Producers vs "hangers-on"

How many people do you see here actually working?

Have you ever stopped to think about all the jobs there are in this country, around the world even, that don't directly produce anything?

For example, there are people who mine the raw materials that go into making the steel and rubber and plastic that will eventually become a car.  Engineers add their smarts, some make the parts, and finally others screw it all together.

Eventually, waa laa....CAR!  All those people DIRECTLY add to the economy.  They PRODUCE something of value.  Same with the geeks at Apple.  They dream up things....they're part of the process....that eventually PRODUCES iPhones and iPads and such.

But along the way there exists a huge workforce comprised of what I call the "hangers-on".  They don't DO anything except watch the people who do the work.  

For example, the Human Resources folks don't produce anything, they just make sure you comply with all the rules imposed on you by other people who likewise don't produce anything.  (Full disclosure:  K works in HR.)  

I can understand a "safety officer", but why a "safety inspector" AND a "safety manager", too?  Why do we need layer upon layer of hangers-on watching workers work?  

Consultants are everywhere, many because they're just unemployed producers themselves.  Don't even get me started on the bean counters and their "generally accepted accounting pricnciples", which is code for "What do you want it to say?"  They can obfuscate anything.  

Yes, I know there is societal value in making sure polluters don't mess up our air or water, and to putting out fires and locking up criminals, even though you can't put a price on how much those jobs add to the economy.  But IMO too much time is spent making sure the file cabinets are full of cover-your-ass paperwork in case a lawyer (another large group of non-producers) comes along and wants to extort a few mil.  

By and large most hangers-on are simply necessary liabilities, not assets.  They take their paychecks and buy those cars and computers and TV's produced by others, and that's a good thing, but really they're just the "filler" in the economic smorgasbord, not the "entree".

Now don't get your knickers in a knot.  Before anyone gets their feelings hurt, know that I consider much of what I did for nearly 40 years was of the "filler" variety, too.  I'm just calling 'em as I see 'em.

Did you know my city has a guy whose job, one of them at least, is to go around and make sure all the construction site porta-potties are properly staked down per ordinance?  

In France there are laws that dictate how large the signs painted on store windows can be.  And field inspectors who go from store to store with tape measures to make sure all are in compliance.  How is that adding anything of value to the economy?

Remember the book Future Shock?  It mentions a time in the future when more and more of the work will be done by fewer and fewer of the people.  I think we've found that time is here right now.

S

My downsizing saga, Pt. 2

So I left off with our home sold and moving day about a month away.  Where to live?  It turns out the place we spent a lot of our weekend time, The Shops at Legacy, a super popular shopping/entertainment district, was less than a mile from where K worked, and was just a block away from the Dallas North Tollway which was a straight shot to my work.  

Over an eight-block-long stretch in The Shops there are about 25 restaurants, several clubs, a theater, and more.  And best of all they had lots of adjacent apartments to choose from.  We found a 2 bed/2 bath just a block away that seemed nice enough and was less than half what our home cost per month.  Perfect! We were soon having so much fun we quickly put building another (smaller) home on the back burner.

But before we could move we had to face reality....much of our stuff wasn't coming with us.  First off, everything upstairs had to find a new home.  We gave some of it to our friends and family, sold some on Craig's List, and put the rest in a moving (garage) sale.

Clothes....Jeez....where'd all that stuff come from?  I had 55 casual shirts.  K asked me how many of them I had worn in the past 6 months?  Twenty.  That left 35 that went to charity.  Same with shoes.  Same with lots of old pants/jeans that...ahem...shrunk in the dryer.

I thought the hardest thing for me to part with would be the 500 hardcover volumes I'd collected over the years.  K asked me if I ever went back and re-read any of them?  Ummm....no.  That meant I really had 500 dusty door stops.  Some were given to friends and family, some were sold via Craig's List and in the moving sale, and the rest were sacrificed to Half Price Books.  I kept a few that were signed by the authors or given to me by friends, but the rest are now being enjoyed by others.  Turns out they weren't hard to part with at all.  Now I read Kindle books on my tablet.

Fortunately as things turned out we didn't have any heirloom furniture.  We had very good quality stuff, but it had no sentimental value.  We kept what we needed and no more.  Our HUGE dining table w/ 2 leaves, 6 chairs, and a sideboard was replaced by this...

....and it works for us just fine.

My GIANT oak roll top desk was eventually replaced by this much smaller one....

....and my tall oak file cabinet was condensed into this....

....which fits nicely in the closet.

Every nook and cranny is used for storage.  The backside of most doors has been put to use.... 

In the spring, winter coats, hats, gloves, sweaters, etc are put into plastic boxes and stored under the bed and on the top shelf of closets and are replaced by summer shorts and T-shirts that had been put away the previous fall....

The apartment installed one shelf over the washer/dryer, but I added 2 more....

Need a rod to hang up clothes as they come out of the dryer?  Improvise....

The Container Store became my best friend!

Unless you have a bunch of heirlooms or are auditioning for a roll on Hoarders, it really isn't that hard to downsize.  In fact, it wasn't long before we found that second apartment bedroom turning into a catch-all room, tempting us all over again to collect more stuff we didn't need.  The solution....downsize once more.  

After three years in our first apartment we moved again into another newer, nicer, but even smaller one bedroom apartment.  

We're now down to 850 sq ft and loving it.

The grounds are beautiful with a pool, gym, and 3 courtyards that I don't have to maintain!  And if anything needs fixing (very rare) I just fire off an email to maintenance.  They even change light bulbs!

Our downsizing adventure has been very worthwhile, the disadvantages being few and far between.  "Apartment grade" is a far cry from "custom home", but if you're willing to check your ego at the door, it's a pretty sweet ride.  

Another home for us some day?  If I could replicate my carefree downsized/renter's lifestyle and still give my bride another (mini) mansion she could call hers, I'd be willing.  Never say never.  :)

S