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Call me a cynic, but are we all being fooled?


As the 21st century continues on it’s merry way, life and how we live it continues to change. The rich are now obscenely so, and we ask ourselves ‘who really needs to be a billionaire’? The corporate juggernaut Goliath barrels its way along the highway, smashing any who look anything like David with his slingshot, worried of the impact on their mission for global domination.

The average wage for the average Joe Worker doing a 40 hour week, (packing more in now than ever before thanks to the wonders of the internet) is not a lot. We travel faster, we receive information and send information.. faster, we do more in less time. Is the average Joe Worker better off for living the dream and buying their first car, or saving for their first house with all the furniture and trimmings…(noting the fact that it is likely that a significant proportion of their deposit will come from their parents, who now provide some 40% of the lending to newbie owners)..

The issue isn’t just confined to families looking to support their future generations. Sport used to be a release from the toil of daily work. Joe Worker plays for his local team every Saturday before heading off to watch the Arsenal. His best mate is into rugby, his other mate into Formula One.. Sport is inherently human, but unfortunately over the last two decades, it too has circumed to the invasive weed that is corporate investment, investment designed to boost Company earnings through extracting more of Joe Worker’s hard earned cash through advertising and social media designed to ‘hook’ him in… on Monday he returns to work and sets about wondering whether he has been fooled into joining the rat race as he steps back onto the hamster wheel.

Back to rugby … this year the NZ Rugby Football Union sold a not insignificant % of the All Blacks brand to a media Company.. last year Formula One sold itself to an American .. yes you guessed it, media Company who proceeded to Americanise the sport by bringing in new rules and making the cars all look the same, to boost audiences, eliminating the technological wonder that F1 used to bring every season - no wonder half the tech geeks at F1 teams are now designing racing yachts to get their kicks. Americans like their Motorsport to be simpler, they wouldn’t understand the old F1 would they? 

And then there is the role of the TV umpire .. another clever way to entice viewers to watch more as Joe Worker watches the last infringement on YouTube 5 times (with adverts)… and then decides to buy a new pair of football boots on special.. as the internet trackers ‘read his mind’.

So after all is said and done, where next for Joe Worker. One can’t help thinking life hasn’t changed since the Pharoahs … the have and have nots … history repeats itself ~ billionaires, the new lords and ladies of the manor .. There have to be Joe Workers, as after all someone has to work don’t they.. but isn’t the balance of wealth spiralling out of control .. the planet sure as hell isn’t happy with the way things are going and neither should we be.

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