Over the years, I have noticed more and more people who simply accept that the government has a right to steal a part of their paycheck, and that they won't even get paid overtime if they are a salaried worker. The combination of working long hours and having a large portion of the fruits of their labor being diverted to support the government and the ruling class leads to people working far too hard, not getting sufficient sleep or healthy exercise, and not having sufficient cash (or time) to buy food and eat good healthy nutritious home-cooked meals. So the health of folks working for wages or salaries goes down drastically as they age.
My mother's Uncle Henry worked for himself his entire life. He locked up his hardware store at lunchtime and went home for lunch every day. He retired when he was 80. He was active during his 80s. He broke his hip falling off a ladder in his late 80s. The docs told him he would never be able to walk without a walker. That gave him incentive to prove the docs wrong, which he did. His health did not begin to fail until his early 90s. His mind was sharp until the very end.
I had an ancient Aunt who ran a family farm when she was over 100. I only met her once when I was a young teen. Her body was very frail, but her mind was sharp enough to manage the farm, which her adult sons and grandchildren physically worked. I knew a number of old farmers who worked on family farms their whole lives (back when I was a teen and a member of the Grange), whose minds were sharp and their bodies healthy in their 70s and 80s.
OTOH, People I have known who gave away huge portions of the wealth of their labor to the ruling class either as wage slaves or salaried people with no overtime pay have all had declining mental and physical health as they aged.
For my entire adult life I have predominantly worked for myself, either in partnerships or being self-employed for *exactly* the reasons I delineated above.
So your post really hits the nail on the head! Thanks.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2007-10-29 06:50 pm (UTC)My mother's Uncle Henry worked for himself his entire life. He locked up his hardware store at lunchtime and went home for lunch every day. He retired when he was 80. He was active during his 80s. He broke his hip falling off a ladder in his late 80s. The docs told him he would never be able to walk without a walker. That gave him incentive to prove the docs wrong, which he did. His health did not begin to fail until his early 90s. His mind was sharp until the very end.
I had an ancient Aunt who ran a family farm when she was over 100. I only met her once when I was a young teen. Her body was very frail, but her mind was sharp enough to manage the farm, which her adult sons and grandchildren physically worked. I knew a number of old farmers who worked on family farms their whole lives (back when I was a teen and a member of the Grange), whose minds were sharp and their bodies healthy in their 70s and 80s.
OTOH, People I have known who gave away huge portions of the wealth of their labor to the ruling class either as wage slaves or salaried people with no overtime pay have all had declining mental and physical health as they aged.
For my entire adult life I have predominantly worked for myself, either in partnerships or being self-employed for *exactly* the reasons I delineated above.
So your post really hits the nail on the head! Thanks.