A "Black Swan Event" is when the unexpected occurs, causing a huge mindshift and change in how the world works. People never imagined that Black Swans existed, until the discovery of the first Black Swan... (as per book "The Black Swan", by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, 2007, that sold over 3 million copies)

Is a perception change the next Black Swan Event? Consider that by changing perception we might change the world. Look at everyday things from different angles. Find beauty in the unexpected...
Change our thinking, change our actions, change our world!

See that all people are part of God's puzzle and have something to give. Black swans do exist. The ugly duckling was actually a swan who needed to discover himself and where he fitted and be who he was meant to be. To the last, the lost and the least, you are beautiful as you are.
May all who visit this page feel God's touch and experience His blessing...

Wednesday 6 March 2013

Upside Down Worlds

In South Africa if you do manual labour, for example bricklaying or gardening or working on farmlands, you are often a very poorly paid individual. In Australia on the other hand, the more dirty the work is, often the more you are paid. Of course, this also depends on whether you own the business and are the manager, or are one of a number of workers, as, in both countries, the owner and manager will be the highest paid.

In South Africa there is an oversupply of labour and everyone wants to work to earn some money, as unemployment is rife. There is a minimum wage, but it cannot be too high or many people will simply be out of work, as many people are hired by private individuals to work in gardens or to mind children, and many of these private individuals who hire people to work for them cannot be considered very rich by first world standards to be hiring private labour, though to the workers they are of course seen as very wealthy.

Child care in South Africa is very cheap, though people in South Africa do not think so. This is because people hired to do child minding are not paid much. In Australia the converse is true, and child care can be so expensive, mainly for babies and toddlers, that one parent will stay at home to look after the children instead of working, as much of one's salary would be used to pay for childcare.

Now, unless you have lived in both countries to see the differences, you will not know they exist. If you have lived all your life in South Africa you may take much for granted, as that is the way it has always been, as you will if you have lived all your life in Australia. You will not see what an outsider may see. Australians may be aghast at the many shanty towns in South Africa, but to someone who lives in Africa, this is a normal part of life, and is the case throughout the continent. This does not mean it is right, but there are intricate social reasons for shanty towns to be found there. One reason is that people used to live on communal land, not owning land, and built houses out of native material, like mud and sticks, but that way of life has been eradicated, by westernisation and urbanisation. People flocked to the cities to find work, populations expanded, and there is just not enough work for everyone, or perhaps that should be not enough real wealth.

Perhaps the same situation could happen sometime in Australia, if population growth begins to outstrip the economy. Finding a job in Australia can be quite difficult. I know as I have tried. Workplaces are very efficient and companies ensure only the minimum people are on board. Volunteer roles are aplenty, but volunteering does not make money or feed families, though does benefit society.

Someone in Australia may be aghast to find out the salary of someone in South Africa, but not understanding the background of the country, one would not know the context behind the situation. I do believe salaries should be higher in South Africa, to lift the plight of the poor, but how is this done without huge knock on effects to the economy? If farm workers are suddenly paid more in South Africa, as an example, what would happen to food prices? What would happen to the many who are currently destitute and already struggling to feed their families? Life would get better for some, but a lot worse for many others. I see that the economy needs to grow exponentially first to create more jobs before large scale pay reforms can be undertaken. And it is not so much salary to be fixed, it is a cultural revolution needed, not to see labour as cheap, but as a scarce, valuable resource.

What happens in your own country where you do not even realise the status quo is different elsewhere?

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