Shedding The 47 Percenter Web

This post is targeted at whatever portion of that 47% of non-income tax payers that is dependent upon the government for their day-to-day living.

You're being lied to.  The government touts the "safety net" as a way to get back on your feet.  To the contrary - it's more like a spider's web.

You're stuck - you can't advance.  As you're ensnared by more and more web, you're less inclined to struggle to free yourself.  You accept your fate - "Whatever that spider wants to do with me, I've got to accept it."

You're his bitch.

This spider, though, is a bit different.  While the web still keeps you immobile, the spider doesn't finish you off.  Right now, he's a collector of sorts.  He gives you just enough to live - food, housing, clothing - but he keeps you wrapped up and dependent on him for those things.  He saps your will to advance by keeping you comfortable.

Here's the rub:  He soon discovers that he can't keep supporting his "catch" - the web strains under the weight of his dependents.  The web will either break, or he'll have to start cutting off those whom he has supported the longest - the ones with the least amount of drive and ambition left in them.
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47%ers, you're living on the backs of others.  Others who have the fruits of their labors stolen from them, and redistributed to you.  They don't get to choose to give you the money, it's simply taken.  No matter how "deserving" or how compelling your story, when you cut through all of the crap, you're living off of the labor of someone else.

I keep reading story after story in the Compliant Mainstream Media about how this or that government program turned everything around.  Without these programs, we'd be hip deep in dead unwed mothers and their babies.

And there's never a good time to turn off the spigot.  "We're close to having this problem whipped, but we're not quite there.  Just a little bit longer.  Ehem, social justice, economic justice, racists, racist, racist.  Vote for me come November," yelps the politician.

This can't last.  This won't last.  The web will break or be trimmed.  Know it in your heart of hearts.  Obamabucks or Romneybucks will eventually run out.

What then?
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Any work is better than no work.  Work builds pride and independence and purpose.  Handouts make you weak and lethargic and dependent.

Work also gives you the drive to advance.

[Queue angelic harp music]  I remember my first job while I was in high school.  I was hired as a dishwasher at a local restaurant/bar/motel.  I then advanced to pot washer.  We were the bottom of the barrel.  Always the last ones to leave, because after all of the dishes and pots were washed, we had to clean the entire kitchen.  Wipe down the oil and muck from the day, sweep and mop the floors.  Wash down the bathrooms.  All for $1.25 an hour (this was 1975).  Oh, and a free meal and all the soda from the bar that I wanted.

After a couple of months, I became a cook.  I sure as hell knew I didn't want to be a dishwasher, and probably not a professional cook.  We had a number of grown men who I'd guess were making $5 an hour that were working side by side with me on the line.

Nope... If I was going to work that hard, you'd have to pay me some real money.  A few months later, just after starting college, I got my first banking job.  I worked my ass off, but most importantly, I observed.

What made the bosses the bosses?  What traits did they have that I liked, and which ones would I never use?  What skills were paid the most money, and what would it take to obtain those skills?

Long story short, I spent 31 years in banking, leaving as an Executive Vice President.  And I never did get the college degree, either.  No silver spoon.  No scholarships.  No loans.  Worked my way while in college. No contacts with "higher ups" to get me a sweet gig.

My point?  If I didn't work, I'd have never known what I didn't want to do!  It sounds a bit odd, but it's a fact.  I had self-worth, even back then.  I had no problem working hard, but I'd be damned if it would be for free.
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To you Hispanic 47%ers:  Seriously, help me understand why you - as a group - favor open borders with Mexico.  Anyone with two gray cells to rub together knows that the more people that are available for any given job, the lower the wage will be.  The employer is in the power seat.  If you don't want to accept minimum wage for a job, he's got dozens and dozens of folks willing to jump at the chance.  Don't you understand that by flooding the market with cheap labor, you, as an individual, are harmed?

You are in the truest sense of the word, a "slave".
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Stay on the public teat, and when you die, no one will care.  You won't have made a mark on the lives of those around you.  "Yeah, old Bob was a heck of a redistribution recipient.  Damn!  He could always figure out a way to extend his payments from one public program, and have the next one lined up before the previous one ran out.

"I wonder if his public housing spot will be available..."

Accept The Challenge

Whether you're a 47%er - by choice or not - or someone looking to gain some financial freedom, you need to get to work right damned now.  I don't care if it's a job where you ask, "Would you like fries with that?" even after you've been a big wig.

Government handouts rot your soul.  They take away your ambition, your drive, your self-worth.

While you're flipping those burgers, reassess your skills and your local economy.  Maybe they don't need people with your skillset anymore.  So change your skillset.

Get short-term education - 3 months to 2 years.  DO YOUR HOMEWORK FIRST!  Don't go get a certificate in Buggy Whip Design and Fabrication.  Learn or improve a skill in something with some legs - something that will last.

Look at starting your own business.  Maybe even just part time, but you'll more likely achieve financial freedom working for yourself than working for someone else.  Whatever you do, make it consumable or something that needs replacing.  Have a product or service that, by design, requires them to come back to you.  If you've treated them fairly and honestly, they'll keep coming back to you for more.

Find a niche in your market.  That can be something you do locally, or something that you can sell regionally or nationally.  Give your chosen market "a better mouse trap".

Some ideas -

1.  Vice.  Hey, it sells.  Alcohol, porn, etc.  You need to check your moral compass when going down this road.  It's lucrative, but can be disgusting.  Most aspects are highly regulated, but not all.  Hustler Magazine and porn movies are watched by the authorities for crossing the line, but Fifty Shades Of Gray soft "mommy porn" is widely accepted as "cool".

2.  Money.  Payday loans, PM stores, title loans, pawn shops, consignment stores.  Just be warned that much of this sector is heavily regulated.  You need to determine for yourself if it's worth the grief to enter this line of work.  And you need a pile of cash to get started.

3.  Aging America.  Huge, HUGE market is opening up, with tremendous opportunities.  Collectibles, rock and roll, health care, travel/adventure - the possibilities are endless.  In the health care space, it goes from starting a pick-up-and-drop off service for doctor visits, to in-home dialysis services, to physical therapy, to elder care.  This, I believe, will have the highest amount of opportunity.  But pick your niche.  LOTS of people are going down this road.

4.  Safety.  Me thinks the government(s) will continue their Fear Campaign - there are bad guys behind every corner - to help justify continued spending on police and DHS programs.  This feeds a need of some citizens to get training on everything from non-lethal stun guns and pepper spray to handgun safety, to advanced weapons training.  This will continue to boost the sales of the businesses that supply the products people need to protect themselves - handguns, rifles, ammo, alarm systems, pepper spray/stun guns, etc.  As of right now, training is a lightly regulated industry, whereas the tools - handguns in particular, and ammo in socialist states such as California - are heavily regulated.

5.  Government vendor. At least for the near-term, supplying the government with goods and services is a HUGE growth industry.  Everything needed in private industry and private life, is needed by the government, and they pay a premium.  If you're a woman, black, Hispanic, Asian or Native American, you have a leg up on all other competition.  For this group, government schools - colleges in particular - have developed Departments of Diversity or similarly titled entities whose sole purpose is to ensure you move to the front of the line when it comes to dealing with the schools.

 6.  Information.  Write a Kindle book, and sell it on Amazon.com.  Be sure you're not one of the million folks writing a book on how to reduce clutter in your house if you expect to make any money.  Do your research first to make sure you're not in a saturated market.  One good strategy seems to be writing a series of small books.  For instance, there's a guy who writes books on deer hunting.  Stalking, field dressing, knowing the wind, etc.  Each book sells for $0.99, and he has 52 of them.  He periodically gives one away for free as an incentive to buy the others.  52 might be a bit much, but 4 to 10 might work.  Make it a topic or skill that offers a fresh perspective and unique insights.

7.  Hispanic-targeted products and services.  There's a reason that it seems like half of the cable channels are Spanish speaking.  Hispanics are the most rapidly growing ethnic group in our country.  State and federal governments are doing nothing serious to protect our southern border, so like it or not, this trend will continue. Muéstrame el dinero!

Others?

Stay away from:

1.   Automobiles and related industries.  As our society ages and seniors become a much larger percentage of the population, the number of cars needed is going to drop appreciably.  Automobile companies are projecting flat sales for as far as the eye can see, while the overall population continues to grow.

2.  Computer repair.  A dime a dozen.  Yep, some folks are screamin' professionals, but there is a TON of competition.

3.  Website designer.  See above.

Others?

Lastly, as I've noted before, don't put all of your eggs in one basket.  Work HARD to have multiple streams of income.  This is so important.  If the largest breadwinner in your household lost their job, what would you do?  How would you pay your bills and feed yourself?

Plan now, and keep yourself out of the web...

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Copyright 2012 Bison Risk Management Associates. All rights reserved. Please note that in addition to owning Bison Risk Management, Chief Instructor is also a partner in a precious metals business. You are encouraged to repost this information so long as it is credited to Bison Risk Management Associates. www.BisonRMA.com