The Pyramid Scheme Known as America

[BrendanArthurRing]

I've posted this already in my blog:

How to Survive in America

This came out of me a few days after reading Steve's "How to make money in a recession" post. His idea about creating and delivering value is extremely insightful.

How Can We Survive in America?

I don't know what it is about America today. I graduated in 2003 and have slowly gotten myself into the workforce. It seems to me that this system is seriously messed up.

I have been searching for jobs for 3 months now after not being paid for 3 months work from my previous employer (but that's another story). I have called stores and businesses in my area ... none of them are hiring or if they are, they do group interviews. Group interviews are like playing the lottery with your future. The store probably only needs one person but they interview 10 to 35 people all at once to save time. Meanwhile those 8 to 34 people that didn't get hired just wasted their time and gas money to go to the interview.

People are always saying to me "we're accepting applications" ... right well all those applications probably go into a big pile in the back room somewhere and are never read.

In America it seems that it's now common to have to pay to get a job. You have to pay an entrance fee or license fee. Maybe you have to pay for products that you will be selling. You have to pay to have your photo taken in order to be a background extra for a movie - and you only make $65 for 8 - 12 hours work. The ends don't justify the means.

When I worked at Steve Madden at the Beverly Center I had to pay $10 a day to park in the garage. Steve didn't compensate employees for parking. There was no street parking available because the surrounding area had zoned permit parking only. Needles to say I didn't get paid very much from that job. Defiantly not enough to support myself. Also a sales associate gets 1% commission, how stingy is that. Then you get reprimanded for not meeting your sales quota and are constantly told to bring the customer more things that they didn't ask for, just to get more sales.

More Sales! More Sales! How about focusing first on the quality of your product and then it will sell itself. Employees would then only have to worry about service. Being an employee really sucks. It's kind of like a modern form of slavery. You do all the work and get paid less than what that work is worth. All your time and effort goes directly into someone else's pocket and earns them money for years after you do it. All you have to show for it are bags under your eyes and a feeling of emptiness in your life.

If you don't work your ass off then you are fired, or considered a bad employee. Well, all this isn't very motivating anyway. If you were working on something you loved and the outcome directly added to your quality of life - you'd be pretty damn motivated. You could probably get 10x the amount of work done in the same time, feel invigorated and it wouldn't feel like work. Everybody has that thing that they love to do. More often that not it really does provide value to other people.

The bottom line is, if you create and deliver value to other people .. you will receive value in return. The problem with America is that we have been too concerned with receiving value, i.e. making money. Everyone is afraid of not making enough money. "I gotta make more money!" Do you hear this? Make more money. Unfortunately, it is illegal to make money ... otherwise we could all just print some out whenever wee needed it.

Nobody really benefits from making money anyway. Now there are more pieces of paper with some guys face on it. Sure they look pretty but do they have real value? Could you put a dollar in the microwave and eat what came out? Does looking at money inspire your creativity and make you wonder, the way a great work of art does? Can the sound of jingling coins put you in an ecstatic mood, the way your favorite song can?

The answer to all these questions is hell NO. Money is just the middle man between the value you create and deliver to others and the value you receive in return. People have been concerning themselves with making money and not making value for so long now that this system is finally proving that it doesn't work.

People have been enslaved in the workforce, making money for other people who in turn don't return the value. It is all just one giant pyramid scheme. The people on the bottom carry the toughest loads and the people at the top enjoy the view. Why do you think there's a pyramid on the dollar? The problem with this is; the growth potential for a pyramid structure is limited by the weight the bottom can withstand - a pyramid grows in one direction, upward and against gravity.

The American Dream has been to work your way up this pyramid to success. That's a great dream but the system itself is flawed. There are so many gates and blockages to get to the top now. With the advent of technology these firewalls have only become stronger and more efficiently automated.

How are you supposed to work your way up from the bottom in this economy? Most people can barely afford rent, food, gas .... all these things are those firewalls I was talking about. How can you save money if you're in debt? There's a big topic right there ... and it is probably the strongest firewall installed by the people at the top of the pyramid. It has been socially conditioned through brainwashing commercials that:

A. You need all the crap you see on TV
B. Buying stuff makes you happier and a better person. (or better than other people)
C. If you can't afford something just use your credit card, no worries.

Well there are worries. We've been conditioned to except that this is just the way things are and there's nothing we can do about it. In order to get what you deserve or what is fair you have to fight and fight - spending your time and money.

Here's an example. My wife has an iPhone with AT&T. She had to pay a $500 deposit because she didn't have a social security number at the time. Now she does and she wants her deposit back. Apparently it is against AT&Ts policy to return it to her until she has been under contract for a year. A year goes by and she wants her money ... well there was a hiccup in her payments due to an error caused by their system and she is going to have to wait another 6 months.

Any time she calls customer service they tell her to go to a store ... when she goes to a store they say to go online ... when she goes online they say to call customer service.

This run-around system is no accident. It is all designed to put you through so much bullshit so that you finally give up and say screw it. Cha-ching! $500. How many times have you just rolled over and said "whatever" to some fee or charge or ticket? "Well if I fight it I'll just lose anyway" ... wow - or you'd have to pay lawyer bills, or it's against their policy.

We pay money to all these services and all they do is rip us off by providing a crappy service, charging us for every little thing, making mistakes and over charging etc. I hope none of you have your bills set up to be paid automatically ... then if the company makes a mistake and over charges you, you'll never notice.

All this is a result of the general consensus in America being "Make More Money". It's not "make more value" or "help more people". It is all centered around getting something for nothing. Making money is really making something out of nothing. The government prints out some cool pieces of paper, making sure that they are difficult and illegal to duplicate by anyone other then themselves ... and BAM! something for nothing. It's all engineered on a system that delivers nothing and extracts value from others. Money is only worth what we perceive it to be anyway. And if everyone is made to perceive the same thing ... well then it's reality. Just like when everyone thought the world is flat.

So how can you change it? We are all in this together. If we all focus on creating and delivering value to one another then our quality of life will go up exponentially - with out the help of this old pyramid scheme. If all the people on the bottom of the crushing pyramid let go of the burden - the whole thing will collapse.

This new way could work. Think about it. If everyone focused on creating and delivering real value to each other and abandoned the idea of just making money ... the money would take care of itself. The pyramid scheme would be long dead and replaced by a new shape. It would be a circle where everyone is helping expand it out into infinity.

[Tara680]

All companies are, are legal pyramid schemes. The person at the top and his cronies get all the money, everyone else gets ****ed.

[Andrew Brunelle]

This post really resonates with me. It is a problem of civilization and our booming population and control heirarchies that bred these corporations that have the same values. And all these companies are considered persons under the law, so the people behind all of this are not legally responsible in the same way than if they were ruining the Earth themselves. Americans are individualistic, materialistic, and we were conditioned to be that way. We want it all for ourselves. We always want someone to look down upon, as if we are better than them. It's a war against all here in America and we wonder why we can't get anything done. We are living in a paradise, but we've created a hell on top of it.

[ar81]

The problem is that US focused on making money, instead of producing value added.

What does a bank produce? Nothing. Or insurances? Nothing. Casinos perhaps? Nothing. Insurances account 16% of US GDP... producing nothing?

If you buy a house, you pay $10 for a $10 house.

If you need a service, you pay and you get something. It could be transportation, it could be assistance to fix a situation.

Banks are not a service. In a service you pay and you get something useful in return. In a bank they give you money, then take it, and on top you pay interests for it.

A business that produce nothing can only make profit by taking more money than they actually pay back. This si how banks and insurances work.

They found ways to print money in accounting books (fake money) and then they transfer the risks to others, so they will absorb the losses.

Speculation is about inflating prices to make more profit based on perception, not value added. Where did the money go? Nowhere. I did not exist. perception is an illusion, not value added.

Capitalism in its origins was about producing value with work, not about printing money with accounting games as it happens today. The unbalance of US economy comes from producing less and creating ghost wealth. In the beginning your money was yours, private property. But today you give them yuor money and they may not want to give it back to you. Not private property anymore.

Banks are a monarchy and they are ruling and setting your destiny while they make money albeit you.

[ar81]

Originally Posted by Andrew Brunelle

This post really resonates with me. It is a problem of civilization and our booming population and control heirarchies that bred these corporations that have the same values. And all these companies are considered persons under the law, so the people behind all of this are not legally responsible in the same way than if they were ruining the Earth themselves. Americans are individualistic, materialistic, and we were conditioned to be that way. We want it all for ourselves. We always want someone to look down upon, as if we are better than them. It's a war against all here in America and we wonder why we can't get anything done. We are living in a paradise, but we've created a hell on top of it.

"Booming population" is about 5% of humanity consuming 40% of resources.

Materialism? Money is nowadays quasimoney, digital money stored in a score on a bank hard disk. How "material" is it? Money is being created out of thin air and losses caused by creating money not backed by wealth are being transferred to those who become poor.

So in a way it is like a Ponzi scheme. A worldwide Ponzi scheme. Who is responsible?

[Tara680]

The rich make the rules. Don't want to pay taxes?

Step 1. Set up a legitimate business in the US.

Step 2. Then set up a company in Cyprus and all your payments go to the bank in Cyrpus.

Step 3. The tax rate in Cyprus is 10%, but foreign diplomats do not pay income tax (if you are outside of Cyprus).

Step 4. Your company in the US invoices the company in Cyprus for just the expenses (if you have in $1000 a month in expenses, then that is what the US company invoices for).

Step 5. The rest of the money transfers to a trust in the Netherlands Antilles, which then gets transferred to a trust you have set up in Denmark.

Step 6. The trust in Denmark then pays you (the owner/CEO of the business in the US) in dividends, which are only taxed at only 15%.

Step 7. But wait. The US and Denmark have a special treaty where dividends from Denmark are only taxed at 5%

Step 8. You only pay 5% federal income tax, even if you make $1 billion. You do not pay social security or medicare, or local taxes, and in most cases, state taxes

Step 9. In most cases, you only pay 5% in taxes, no matter how much money you earn.

Step 10. Is this legal. Yes!!!!!!!!! Every dollar is declared. Again, the rich make the rules

[BitterFlower]

ar81 and Tara680---get outta my head! I do tax accounting, and once I got into a large corporation, I was just shocked at what went on.

I can't shake my head enough. People are too concerned about someone else getting free food or healthcare and are ignorant to the fact that corporations are robbing us blind and living freely. And they will fight to the death that the corporations should get these "tax cuts"!!

I'm tired of the usury system, and vow to pay cash for everything now on since my car died last month. I still have 2 years left on the loan. I can't even sell the car to cover the loan. I feel like I have a piece of junk (unless I sink another 2K into it) and shouldn't have to pay anymore, but the bank is laughing all the way to the...bank.

[saif]

I think the problem is that: Companies model themselves after nations, nations model themselves after more "successful" nations and nations are modelled by governments.

In my first job, the team talk from the boss went like this: "How can we improve the empire. .." but whos empire was it, definitely wasn’t mine.

[MariconesUnited]

At first I thought you were being overly negative, then after analyzing it I realized it's all true. Have you seen Michael Moore's new movie? You should if you haven't already!

I 100% agree on creating value for others! Human beings are social animals and we evolved the way we did because we stuck together through hard times. I'm in the middle of setting up my business and I will reward everyone completely fairly. If people call me a communist because of it then so be it! I don't care about labels I care about us. All of us.

Preach it brother!

[TheIronStar]

Originally Posted by ar81

What does a bank produce? Nothing...Banks are not a service. In a service you pay and you get something useful in return. In a bank they give you money, then take it, and on top you pay interests for it.

Really?

Is this a reference to bank loans and/or credit cards? Ever thought about why it is that they give you money to then take back and require interest?

Maybe, just maybe, it's because they provide the service of credit? In other words, they offer the rental of money at a useful time? Read up on the concept of the time value of money and you'll see how absurd your statements above are.

Originally Posted by ar81

Or insurances? Nothing.

Wow. A whole bunch of people in this country are quite up in arms about health insurance. You might want to explain to them that insurance provides nothing.

[Rockchick26]

I fully agree with all of this. Yeah Michael Moore's new movie Capitalism points all of this out. I was near tears at least 10 times during this movie, and after I walked out I wanted to hop on a plane to any country other than this one.

Originally Posted by TheIronStar

Wow. A whole bunch of people in this country are quite up in arms about health insurance. You might want to explain to them that insurance provides nothing.

See Michael Moore's "Sicko" and then you'll see why insurance companies provide nothing. Well, wait, they provide something IF you are healthy, have a job that provides it for you, or you don't ever require surgery or prescription drugs. Now after that narrowed it down, is there anyone left?

[Manomanman]

I will be blogging extensively about this topic. In fact, one my pillar articles will be about this.

But it runs much deeper than any of us think. It's pervasive. It's cultural.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by BrendanArthurRing

A. You need all the crap you see on TV
B. Buying stuff makes you happier and a better person. (or better than other people)
C. If you can't afford something just use your credit card, no worries.

So how can you change it?

I agree with most of what you've said here. I think you answered a good part of your question with what you said earlier in A, B, & C.

If people do not accept A, B, & C as true, they will reduce the amount of money going to the ultra rich bankers and will be less inclined to take abuse from employers.

I would add I totally agree with you that AT&T has deliberately designed a system to give people the runaround so that AT&T can make more money. I know a guy with an iPhone who also go the same kind of runaround with them over a different issue.

On the other hand, who the h*ll really needs an iphone??? A cell phone maybe, but an iphone? I don't think so. As soon as I heard that owning an iPhone meant you had to get service from AT&T a big red flag went up for me. People have to start seeing such obvious red flags.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by Andrew Brunelle

This post really resonates with me. It is a problem of civilization and our booming population and control heirarchies that bred these corporations that have the same values. And all these companies are considered persons under the law, so the people behind all of this are not legally responsible in the same way than if they were ruining the Earth themselves. Americans are individualistic, materialistic, and we were conditioned to be that way. We want it all for ourselves. We always want someone to look down upon, as if we are better than them. It's a war against all here in America and we wonder why we can't get anything done. We are living in a paradise, but we've created a hell on top of it.

Agreed. The only thing I'd add is we CAN wake up to the conditioning and consciously choose live differently. That is the only thing that changes things for the better. Just about every religious and spiritual tradition teaches us that this is so.

It's time to take things into our own hands in small ways and large, and stop fantasizing that some politician or some other person or group of people outside ourselves is going to take care of us with no action on our part.

[selma]

Awesome post, thanks! And Tara, is this cyprus business thing for real?? Is this the same thing as offshore businesses, like people setting up businesses in the virgin islands, etc??