Do We Actually Own Our Freedom?

[00:00:11] So let's talk about Kevin, let's decide, are we slaves in society? Like, can we just stop working? Or maybe, I mean, you know, we all have some kind of personal responsibility. Nobody wants to just, you know, be a sloth and just exist or whatever and not do anything, but roam around and forage. You look at the happy rabbits in the field and they just eat the grass and, you know, that'd be nice, I guess.

[00:00:38] But I'm okay with some personal responsibility, right? But I wonder if it's kind of a bigger thing. Now, it might even be like, we're going to go down some roads here. But it might even be like a little bit of a self-inflicted prison that we make by the choices we make. And we're going to talk about that.

[00:00:59] But I do feel like if the man isn't trying to keep you down, why is there so much busy work? Right? Like why, you know, they're like, oh, well, we sent everybody home and everybody for COVID was allowed to work from home.

[00:01:16] And everybody knows they did like a third of the time that they did in the plan or whatever in the factory. However, they still got the same thing done. Right? That's always the weird thing for me. You know, like, how do you do it?

[00:01:32] Like, where I used to talk to people who work for a big tech company that makes computers and they used to have meetings nonstop. It would be like just meeting after meeting. And it would just be like, oh, how are we doing? How are we coming along on that report you got coming?

[00:01:51] And is that going to be handed in on time? Because, you know, in the next month, I want to see some progress. And like, I understand we need to nudge people. But I feel like for me, it would be enough of a nudge to say, if this isn't turned in, you're fired on Thursday. So just get that done. Like that's, and you might not even have to threaten people with being fired every day. You might just, you know, so, right. And then they get the hit, right?

[00:02:21] Like, like, like you show up at the meeting. Oh, my report didn't get done. That's okay. Yeah. Yes, absolutely. So why? Yeah. I had a good meeting today, Kevin. You know, we have a little talk before this, although we don't get paid for it. So I don't know how that works. That's kind of weird.

[00:03:13] The love of the game. All right. So why would somebody feel like we might be slaves? Now, I know there's like a lot of taxes and fees in life. I feel like we might need a license to do anything.

[00:03:30] From the man. We all agreed on it, right? Sir, can I have permission? Yeah. So we're conforming. Kevin, do I? Yeah. That's where the line. All right. That's it. There's so much. We need to comply and you need to obey.

[00:04:31] Okay. And that's the whole, you know, we're going to talk about some movies. That one is like, they live that that's definitely going to, you know, everywhere. You're just like, Oh, just shut up and do what you're told. I feel like it's a lot of conditioning. That's happening. That's happening. And it's like, why, why is it there? And we're so scared, right? Like that. Oh, if I don't, I don't do my job. I don't go to work. I'm not going to have health insurance or.

[00:05:01] Absolutely. It terrifies everybody. Um, I mean, you were telling me the other day that, you know, if you, you have a job, right? You get a job with good health insurance. Then what happens if I get sick as would happen with cancer, but, but that's when you need that. I think they might. Yeah. And it's good.

[00:05:49] And that has people going to work while they're like half dead, you know, it's like, Oh, I just got to push on. If I can work just three more weeks, I could, you know, no, so you can stretch. You're the fortune 500 company. Right. Right. Yeah. Yeah. That's exactly that. That sounds accurate, you know? And, and yeah, no, that's bad. And we just feel so right. So health insurance, I gotta make my,

[00:06:34] now you're thinking, Oh, I gotta make my rent payment. Well, Chuck, wait, I'm smarter than that. I own a house. Do you though? And yeah. So, right. So yeah. And right. And maybe your house is paid off. Then you still have the tax man who, you know, so we always have. And now, now that maybe people are starting to figure out the housing scam. Right. And, and it's not whatever. I'm just saying, all right, we got that worked out.

[00:07:06] Now is my electric bill going to be freaking $500 a month or $800 a month or a thousand dollars a month. You don't. Oh, the other one. And the thing is, you're like, Oh, well, Chuck, what about solar? What about solar? Yeah. Okay. That's really kind of just as expensive.

[00:07:43] The way to make solar work for you is to use a butt ton less electricity. And that's really how it works. That's the only, you know, solution we have on the table.

[00:07:57] And that's kind of one of my points though. I gotta say is, do we maybe create the prison that we live in? Right. So we all have, you know, they told us that technology was going to come and it was going to make everything better. You'd be able to, you know, you'd be able to, you know, make toast just by, you know, dropping the bread in and hitting the thing down.

[00:08:23] You don't got to spend the day at the Creek and yeah, no, things are looking up, right? We won't have to work anymore at all. But now that we have the new fangled machines, Kevin, it's not as impressive as you thought. Now the new fangled machines are impressive. Yeah. Well, cause you don't need to be at home washing the dishes and cooking the meals. Cause you can just microwave it when you get home.

[00:08:52] But I question is the trade-off worth it? And that's kind of where it all comes, starts to come together. Let's just build the case for another couple of minutes here. And then, then we can kind of, you know, loop back to, you know, why it's happening. What we're choosing. Is it our bad choices, Kevin? It might be.

[00:09:16] Um, it might not be though. It might be that there's like evil in the world. That's kind of trying to keep the man down. But I do feel like, like I have a pretty impressive house, right? And I mean, like anybody, I can't think of a place I lived in my life where I think, man, I couldn't just create this on my own.

[00:09:36] Right. Or like you look at the car we have, that's a pretty impressive feature that, you know, and I, I mean, anybody, right? Like I have a 71 F100 that's all rusty and old and tired. And to me, that's still, I couldn't create that. I can't. Right.

[00:09:55] So I do have access to things that are impressive. Right. But I always feel like in society, we need the, I need the shiny and the new, right?

[00:10:07] Like how many people have a $700 car payment, Kevin? Kevin, that's insanity. They always have the Corvette. They have the Corvettes. And I'm like, why, why do you have a core?

[00:10:28] The one guy up from me lives in a little lake, you know, totally beat up. It's smaller than a trailer, but it is a stick built house. And he's got the two shiny new Corvettes in the driveway. The lake is in hers option. And I'm like, if you really love the car, but again, just to be fair, I don't think you're wrong to live in a house where you just have a bedroom and a sink. Cause you're always, you know, out doing something or.

[00:11:03] Yeah. Yeah. And Kevin, it worked out. But when you wash them, Oh, it's just two bowls. I can do that. That's like nothing. Yeah. I do that easy. And that's the thing. Like I always used to be people, you know, you'd get a girlfriend or later a wife and, and they'd be like, you use the same glass all day and you just leave it sitting there. Yeah. Cause I'm going to go back to it. Cause I can just keep putting different beverages in it.

[00:11:36] I mean, it's the same slime coming out of my mouth that, you know, I'm going to use later. So, you know, you're kind of like, whatever, instead of, Oh, do I need to use eight dishes throughout the day for each class of water I drank or whatever? And now like if it's, that's why I need a dishwasher. And then it keeps building and building. And I think we all get like crazy where we're like, we need more.

[00:12:02] So I think that's a big part of the problem, but it is possible that this problem was kind of created and influenced. Like it turns out the advertising and marketing world. It's kind of a big thing, Kevin. We're being convinced consumerism, right? Like that we need more things. Although I feel like the government's now trying to be like, you don't need anything. Just shut up and take it and keep working really hard.

[00:12:31] So, you know, it's, there's a fine line there. Let's talk about, so as a society, I think we keep coming up with movies and ways to express these ideas. We feel, I mean, way back, there was a book, uh, the road to surf them by F a Hayek. That is a favorite of mine. We'll talk about that in a minute.

[00:12:51] Oh, it's a classic. It is. It's worth the read, but, uh, let's talk about some movies. Cause people know movies, right? You you've seen movies. Um, one of my favorite go-to, I mean, obviously the matrix was kind of that idea, right? That we're just caught in that, that middle of, of things, um, trapped in a system and they're harvesting our labor and our attention, right? To just keep us consuming.

[00:13:18] And, you know, that kind of thing. And that's crazy to me. Right. But what if the cage is like a little bit comfortable, right? That was always the idea. Um, I don't know. Cause we just get complacent. Like, Oh, I'll just stare at my phone. Right. So I'll go to work. I'll do all this work for my masters.

[00:13:37] And I won't do anything bad. And I'll just keep staring at my phone. Cause that'll make it tolerable. Right. Um, or there's another one that I, I think, you know, one of your probably favorite movies. One of mine is a fight club classic. I don't want to give away any key plot points, but let me tell you, there is some like undertones that consumerism is bad.

[00:14:04] And that the narrator like believes, I don't know. People are encouraged to define themselves by their stuff. Right. Instead of like who we are. It doesn't matter that I'm a good person. It's like my, I'm the, I need the Ferrari. Right. Or the Corvette or the Camaro.

[00:14:32] Yeah. And then I can feel good about, I like that, that we're like, Oh, if we buy this stuff from these impoverished countries, then we'll feel good about ourselves. So we should pay a premium and the money probably isn't even getting to those people. Like it's forget about it. They're, they're working for, but I can feel good. Right.

[00:14:51] Right. We, we have that corporate treadmill, right. Where it's just repetitive over and over again, comfort versus freedom. Right. So we're willing to be like, Oh, but if I could just sit on my butt more, I would give up a little bit of, you know, I'll let the government handle things. Cause that way I can just get back to looking at my phone and, you know, easy. Or, you know, it's like, what, what, one of the big things is like, you know,

[00:15:21] if the government just gave everybody free internet, the government has no authority and shouldn't be doing that. But man, that'd be nice. I could use some better internet. And if it was subsidized a little bit, you know, that, that would be nice. And that, that's how we kind of like create, make those little concessions. And the government's like, well, you know, if everybody had a cell phone and carried it around, we could kind of track in, listen to things and, and do things and keep an eye on things better.

[00:15:50] Or maybe we encourage that. And then we're like, yeah, I got a phone. Got, yeah, it's, it's the whole, I, I, dude. Right. I know they're like, Oh, cable's only $10 more if you get it with your internet. And I'm like, yeah, but is it? Cause now I'm watching. Yeah. That's, that's crap. Right.

[00:16:20] I think that was like the big undertone with fight club though, was it was kind of like we were voluntarily doing it all. And I feel like that's right. You know, as a society, we're giving up and just for a little bit easier, you know, I'll, I'll take that like that. Social security sounds like a good idea, right? Oh, they're going to pay me, but they're going to get me all the way along.

[00:16:45] Somebody was just telling me at work. They were like, you know, I think social security is going to run out before I collect it. And I'm like, dude, it ran out a long time ago. Like that's, that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

[00:16:58] Because it, I'm like, they'll just print more to keep paying for us. Right. And it's not, but even that like implies that the money being paid into social security is the money being paid out. It's irrelevant. They're just printing money. They're just like writing numbers on a check here. Now, is it going to run out that inflation is going to run away where? Yeah.

[00:17:34] Man, they're only going to give me this much whatever. And it's not going to buy me shit. Now that definitely could happen that, you know, tuna. Yeah. Oh, that hurts. Kevin. You got a bad plan. Yeah. You got a bad plan. Um, I don't know. I know that's like, I, we all fall for it. Right. Cause they're like, oh, well now you're, you know, a million years old.

[00:18:15] You finally make enough money to pay in and, you know, and, and do stuff like, so I guess, right. So now my income is more than it used to be. Right. And, and, you know, I'm at the, uh, you know, I'm not a manager in any way, but you're at that like established journeyman level, right. Where your paycheck is like, all right here.

[00:18:41] Now you get a decent paycheck. Well, now I'm like, oh, I got to have like 20 years working at this level to get a decent social security check. And they're like, if you don't. And then the biggest fear, right. That they see, it's funny. You don't think about it when you're young, but everyone's like, oh, if you're, you retire too early, you're like, I have enough money.

[00:19:02] I'm 60. I'm 60. I can retire or I'm 50 and I can retire. But if you go out of the workforce for five years too late now, you can't come back. Or if you come back, you're at Walmart greeter level.

[00:19:16] You left at top of your game. And now you've been out for five years and you ran out of money because the electric man said your bill's going to be three times. Or the tax man says your taxes are going to be three times. And you didn't figure in five years, your taxes were going to go, you know, from nothing to huge.

[00:19:38] And so you have that fear though. I work with so many guys who are over 65, but are like, I can't retire because I don't know what will happen tomorrow. And I'm like, but you have enough money, but tomorrow I might not because the world might change. It's always.

[00:19:56] Right. And are your kids going to take care of you? Yeah. And then do you want to be that you're going to, and that's, that's fear. And everybody I talked to, even like responsible people are like, got to keep working. And it doesn't matter if the guy's got like a million dollars set aside for retirement or a hundred thousand. They all have the same exact fear.

[00:20:23] Right. And it, and it, it's like, well, dude, you could just live on less and no, no, I got it. But what about my grandkids, Kevin? They like coming over and using the pool. Yeah. You're not. Oh, that's it. Yeah, no, absolutely. But you know, it's a, it's a crazy world.

[00:21:03] Um, I, I don't know. I don't understand how trapped we are. And then it just keeps building. And then I feel like my job, it's more like office space, right? Where you just, that was back to that busy work, right? Where you have meetings and they had the TPS reports, right? And it was constantly, and the guy's like, yeah, but that's how it is. Right. Like, dude, you should see, we have these like safety OSHA, you know, papers of you,

[00:21:31] did this training or whatever. And then they promised us, it's always like the government, right? Like the same thing where they're like, Oh, what we're going to do is if you give us just one full day a year, we'll put every safety meeting into one giant day. Right.

[00:21:48] Right. Damn it down your throat. But then, uh, every month I'm signing something. Then all of a sudden, now we're back to like all employee meetings where they tell us about safety for 30 minutes. And I'm like, now, no, I don't have to sit through this. I was told one day a year. And I'm like, Nope.

[00:22:11] Right. I did the suffering and now they want it, you know, and that's how it goes. Yep. Yep. And you're like, I'm the only employee. Who am I going to harass? Right. Right. Who doesn't do that? Kevin.

[00:22:40] Yeah. Yeah. You laughed a little bit, not like you, but the, yeah. You got a story for life with that one with, I don't know, dude. It's, I, I don't know. It just, yeah, it's just bad out there. And we work so hard, right?

[00:23:12] We, we, we, we all try and, you know, build up into something. We try and build a life that's going to be easy and, you know, without headaches, but it's, you're just, we end up being in fear. Right. And then healthcare, like you said, is nonstop. You are so paranoid. And, and then everyone's like, Oh, well, the obvious answer is we need universal healthcare, right? Where it's just covered.

[00:23:42] Which I still can't figure out how, like when people are on Medicare and whatever for the, you know, the olds there, why do they still have to have part B and whatever? So they still have to pay and they're required. There's like almost no option where you don't have to pay. So you didn't get free healthcare. Is that what free healthcare is going to look like? Like where I still have to have the supplemental. So now I have mandatory where it's crappy and we have to, you know, all work together.

[00:24:12] And then I have to pay more in addition. It doesn't sound like, yeah. Yeah. Sounds right. Right. My, uh, yeah. And that's in a year. My, uh, my company is like a, uh, a big, big company. And, uh, so we teeter on that like fortune 100, right? Like right in that neighborhood. We're like right around that a hundred area.

[00:25:00] And I have the best insurance plan you can have for health insurance. And not because I have money or I'm cool. It's because I have kids that go to the doctor all the time and it just, yeah, that's what's required. Cause otherwise I'm actually paying more than paying for the premium. Right. So we use the doctor at my house. Right.

[00:25:26] I think this is actually the last year of that. It's actually starting to go away and now I'll, I'll be a little bit cheaper plan. But anyway, the reason I say all that is I go to the doctor and he looks and he's like, Ooh, with your insurance, I don't think we can do that. And I'm like, he's like, yeah, you're better off. Just, just tough it out until you die. You know, like, wait a minute. What?

[00:25:58] And I'm like, but this is, this is the best insurance offered by a top company. And he's like, no, I didn't get to do it. Did you, you're, you're not at the level where you could, you know, afford those things.

[00:26:15] And I was like, but I have some money in my, like, can we do something? And he's like, no, it's not going to happen. But that's my point. So people argue like, Oh, we need universal healthcare or whatever. And, you know, and, and then it'll all be wonderful. Everything will go away. Really. It just means rationed healthcare and we'll all just get a little.

[00:26:46] Kevin, we give that to Ukraine or whatever, like in a day, I don't know, or Israel, whatever. I mean, we just, we, with Iran and gas, what a state fee.

[00:27:13] Yeah. But Kevin, we have better healthcare than those fours. Right. Kevin, but I don't think you are right.

[00:27:56] But the thing is, it doesn't have to be a or B, you know, like there are countries where you go to the doctor and it's like 50 bucks. Now, again, that 50 bucks relative to us, you know, it's, it's still a, we'll say percentage of paycheck. Think of it as like 150 bucks or 200 bucks, but it's still not a thousand for a doctor visit. Right.

[00:28:24] That gets reworked and cut down. You know, I never understand how you go to the doctor and it's like, if insurance pays it's $183, but if you pay it's 797 and you're like, but how I'm giving you like cash right now, you don't have to bill anybody. You don't have to talk to anybody. You just take my money. Yeah. That's going to cost. That's going to, you gotta, cause we have a deal or you always see like

[00:28:53] there's pharmacies that are like, yeah, we don't accept insurance. And because of that, we can charge you a good price. And I'm like, what? That doesn't even make sense, but it's true.

[00:29:05] You know, and that's right. I, I always think all those like coupon cards and things are a scam

[00:29:54] and whatever, but I gotta say, I have a kid and she had, our share was like some huge expense for one of her prescriptions. And we use that good RX or whatever that they talk about. And no joke, dude, they were like, Oh, if you go here, it's like 20 bucks. And I'm like, what? Like, so I'm just saying, you might want to check those kinds of things, not a sponsor, not anything.

[00:30:19] I'm just saying, I was like, damn. Cause I always thought, Oh, that stuff's scammy. It's just nonsense and whatever. But yeah, if you shop around a little and like use that competitive stuff, it and it's free. So I don't know why you wouldn't check that out, but anyway, so just, yeah. Healthcare is a big one. And like I said, there are countries like Thailand, Philippines, Costa Rica, you can go and live there and like, go to the doctor for like 50 bucks.

[00:30:48] And, and that's what it kind of like urgent care was going to be that. And then it wasn't, you know, urgent care was like, Oh, it's a hundred bucks. And all those, all those companies just bought them and yeah. And now they're just the same as going to the doc, you know, the hospital and whatever. And it's all a scam again. And I don't get it. Uh, you had some kind

[00:31:13] of local hippie guy out in Woodstock by you in New York, right? Can't have that. Yup. Yeah.

[00:31:48] Too cheap. You're out that. And he probably recommended some kind of hippie stuff. Oh, you don't need the big fancy stuff. Just eat more garlic. And then, Oh, no, but that's it. So we can say maybe it's capitalism. That's evil, right? Everything's, you know, the system rewards profit and growth and efficiency and shareholders. Right. I don't know why efficiency would be bad,

[00:32:13] but, but nobody goes to jail. Right. All right. Now, or maybe it's the state. And now,

[00:33:27] so everyone's like, Oh, I hate capitalism. Let's give control to the government. How's that going to work? Is that one going to be a better choice? Yeah. So we were talking taxes, licensing, permits, regulation, inflation, the welfare system that all works. Right. I mean, I hear a bunch of politicians, everyone could work according to their ability and then, yeah, no, that's

[00:34:03] yes. Supplemental nutrition and whatever. Yeah. Right. It's never quite as, as cut and dry as you might be making it out. But we'll boss it over. Right. All right. Now it could be, yes,

[00:34:42] no, that wouldn't be right. Yeah. I mean, that could be expensive. And Kevin, if you make more, if you make more money, you probably, right. If you make more money, you probably pay more taxes too.

[00:35:06] So they have that burden. Now it could, there you go. Kevin, you might be off the rails. Now I would

[00:35:37] also say back to kind of the fight club theory, it could be very consumer culture, right? Like just the marketing and advertising where we just feel like we need better. Like, why do I need a new iPhone? You know, I think I've, I've mentioned this, but I had an iPhone 5 for forever. I went from the five to the 13, right? That was the big jump for me. And they were like, everybody at work was like,

[00:36:06] oh my God, how can you still have a five? And so, or like, how do you even function 13? And I was like, it was the exact same. I'm like, there's no difference. And I was like, and they were like, well, what did you expect? And I'm like, exactly. And that's, but we're all like, oh, I need. And

[00:36:31] then like one of my kids, same thing is like, oh, I only have an iPhone six. I have to get a new one or I'm not going to get the updates anymore. And I'm like, and what will happen? The, yeah, it just didn't. I was like, no, that's not really a thing. Like we're just being suckered and we keep going and that's it. Like I need the shiny new car, right? Like I keep looking at all

[00:36:58] these, like, I'm like, oh, now mind you, a new car to me is like, oh, look at that 2018 Mustang. I'd be really cool if I could have that. And then mind you, cause that's way newer than anything I own. Right. And I'm like, yeah. But then I'm like, yeah, I'm just going to sit and listen to the radio as I go to work and it's not really going to, and it just, no, it's not going to help me. Right.

[00:37:22] And I get, I understand like, and then you start telling yourself, you know, it's all the slogans kind of come back into your head and you're like, well, you know, I can't take it with me. I may as well enjoy life while I'm here. You know, whatever I got a little, you know, I mean, I don't maybe have the cash to buy it. And these are what you tell yourself, right? You're like, oh yeah. And then

[00:37:46] you're like, then can you really afford it? Cause then maybe it'd be easy. And do Kevin, what's

[00:37:54] yeah, man. Right. Right. And it's just bad. So my whole point is less is more, right? Maybe.

[00:38:26] And obviously we can't opt out of this whole system, right? It really is built around us, but we can make choices that will get us closer to where we should be. Right. Closer. Is RC Cola the answer? Is that what it is? Okay. So Santa Claus, you're paying for that.

[00:38:52] Yeah. So, all right. So let's, let's loop this around and buy a piece property you can afford, have a house you can afford. Now, again, I'm not saying live in filth and squalor, right? But you have a lot more time to fix up things and take care of things if you're not working for the man. And then at least the thing is, I guess my point is keep as much control as you have.

[00:39:20] If your job goes away and you're immediately screwed, that's bad. Right. But if you have a garden and like things and systems, and also I would say, you know, how cool is it? If you're the guy who builds assets and things that pay you, there's a lot of things to look into there instead of just working harder so much. Like I was definitely raised as the harder you work,

[00:39:45] the more of a man you are, the better you are that, that mindset, right? Like that's a big American thing. And, and, you know, and we think, Oh, well, I need to be, you know, work with my hands. I'm not going to be the idiot. Who's the manager who that guy's always a dick and whatever, but maybe the guy who's investing and thinking and whatever you could do some cool things.

[00:40:09] But I also say, let's not be dependent on nonsense, right? Like, let's not just buy things because they're there. I keep thinking, you know, I was watching, I keep looking at a lot of these, uh, things on YouTube about people who are like, go to Costa Rica or Belize or whatever. And they live in these other countries where one, their dollar will go further. But to the flip side of

[00:40:35] that is they're like, once I move there, Amazon doesn't really deliver here. And it's like really slow to get anything. And they were like, I realized I didn't need all that. Like all that stuff that comes, they're like, I don't do that anymore. So I have more money. And the same thing is like, I know some olds, we won't mention any names, but maybe my dad who have to go to Walmart every single

[00:41:01] day. And you're like, Oh, but I need that. And I need that. And we could use more batteries or we could use more, you know, we should, you don't, you don't need all that. It's just like, slow it down. Right. But Kevin, is that the life you want to live? I'm not saying we have to, I'm not sure that

[00:41:31] that's the problem. So find that happy balance, maybe be survival and prepping guy. Right. Right. And maybe start to like handle your own business and build the life that you want to live. Turns out outside is pretty awesome. I did have to battle it out with a copperhead the other day, but in general, outside is pretty awesome. Fighting dragons, living my best life.

[00:41:59] So anyway, that's what we got. We really appreciate you guys. And yeah, maybe stick around. We'll see you in the future and yeah, appreciate you later.