Now it BEGINS …
It starts with a living wage ….. each department / state must do a study to find out the true cost of living where they are ....
- average rents / mortgages
- average utilities
- average food
- average property & residential taxes
- Factor-in benefits received ….
- healthcare
- unemployment coverage
- school & other child support
- other subsidies for the people’s welfare
At the end you have a minimum dollar per hour wage for an area that must be enforced
Next … people must understand the true cost of goods
- production
- logistics
- sales & marketing
- employees
- overhead & operational costs
This must all be covered in the price of the goods along with profit for the provider. In the case of housing, healthcare, school, food & utility sales, there should be a maximum cap for profits as these are necessities for people ... roof over head, food on table, healthcare and education. Aside from these protections, free markets prevail.
Now people will better understand that their pay and benefits are correctly in line with the costs and now they must budget, sacrifice, continue education, eat less, spend less and NOT count on the government that is now being fair to bail them out of their finance issues.
Finally …. You cannot allow countries who do not pay their people a living wage, the ability to bring their products to a place at a lower cost. People need to care about the cost of living for their fellow humans in other countries and not be content to pay less for goods on the backs of "slave" labor.
A system should be in place where a proper tax will be added to the cargo's destination to make sure that the goods arriving are priced no less than the goods provided in-country. All taxes go back to the local municipalities into a fund to help local companies hire and provide for more employment.
When other countries realize there is no advantage to having slave labor, they will pay their people more instead of paying more taxes. A robust system can be created to easily track and set rates real-time for all producers, shippers, and sellers ... even creating incentives for when they raise wages for their people.
We just cannot have things all ways. If we want other countries to pay their people a living wage like we want, we must lead by example and not let them take advantage of their own people … this is what begins the upward spiral … from the bottom up.
Government … needs to be slimmed down and they should NEVER get a pay raise until the country’s GDP increases and/or employment is lowered … measured annually.
Further, we must hold all in government accountable if we want to hold on to democracy. When too much power is in the hands of one, and that one is in lockstep with corporations, nothing of what I’ve said previously will take place …. it will only be about money and power … not love and care of they neighbor … the best interest of the masses, and so forth.
Small note about dictators … those broken clocks are right twice a day. People will opt for the broken clock in the hopes that one of the "rights" will be of help to them. (i.e., I’ll take the broken clock because he will lower my taxes and help me stay rich … at the expense of the masses and that’s ok)
With a democracy not held accountable, it’s the same issue only that government is not right even twice a day because too many fighting for their largest bidder to hold power and money, rather than compromise for their constituents who don’t have power and money.
And my own personal pet peeve .... each place should begin immediately their own projects to provide solar power to all of their people utilizing the import taxes received ... no red tape, no nonsense ... the final answer lies with our sun and if we start now, in 10 years we will be completely energy independent!
Each area in a given country must use their topography, climate, and resources to figure out how to best become energy independent …. like the show, Islands of the Future … only all areas must behave like islands unto themselves. That is the answer to all of this. Like Hillary Clinton said “it takes a village” We must become islands onto ourselves … treat all areas like islands …. and each island is a village of love and care for one another.
Here’s one simple example … if a country like France can cut through the fifedoms and red tape throughout their country to transform the bulk of traffic controls with traffic circles ... create a robust healthcare system that cares for its people ... and other things in almost no time on a generational scale ... they can certainly do the same for transforming the power of the sun to power their country.
We need everyone to have the WILL to care, to sacrifice, to think about the big picture and not just their personal, immediate needs or riches they can never take with them. This is not how great things are built for future generations to come.