Nothing to smile about

Saturday morning run to photograph the sunrise. Thick cloud cover at that time prevented me getting any pictures. I continued on my run through the Wynyard Quarter, and had to undertake a detour due to significant work on the road and footpath (on the other side of the orange plastic net).

That is where I met Michael. He was walking in the same direction as I was running, and I made a judgement call (based on his appearance and the time of the morning) that he might help me to meet this week's challenge word (put up by LovePopcorn); actually two words this week -- have not.

I explained about my habit of taking photos while I run, to post on a site of a photography group, and asked if he would mind if I took his picture. He readily consented.

I gave him my name; he said he is Michael, and that he was pleased to meet me. I could see a couple of small bags on a bench against a wall under a building overhang, and asked if that was where he sleeps. He replied that "I can't sleep on the boats because of my back." Thinking he might work on one of the fishing boats close by, I asked if he did so. He said that no he didn't. He then confided that "They call me The Commodore. When the fleet comes in, that's when I'll go on the boats again." He then wished me a good day and went off to his bench.

One of Auckland's "have nots", pictured in front of downtown Auckland, the skyline dominated by buildings housing aspects of the financial sector; the "haves" of our society.

Yesterday I read a piece from the New Statesman about how the financial problems in the UK could have been solved if the 375 billion pounds of created money had been given not to the financial sector (in bailouts) but shared equally by every person in Britain. This got me thinking.

I thought that there would be all sorts of objections here in NZ if we gave the equivalent amount ($12,000), and one would be the claim that most would just drink, smoke, gamble or otherwise waste it. Maybe they would spend it in that way. (Even so that would be a stimulus to growth, and the capitalists would get the money anyway)

So, I wondered about a different approach; pay the $12,000 off everyone's credit card debt, or other debt with usurious interest rates. However it's done, this avoids the evaporation of the trickle down of wealth, which serves as the justification for giving advantage to the already advantaged, and which never seems to get below a very high level in the economic system.

Perhaps that would work, and only those who like to keep people enslaved by criminal rates of interest will be unhappy. Which wouldn't concern me.