Lately I have been amongst the general public quite a bit. Sitting inside the local coffeehouse overhearing other’s conversations the entire time can be quite entertaining. It’s very similar to watching a reality show. Entertaining, but revealing the ugliness of the ignorant materialistic human. It is truly amazing that most of the world can’t figure out they are buying into a system meant to enslave them. My scathing post on the 40-hour work week was just the beginning to tearing down the walls of hedonistic enslavement!
When I tell you I’m overhearing conversations, they all revolve around one single subject, work and all it encompasses. Talk about shallow. Whether it is boomers chastising their absent children for not finishing their PhD in a preferred time period, or Millennials and Gen. Z’s describing scholastic endeavors to land that lucrative position with the company they desire, the rhetoric is consistent. Oh yes, sprinkle in conversation concerning the chase for that specific house, car, and lifestyle as well. I mean why chase that lucrative position to begin with if it doesn’t allow accumulation of such wonderful toys! The look of worry and concern on these people’s faces about the future which really doesn’t exist for all purposes of reality reveals their true mental state. None of these people are smiling, I’m not kidding. How much of this is necessary? None of it! Allow me to show you.
I hate to be a broken record, but I’m going to throw some numbers and examples out here to make it easy for even a simpleton to understand.
The average full-time work week for most looks like the following:
Work Days
10 hours of prep, travel, and actual work time
8 hours dedicated to sleep and recovery
6 hours left for miscellaneous chores, errands, and life duties
24 Total hours
Off Days
16 free hours blown typically on appointments and chores or errands unable to be finished during the workdays! Hell, you’re exhausted anyways. Right?
If you’re in a relationship, things get worse yet. I will be covering the inherent problems of work life and relationships in a future post.
Typically, a workplace will allow for one week off per year, maybe two if they are generous. If this is not spent on vacation, then it is usually a staycation where the family slaves away performing upgrades or maintenance on their homestead! Fun stuff. Don’t forget about all the money necessary to accomplish such tasks.
Let’s look at a minimum wage average income for an average 40-hour work week for a moment.
The following calculations are an average after tax:
$16 per hour X 40 hours of work
$640 dollars per week gross pay
X.77 avg. tax
$492.80 bring home
Now let’s look at money for the month pertaining to bring home and basic expenses of most.
$492
X4
$1968 bring home per month
Now let’s look at low-end average expenses per month.
$1000 mortgage or Rent
$350 for food
$100 cell phone?
$400 car payment
$100 auto insurance
$300 auto fuel
$50 consumables
Student Loans?
Home or Rent insurance?
Pets?
Entertainment?
Kids?
Partner?
Health Insurance?
Life Insurance?
Investments?
I see a problem here, don’t you? It’s called living above your means. It’s called keeping up with the Joneses. How much of the above is necessary?
Look at the car situation for the love of all things. Transportation choices are at the heart of most monthly prohibitive costs. $800 wrapped up in just transportation at the minimum average. Seriously? What the hell is wrong with people? Wouldn’t it make sense to work closer to home or perhaps just use public transportation? How about saving up money and buying a car outright that is reliable? No new car necessary. Honestly, a move should be considered if one must pay such costs to accomplish travel through “self-owned” transportation.
I think it is important to point out some flaws pertaining to essentials vs. desires here! When setting up your daily life, one must be careful to not overextend becoming a slave to the system. Did you really need that house? Did you really need that expensive jewelry? Do you need to be eating that much expensive food? Did you really need to have careless sex, producing a child that will indebt you with someone else who is now also connected forever whether you like it or not? Geez, humans are so incredibly foolish!
Honestly when making a minimum income anyone should be able to retain the essentials necessary by themselves. You do not need a University degree and debt to obtain an entry level job folks! Unfortunately, this is where the majority of college degreed job seekers end up anyways! A minimum income along with a massive student debt! Ouch! If you live minimally and are self-educated you can thrive and live an extraordinary life compared to those enslaved on the hedonic treadmill. One can even advance through the workplace or run their own business through self-education only.
Being single and working full-time can be somewhat enjoyable if it aligns with your philosophy of life. It allows for social time while accruing what is necessary to make ends meet. If one can start their own business, then more power to them. This will create a sense of even greater freedom when answering only oneself. The key component to consider is you’re not missing out on time with your significant other while at work due to being single. This makes working full-time a bit more tolerable if you will. While, in a relationship it becomes even easier to maintain this lifestyle creating even more available time for experiences. When a partner is on board, splitting work time together allows for the maximum amount of time together short of having your own business and time schedule. This can be a blessing in a family situation when considering children.
So, the question really is, what is the work end game? University debt being accrued only to land a position that keeps you on a hedonic treadmill with no end in sight is madness. This is due to a lack of life’s true meaning and understanding. It’s obvious as to why the answers to life are hidden! The elite want everyone participating in their program allowing them to become wealthier while you become more enslaved within their system. It’s no wonder that most Roman emperor’s and world leaders tried to destroy all schools of philosophy. Without them, society doesn’t know what they don’t know! Modernity has all but erased any clues on how to escape the rat race. This esoteric knowledge still exists but for how long I don’t know. It’s within plain site for all to see. Unfortunately, most are too busy running on the hedonic treadmill!