Hello to you. How are you as you visit me here? I hope this finds you well. Aside from allergies and being awake way too darn early things are pretty decent here. When is too early to be awake? In dog time, from what Link tells me, it’s being awake before the sun is. As I write, he’s still in bed!
What comes to me this morning is something I’m having to do – learning to accept my part. What I mean by that is each of us seems to have a part we play on this stage of God’s and mine seems to be the one that I’m trying to accept. When I’m doing what I’m supposed to do, things seem to go well. When I’m not, well God lets me know about it. They were pretty firm about it most recently – tough love is the phrase we are using.
To quote Albus Dumbledore: “It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”
So it’s important to make good choices.
I’ll be honest, sometimes it’s hard to know what a good choice is! In my life so far, it feels like there is a lot of hindsight on the making good choices scenario. It feels like all too often I am asked to make a good choice when I’m faced with a set of circumstances and limited data to go on. As is the case recently, if it’s not me making the choice, it’s me having to trust someone else about it.
My personal barometer, “if it ain’t light, it ain’t right” works most of the time. If my heart moves in my chest anywhere but center when making a choice, my choice my need evaluating. Lately though, and I hadn’t planned on this part, I am acknowledging that when I feel my heart sink into my stomach it might be because I’m being asked to get out of my comfort zone. How do you tell the difference?!
This is a question facing so many in our world today isn’t it?
“making good choices” in the English Ordinal system equals 158 – a feeling, being yourself, quality of life, spirit alchemy
With this Covoid19 crisis there seems to be a lot of darned if you do, darned if you don’t! The right answer, as I’ve been seeing a lot, might not be the popular answer or what other people want to hear. For example, the debate in our state of Texas has been whether or not to open up businesses again. Is it too soon? Are these businesses prepared for the changes they need to make to be open safely? I am noticing a lot of small businesses being forced to choose between their lives and their livelihoods. I think if they knew they had some sort of income no matter what, they wouldn’t feel pressure to reopen so quickly. For many, if they don’t open back up, they face losing their business which affects their lives and the communities they serve. If they do open back up, they are putting their lives at risk being exposed to a potentially infected public. They tried to give some of the businesses stimulus checks but it’s not enough to sustain a business for a long period like we are potentially talking about with this virus.
A model that exists and I don’t know if this would work here is Basic income. May be something like this could help the many unemployed and or those losing their businesses from the restaurant, service, retail and agricultural sectors. They already have people applying for aide so they know who the folks are that need help already:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_income
Basic income, also called universal basic income (UBI), citizen’s income, citizen’s basic income, basic income guarantee, basic living stipend, guaranteed annual income, or universal demogrant, is a governmental public program for a periodic payment delivered to all on an individual basis without means test or work requirement.[2] The incomes would be:
- Unconditional: A basic income would vary with age, but with no other conditions. Everyone of the same age would receive the same basic income, whatever their gender, employment status, family structure, contribution to society, housing costs, or anything else.
- Automatic: Someone’s basic income would be automatically paid weekly or monthly into a bank account or similar.
- Non-withdrawable: Basic incomes would not be means-tested. Whether someone’s earnings increase, decrease, or stay the same, their basic income will not change.
- Individual: Basic incomes would be paid on an individual basis and not on the basis of a couple or household.
- As a right: Every legal resident would receive a basic income, subject to a minimum period of legal residency and continuing residency for most of the year.[3]
Basic income can be implemented nationally, regionally or locally. An unconditional income that is sufficient to meet a person’s basic needs (at or above the poverty line) is sometimes called a full basic income while if it is less than that amount, it is sometimes called partial. A welfare system with some characteristics similar to those of a basic income is a negative income tax in which the government stipend is gradually reduced with higher labor income. Some welfare systems are sometimes regarded as steps on the way to a basic income, but because they have conditions attached they are not basic incomes. If they raise household incomes to specified minima they are called guaranteed minimum income systems. For example, Bolsa Família in Brazil is restricted to poor families and the children are obligated to attend school.[4]
“Basic income” in the English Ordinal system equals 93 – management, growing, therapy, internal, trying, parents
“nine three” in the English Ordinal system equals 98 – together, stocking, trust, “to try”
“nine eight’” in the English Ordinal system equals 91 – spirit, upgrades, savings, content, emotion, future, growth
“nine one” in the English Ordinal system equals 76 – sharing, tracker, humans, species, example, mixing concept
seven six” in the English Ordinal system equals 117 – humility, upbringing, occupation, statement, expansion
“one one seven” in the English Ordinal system equals 133 – a the, innovation, challenge, invitation, grownups, system life
“one three three” in the English Ordinal system equals 146 – a body, people matter, brain function, peace for the brain, field of study
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At the time of his campaign, Yang was pushing for a “universal basic income”– a $1,000 per month entitlement for every American. The idea was expensive, impractical. and rife with the potential for unintended consequences. But now, Yang’s original conception, with some important variations, could save millions of Americans from financial catastrophe. That helps explain why its finding new life from proponents l New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (as well as Yang himself). Yet UBI need not be adopted in its original form to do a lot of good; it need not be as generous as an indefinite entitlement of $1,000 a month, nor does it need to be universal. At least not yet.
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I currently live on a fixed income so I understand what this is like. My income doesn’t fluctuate that much so I have to live within my means. I wonder if this model would work for some of the folks that had small businesses and they had to close them. Could our country afford this system on a short term basis until be get more stabilized and beyond the crisis?
Anyhew – I’m out of my depth. People a lot wiser out there on this but that’s just how my mind goes – from small scale to the world. How do you make a good choice in such uncertain times. I guess if we are honest with ourselves, now isn’t much different than it ever really was. There is always risk in decision making. All we can do is make the best choices we can and hope for the best. I do hope anyone reading this, if you are in the demographic of folks I’m talking about, that you have or can get everything you need to take care of yourselves and your families.
P.S. The Blue Angels are supposed to be flying today – hope I get to see them!
To be 
Couldn’t agree more. Your life or your livelihood? Shouldn’t have to be a choice.
I agree. Too many people in our country and others are being put into that situation. I guess it’s just part of the design of having a economy like we have. They are pushing to reopen things now and there is worries it could make things worse if we don’t have a vaccine yet for it.