Dirty socks

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Dirty socks! 🧦

This morning I have a bucket of dirty socks soaking in a bucket of water. Ever since they switched from talcum power to corn starch based powder due to concerns about asbestos contamination its gotten difficult to keep my feet clean and dry and get all of muddy nasty talc powder out of my socks.

Do I like my career

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Do I like my career?

The day after Columbus Day marks twelve years at my job doing communication coordination and running political campaigns for democratic candidates, mostly in upstate. I work hard at my job, put in long hours, try to build good relationships and plans for my clients. Over the years for my loyalty and hard work I’ve been promoted, earned more money and given more challenging opportunities. I like the work, creating good quality products and implementing plans often with successful results. I don’t think I would have stayed as long as I have if I didn’t think I was able to make a difference and advance my agency’s mission.

But anybody who reads this blog knows I’m pretty conservative, even if I’m a Democrat and do also believe in many progressive policies that can have a real life impact on people’s lives. I certainly don’t always agree with the political positions of my clients but I’m not there to advance my own opinions – I’m there to look at the polling and the evidence and give them the best possible advice based on concrete evidence. Politics these days often seems to be all encompassing. You can’t believe something with it impacting all parts of your life. But that’s not why I’m a professional – I’m there to advance the mission of the agency – not whatever personal beliefs I may have on a subject. Sometimes it’s tough to be objective, I’ll concede so I’ll rely on the collective wisdom of my colleagues and always go back to what the polling is saying and what other people in similar positions say.

I work for money not for changing the world. I work to advance the mission of my agency and put my clients interest first. Money is more than an appropriation to my bank account every two weeks, it’s a means and a way to live the life I want. It’s a way to pay for my experiences in the wilderness and for a better life in the future. Whether it’s fuel for my truck, food on the table, supplies or money to buy stocks, bonds and certificates of deposit that will eventually pay for land and my off grid property work pays for all of it. Saving takes time but each paycheck I get closer to a better future. And what’s best for my agency is ultimately best for my career advancement.

Spider Plant New View

One of the things I struggle to understand is why the law makes eviction the preferred way for landlords and tenants to settle debts relating to unpaid rent

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One of the things I struggle to understand is why the law makes eviction the preferred way for landlords and tenants to settle debts relating to unpaid rent. While courts have the ability to order payment plans, in many cases that is not the default option and requires intervention with a lawyer by the tenant’s part and agreement by the landlord, and in most states can’t happen until an eviction proceeding is brought.

When you think about it, an eviction is a rather bad way to settle an unpaid debt. Essentially by evicting a person or a business, both sides are losers. After an eviction, landlords loose the ability to collect back rent, while tenants lose their home or business location. An eviction is a clean-slate action – while a renter’s credit and rental history is dinged for seven years – they aren’t held responsible in most cases for making up the unpaid rent.

In some countries, debt is handled differently. Tenants who are facing economic hardship, like job loss due to the pandemic aren’t forever precluded from paying back their owed rent – as most will eventually obtain meaningful employment or have access to retirement savings or social security. The law could be changed to allow for landlords to seek garnishment of future wages or seizure of bank assets, rather then going through an eviction process and forcing a family or business to move out.

While this would potentially lead to landlords having to wait longer to get paid back rent, the flip side is such a policy would be a lot more humane and allow those having economic trouble to stay in their homes. The rent wouldn’t be lost or written off, instead it would be paid back over time like any other ordinary loan. The government could underwrite these loans, using it’s extraordinary powers to ensure they are collected from tenants – by withholding tax refunds, seizing bank accounts or garnishing wages. Tenants wouldn’t loose their home – they’d just loose future earnings.

A great part of the American tradition is the ability to walk away from a debt when economic conditions sour. The idea is that people who get themselves in trouble economically, shouldn’t have it holding back their future. Bankruptcy law in particular allows individuals and businesses to walk away from most debts, when they aren’t able to pay – with both sides loosing a bit. But bankruptcy is something done by a creditor, not a lender.