Brain Free

"Work keeps at bay three great evils; boredom, vice and need." Voltaire.

Anybody whose IQ is higher than the circumference of their knee, will realise than New
Zealand is becoming a Brain Free Society. The 23% increase in the number of bureaucrats benefits nobody but those employed to stare out the window of dubious opportunity. The taxpayer is lumbered with the horrendous cost and receives nothing in exchange. How many bureaucrats does it take to administer a mere four million people with largely mindless and unnecessary legislation? The bureaucrats swap their conscience for a salary and justify their existence by saying: "I'm only doing my job." Strange as it may seem, the guards on Hitler's concentration camps (a British invention) used the same excuse. Most conveniently, and so say all of us, they were shot out of hand.

But let us pause a minute and realise that the faceless bureaucrats are not alone in our Brain Free Society. Most of us are employed doing jobs that are largely superficial. My father spent his entire life working for the Wellington Harbour Board. He started as a crane driver and worked his way up to Chief Tolls Officer. He was the first to admit that his job was unnecessary and could be replaced by a much simpler system. A few years after his retirement, his suggestions came into force and it was goodbye to the outdated cargo checking system. Thus, he felt he had wasted in life doing nothing useful. He firmly believed that the object of life was to contribute more than you receive. But the wages were steady and raised his family in average circumstances and for this he was grateful.

About ten years ago a friend failed in the restaurant business and promptly got a job as a civil servant in a large government department. He's the first to admit his job contributes nothing to society but the above average wage keep his family in relative comfort. Thus, he considers his occupation justified from a personal point of view.

Unfortunately our school system is designed to turn out oxymoron foot soldiers willing to
obey government edicts without question. Those who insist upon thinking for themselves can be found contributing their talents all around the world. They don't waste their time with NZ's low paid MC Donald's type Brain Free jobs. Just like my father, they want to give more than they receive. Their adopted country benefits and they receive a healthy salary in exchange for their talents. New Zealand is now suffering from an extreme skill shortage because of the mindless work offers and low wages.

As a male nearing retirement, the only work I can get is casual security work. Recently I was employed (don't laugh) to guard a stone wall for a neighbouring borough council. The wall was under construction, the concrete was set and it would have taken a bit more than a few kicks from passing vandals to cause any damage. It was also Guy Fawkes weekend and the council considered burnt out cardboard skyrockets falling from the sky might create havoc with their expensive creation. The security firm charged $50 and hour and I received my normal wage. The council could care less because the rate payers unknowingly footed the $800 bill for 16 hours of total boredom.

While I found the wall most cooperative, it didn't answer back or complain when I patted it to make sure it was handling its darkest hours with aplomb. Lamentably, I experienced the same sense of worthlessness that my father grumbled about. It was humiliating to know innocent people had to pay for their council's mindless arrogance. I contributed nothing to the people except an unnecessary financial imposition. Perhaps it's no wonder that Kiwis are turning to dangerous drugs as a way to innoculate themselves from the sheer stupidity of today's employment environment? Cheers mate. Hic!