annual increase was intended to be based on the cost of living index. We will be receiving an 8.7 percent increase in 2023. I calculated every expense every month from utilities, food, insurance, etc., and our expenses have risen by 12 percent. Our government offers a simple f**k you to older Americans.
By The Wise Old Fart, (James Turnage)
Find my novels on Amazon’s Kindle
Sources:
Trading Economics: United States Inflation Rate
CBS News: “Greedflation”: Is corporate profit-taking driving prices higher?
Top and Featured Image Courtesy of pinelife‘s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
