How Things Work (or NOT)

How Things Work (or NOT)
We are all in this together. It's always been the case and always will. Everybody does their part. Some of us work hard and don't have much to show for it and some of us have lots of stuff because that's just how it is. For now let's call these people the 99ers and the Ones...

The ones depend on the 99ers to build, grow, move, paint, clean etc... The 99ers depend on the Ones for the opportunity to have jobs and roads and schools and all the other benefits of society. Why this has worked and the details of how it all fits together are a mystery (to me) but for the most part it has worked.

Every so often the 99ers (some anyway) decide that they want more. The Ones don't have to work so why should we? When this happens we have boom times. Remember to dot-com era and the recent housing boom. These are called bubbles and they don't last for long because - (pick one)

TANSTAAFL - there ain't no such thing as a free lunch.
The Ones get ticked off that the 99ers are taking their money.

In either case the boom is followed by a bust and when the Ones get their money back things get back to normal. That might happen this time. Or it might not. Maybe it is just too soon to tell. Maybe this time is different. Maybe there will be a new normal. We need to get a handle on things though. The Ones used to do their part even if it didn't look like it to the 99ers. This time it looks like they don't have a clue. If they don't step up and start contributing to a solution then that whole 1st-world lifestyle that we enjoy might just come crashing down.