Money’s a problem all over the world
It’s a simple solution and not in a dream world
It used to be reality, for everyone around
But men fell in love with shiny rocks in the ground
It’s a funny old thing, love, but it does astound
We all have to have currency, the shiny tokens of gold
It’s to help everyone, or so I am told
But I just see greed and exploitation
Unfairness and hunger and lots of discrimination
It shouldn’t be like this, in a human world
We are smarter than this, our minds have been swirled
I have heard of a time where everything was free
Money is an illusion, you just can’t see
Warmth, food, water and a place to call home
Are all basic needs which everyone should own
You can’t put a price on good quality of life
So why has humanity invented this strife?
It’s a puzzle, it really is
I hope we’ll soon all work out the quiz
But suffering world over would end in a jiffy
If everyone thought that money was whiffy
Everyone all living a life they deserve
With food, warmth and water, what a learning curve
Imagine how far we could all progress if price wasn’t an issue we always had to address?
Money is a barrier in this modern world
Money needs to go now, a new system should unfurl
A system of voluntary work and good will
A system where people go to work still
But system where freedom is always a choice
A system where people in their lives could rejoice
A system with a world united where barriers should fade
A system where teamwork is always displayed
Yes there will be some who won’t do their share
But society is good at not keeping people there
People are good at motivating the herd
People who are lazy would be considered absurd
Even the sickest has their worth
But whilst there is still money, plenty resent their birth
It is a horrible fact, but it is quite true, whilst money is still around
It’s imprisoning you
Not just you but all of mankind
Money is very, very, unkind
Imagine your life without money there, what would you do? What would be your cares?
How would you live? Who would you help?
Please do think about this, it might self help
It will open your mind to what you can become
I wish more people thought that money was dumb
This poem was written quickly, I know it can come across a little uncomprehending but it was written at 5:45am on a cold foggy, frosty January morning and I have a bad chest infection and I tend to think about too many points at once and my brain gets scrambled at the best of times – but this is an important message I think. One that really should be shouted as loud as climate change awareness, because I think, if money was eliminated and people worked together in teams and progressed without the need of money incentives, things like climate change would reserve rapidly – the cure for cancer found – the ability to terraform Mars would have already been done and so many other things.
I mean come on, think about it – do you really need the incentive of a few shiny coins a month to make you make this world a better place? Do you really need the incentive of earning little fake tokens of your supposed value in the world in order to give you the life you want and deserve? It is a belief system that you do need these tokens as an incentive to go to a job you hate, being stuck in situations you hate, that have you enslaved, slavery is never ever truly over, until the fat cats decide to change it. Though how many fat cats are there in comparison to the slim? I am talking money here not the supposed “obesity crisis”. I have always struggled with the concept that I can’t do this, I can’t do that, basic little things that most people in the Western World take for granted, because of lack of money. I have never ever had the ability to be extravagant – I can tell you what I think the most extravagant thing I have ever done financially has been outside of special occasions – bought, shock and horror a book that cost me £25 that to me is an extravagance!
I have never had the ability to afford to get my hair done at the hairdressers when I became an independent adult, living away from my parents, I cut my hair myself!
There are so many things that would change in my life, if money was removed from the social system.
I have been told several times by many doctors that they can treat my problems, it is easily treatable with basic surgery, however, it is too expensive for a struggling NHS right now, so therefore, until the illness infringes my life to the point it becomes life threatening, they will not help me. Money, I am afraid to say, does determine how moral and humane a doctor will be and from my experience, it means that money makes them carefree, it makes them monsters; not just them, but everyone, people kill for money for fucks sake!
People need to learn that money is evil. Yes, money saves lives and all of that too, but that is just an illusion – really many people would never have got to the extent of needing charitable donations if it weren’t for the problem that money exists in their world. Most people’s relationships are affected by six core things; money tops it the other four things are, lying, political and sport debates, religious differences and general discrimination (racism, disability discriminate, age discrimination, fashion critics etc.) – people argue about those six core things a lot and that usually determines how well you get along with a person or not. Money being the biggest factor because not only do families argue about the lack of it or the want of it, but people generally avoid creating relationships with new people in case they might become their victim in some way financially. People become more uptight socially if they are wearing expensive clothing and have the latest mobile, than those who are poorer in the community towards strangers socially approaching them.
People also judge you by your supposed wealth or lack of wealth. I have been in situations of worse poverty than I have now and the general public; do treat you differently, either with sympathy or with contempt, especially if you are known to be unemployed due to chronic illness. I have also been in a situation where I have been considered quite wealthy (though the money was never mine, I was dependent upon someone for a time) and again, society treated me differently. I became more human the more I showed to others that I might actually be better off than them and I have had friends who are super rich or of celebrity status tell me that it gets worse the more you have, you become almost godlike and infallible and this particular person who told me this said that she hated it, because she just wanted to be recognised as plain old normal Sue; she adored me because I never treated her or anyone else any differently to anyone else. I won’t tell you her whole name because I don’t like name dropping. But I will say she is a very respected and talented British celebrity.
Going back to complaining about the doctors again; When I have been too sick to dress properly or fuss over my hair, I get treated like a piece of fermented meat in which the doctor is even reluctant to physically examine. I am clean, but I wear a baggy grey jumper and black leggings those days with trainers and my hair is in a messy bun.
I go back to the same doctor a few months later after coming from a funeral in a dress suit with the same messy bun might I add and they treated me as though I had a brain and they spent ten more minutes with me than usual and examined me thoroughly. Why the snobbery? Same patient, same doctor, different clothes and class appearance!
I am going to number and list everything I can’t have because of my financial situation – then I am going to number and list what I would do and have in a world without money.
- I can’t have an operation to remove unusually large adenoids which makes me long-term unable to breathe through my nose and smell, it also causes severe post nasal drip and breathing problems, it affects my voice and larynx and I get throat infections 8 times a year and living with constantly ear infections due to Eustachian tube blockages purely because of the adenoids. Because of this, I have severe insomnia and hypersomnia, depends on how much my body will let me sleep before I literally wake choking on the entire gunk in my body, this has gone on nearly eight years now. One of the biggest factors of why I cannot work, because it affects my breathing, my voice and my hearing levels. I also live with vertigo because of sinus and ear pressure and almost constant sinus migraines. Because of the amount of antibiotics I need, I have been developing antibiotic resistance and my digestive system is collapsing as it is affecting my gut flora. As an added bonus because of my health problems, I am self-conscious going out, because I have been accused of infecting everyone, because I come across as having perpetual flu like symptoms, cough and cold. It is especially difficult to go out since this new Chinese virus is going around.
- I can’t have an operation to stretch my tendons in my left hand which renders three of my fingers almost immobile due to how tight they are, despite how twisted my fingers are that when I fall down I am constantly at risk of breaking my hand.
- I can’t afford to get rid of old furniture and broken televisions, computers, cookers and washing machines via a skip, so have to store them in a corner in the garden and I hate that, because I am extremely house proud and as far as the neighbours are concerned by our back garden, we must be pack rats in the house, the nasty hoarding sort – but we’re not. We don’t have a car or anyone who has a car who would be willing to help for a day.
- I can’t afford to get my son to socialise outside of school, because I can’t buy him the rugby kit he wants and I can’t afford the membership for the marathon club. Though there is light at the end of the tunnel for his marathon club, Henry has been seen doing so well at free running events around town that we have been told as soon as he is 10yrs old (which is May 2020) he will be eligible for sponsoring and free membership!
- I can’t have a balanced diet which meets my needs; even the food bank struggles with someone like me – gluten and lactose intolerant with a few other allergies thrown in like certain herbs and fruit allergies. At least once a week I have to consider eating something I am intolerant to, because our budget can’t stretch for the whole week. It’s either that or having an entire day of just meat and potatoes with hardly any or no veg and maybe some sauce. When money was better 2yrs ago I was having an 80% paleo diet and my health bloomed, I had more good days than not. But when the government cut that evil thing – money, I had to cut the food and my body isn’t responding well to that.
- I can’t afford a fish tank and supplies, a dog or some chickens.
- I can’t afford certain gardening tools and supplies which will help me grow more food.
- I can’t afford to get a gardener to help me when I am on a run of bad health. I regularly get bed bound sick where I can’t do anything for 6 to 8 weeks at a time, by that time, my garden is ruined when I get back to it, by aggressive bindweed. The bindweed in my garden are triffids – I was ill for 9 weeks last summer and it managed to pull down and break an entire 7ft cherry tree I had put in.
- My husband knows I need to get out more and see the doctor a lot more than I do, but I don’t go to see him more than once a month (though it is essential) because it costs us £12 a time in transport. Therefore, we can’t afford a car and we can’t afford to pay for me to go out, so unless I can walk somewhere, I can’t go out, so I am even more isolated now. I am also not eligible for a disability scooter for free, because my problems are not mobile, it is mostly breathing problems due to enlarged adenoids so they don’t take that seriously at all mobility.
- I am struggling to be able to pay for the amount of tissues and symptom relief things I need. Such as throat lozenges, vic rub, Vaseline, sanitary towels because my coughing fits have weakened my bladder severely.
- I have lost a lot of weight since becoming very ill, losing weight because coughing fits have made me become involuntarily bulimic and with the lack of affordable food I can eat which fits into my dietary needs, it is hard. I have lost nearly 50 pounds in the past four months and I can’t afford to get smaller clothes, so I am wearing clothes that are ridiculously big on me. I know there is gumtree and all of that, but really it is hard to travel to pick things up and the women getting rid of their clothes don’t like the idea of a man (my husband) picking it up for me without me present, tried.
- I need a wig because my trichotillomania has got worse, but I have to make do without one and tolerate the whispers behind my back when out.
- My bed is broken and needs to be replaced because the frame broke when Henry jumped and pulled on it last summer. I can’t afford it, so we are literally trying to hold it all together with planks of wood and gorilla tape.
- We’ve lived with a leaky roof in our biggest bedroom for eight years now, we can’t have the roof fixed that would be 4k, heavy rains with a northerly wind causes havoc. Also our utility room roof has caved in too.
- Our toilet is coming away at the wall, again we’ve had to resort to gorilla tape and sealant to try and make do until we can afford to replace that too.
- Henry needs new clothes too, he is growing fast, but he has my problem at the moment too – having to wear clothes too big, because he is wearing his father’s hand me downs to keep him warm this winter. Thankfully Paul is a stick and is the smallest man’s size in clothing and doubly thankful that Henry is taller than most for his age.
- Our sofa is broken and that needs replacing, we don’t sit downstairs anymore because of it. Also because it is winter and we had our gas fire taken out and gas supply to the fireplace removed because it was unsafe four years ago, so we have no heating in the living room except for an electric fan heater and we can’t afford to use that more than an hour a day. We put it on whilst we eat our dinner, we don’t eat dinner in the dining room anymore because that is even colder than the living room.
- I can’t afford my psoriasis shampoo and wash, so have to tolerate discomfort as the NHS has refused to prescribe me again for more, told me to buy it for myself if I need it. Also they don’t fix hearing aids in our hospital anymore; I have to go to boots, so I have a malfunctioned hearing aid now, which means I am completely deaf a lot of the time.
Surprising isn’t it? This is England. This is the 21st century. Bet you didn’t know people like me still live like that? The funniest thing is, I am one of the better off ones – one of the least poor, there are others worse than me, I have known them. If you think my situation is shocking, honestly, you are a very sheltered person who needs to get to know others outside of your social circle a bit better. I have known people so poor, that despite sugar tax, it is cheaper for them to get more calories into their child with a packet of haribo sweets than to cook them a veggie dinner. I am not that poor yet and thankfully Henry has manageable allergies. My Henry does however, live on sausages, mash, cucumber, carrots and baked beans more often than I would like, but that is the cheapest food I can get him that he is guaranteed to eat in full. Some of the nation’s poorest can’t even afford to give their kids beans on toast, so I really can’t moan that much I suppose!
I am not poor enough in the eyes of the government to need charity help or help from the council, because we own our home outright and therefore we must fix things ourselves. We’ve been told that if things are so bad, why not sell up and rent? Because our money will only last five years, I would lose benefits and security in one fair swoop and we have no means to pay the rent, it’s unlikely that I will ever get well enough to have a proper job and Paul retires in three years.
In a world of no money my life would be bearable, it would be happier, it would be easier and our needs would be met; because people are more humane to those in need when they are equal to them.
Here is my no money list.
- Even though I am sick, in a world of no money I would have to contribute to society like everyone else. But society would be more understanding that not everyone can cope with long hours and hard labour. I would help places grow food or advise people on gardening for food, even on my sickest days I could sit on the internet on live chat, helping some gardening in need with various issues.
- I can help the world with aesthetics, by giving people my artwork to decorate their homes with, giving people my poetry and stories in books for them to enjoy. I could even get a group of actors together and we can make plays and movies based on my ideas.
- I would go to a workshop on my good days and help teach people how to make preserves, jams, chutneys, allergy free cakes and breads.
- I could do motivational talks.
- I can help sew and repair local peoples clothing from home, if they deliver.
- I can teach people about which flowers are edible, to help broaden peoples diet.
- I can do the occasional arts and craft workshop to help people recycle and upcycle things.
- I can help people learn French.
- I am a good massager and manicurist.
- I am very good with people who are suicidal or going through a dark time. I have had several people say that if it weren’t for me they wouldn’t be around anymore. I have often thought about becoming a therapist, but in the last five years it is debatable whether or not I will be a hearing person in the future or not. In fact, I have been told to prepare myself for becoming profoundly deaf to becoming totally deaf with a deaf dog support. So I gave up my course as soon as I heard this.
- All my household problems would be solved, no dangerous stuff, more respect from neighbours and warm living room that is comfortable.
- I would be able to live the diet that is optimal for me as an individual.
- My operations would have been done before my health got this far and I would probably be able to do more things than what I listed above.
- We would have an electric car.
- We would have a dog, a full fish tank and some chickens in the garden.
- We would have tools for the garden and help in the garden.
- I would be able to wear appropriate clothes and so would Henry.
- We would have a safe bed.
- I would probably need to apply for a house extension so I could have an extra room to use as a library.
- I would be able to get out more.
- I would shave my hair off entirely and get a wig, so I learn to stop pulling.
- I’d go to the cinema once a week.
- We’d go for a pub family meal on Sundays like we used to.
- I’d take Henry to the big televised rugby matches.
- I’d adopt four kids and concentrate on getting my body healthier, rather than push my body to get that second child I want.
- We’d go out on a big family day out once a month at least – a zoo, a museum, a steam train ride, a bowling day out etc.
- Because a world without money would be more cooperative and free, I would be free to lend my services to certain people. I would be able to assist the local elderly, cook for them, visit them to keep them socialising, take them out, play games with the playful ones, and do the same for the severely disabled.
It is all just hearsay I know. I am down to earth enough to realise that I may still be struggling day to day with my own needs, like I am today. But even in a world of no money, I could manage to help society from home, in my bed with online talks. I could go out for one half day a week doing any of those things above and still be a worthy member of society who does her bit. Basically, I would have a better life than I do now. But because of my current needs, ESA will not tolerate someone who can do half a day of something, without pulling the carpet from under them and saying “well in that case you can work, we will take your money from you henceforth”. They don’t care that my illness is such that I can go out for one half day a week, but I will be bedbound for four days after it and so therefore will not function around my own home – that to them, doesn’t matter. What matters is getting me off benefits at any cost!
I am saying, in a world of no money, I can volunteer to be present outside of the home every 4 to 7days, if society tolerates someone who has a permanent streaming nose and allergies when she does it – I often feel that people recoil from me a lot when I am out about and this leads to me thinking things such as “Well why not just euthanize me now, then?”.
I burden too many people with my presence, they make it all too obvious and people who work in benefits don’t help matters!
Money is evil, it makes us heartless.
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