Haiti, The Most Fair Nation

Started by flyingvan, October 25, 2012, 01:22:20 PM

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flyingvan


Haiti shares the island of Hispaniola with The Dominican Republic.  It's such a good microcosm to make a point since everything is pretty much the same, except for an attitude that makes things different between the two countries.  Same terrain, same weather, language, people. 
   A good friend of mine does missionary work in Haiti.  He told me something very interesting---the Haitians are really just fine not having anything and living in poverty, but if you give one of them something extra, all hell breaks loose.  If someone gets the idea that somebody got something they didn't, fights will erupt, buses get overturned.  Getting ahead can mean losing your head.
   Since our children were very small we never did 'fair'.  One kid might get an extra cookie here and there.  Another kid might arbitrarily get to do something the other won't, and we've always given the answer 'we don't do fair here'. 
   Our kids get along great, and will share among themselves freely.
   There's an old saying, 'You can't make the poor richer by making the rich poorer'.  As the grocery workers prepare to go on strike yet again,  their big argument isn't how hard they work or the dangers of the job or the skills required to ring up bananas; their argument is how much their CEO makes compared to them.
   Well, then, go become a CEO.
   At the root is a misunderstanding of how new wealth is made.  CEO's have more power to increase the gross domestic product than all of congress and the executive branch combined.  Punishing CEO's to try to move money towards minimally skilled labor in the name of a liveable wage is very counter-productive.  You really are biting the hand that feeds you.   Labor laws and the regulations that come with them, in the name of 'fairness', inhibit budding enterpeneurs from advancing and creating new wealth, industry, and jobs. 
  In the case of grocery workers----their last strike drove shoppers to non-union businesses like Walmart and Target.  We didn't come back.  If you want to pay $2 each for an avocado to support 'living wages' at a chain store, go ahead.
   As Haiti can show, it IS possible for everybody to have the exact same amount, as long as that same amount is nothing.  That really is fair.  Just say goodbye to innovation, GDP growth, environmental protection, and the freedom towards greatness.
   I will take the unfairness and advancement through merit and hard work any day.  If you envy what someone else has, do you seek to take it away from them, or do what they did to achieve it?
Find what you love and let it kill you.

Woodsrule

Great post and great explanation of the much bandied word lately: fair. When I was growing up we were economically poor. Dad worked as a logger for 12+ hours a day and mom stayed home taking care of we 5 kids. Along about 5th grade I found out that we were poor. A lot of kids had brand named clothing and other gadgets common to the time. We had none and I whined once about how life was not fair. I was quickly reminded that life is not fair, but was also told by my immigrant dad that I was damn lucky to live in the US because I had a fair opportunity to make life better for myself. Well, he wad damn right and we five kids have done pretty good for ourselves through hard work. The oft-repeated phrases these days "level playing field", "fair opportunity" et al... scare me. We are guaranteed a fair opportunity here, but are not guaranteed an equal outcome. Simply put, the folks who work the hardest and embrace the values that breed success usually succeed. Usually. Dad and mom thought it an insult if anyone were to suggest that they apply for food stamps simply because they qualified. In their mind, accepting a handout was tantamount to admitting that they were a failure and that was not an option. Sadly, many folks today not only admit that they are a failure, but they try to assign that failure to others. This mindset keeps these folks down, much like the folks you described from Haiti.  Great post.


flyingvan

Woodsrule,

    Thanks very much for the first hand account follow up.  We had similar upbringing I think.  We didn't have new clothes and such either, but I had a very rich upbringing--a mom and dad that loved each other, and believed 'self esteem' was something that came from personal struggle and accomplishment, not the schools.  We were never taught to blame someone else for our woes.  We were taught the opportunity to work hard at something was always a blessing.  We used to drive the workers from the local fields to church, and OUR church used to put together packages for them before they went home.  My brothers and I used to beg off food from the farmers markets after school to deliver to the local food outreaches.  The thought of anyone going hungry in our own community was not something our parents would allow and the thought of government being the best way to mitigate that was, and still is, laughable.
   A sense of 'fairness' IS important, but best left to the individual to work on, not the government.  It's difficult when Conservatives are accused of not caring about the poor for not supporting yet another entitlement, while liberals pat themselves on the back for trying to accomplish 'fairness' through government programs and other people's money.  If you truly want to help the poor, go help the poor!  I guarantee there are folks within walking distance that need help
Find what you love and let it kill you.