House of Paine

personal benefits

 who can deny 
THE FATE OF US ALL   

 over the life cycle
 we pay  in the middle  
 and  suck tit  at both ends  




 

 in the old days extended family systems 
 did the deed  
it was  blood in the middle 
 doing the giving 
and blood at both ends 
 doing the  taking 

 and  blessed lord 
  everyone else skunking around 
out there on main street 
  could  kiss their own  pink asses 

today in America the family 
 the extended family
 the clan so to speak 
 has vanished everywhere
at least everywhere 
  folks  have
nearly  complete sets of teeth



we’re down to the nubs 
family wise
 parents and kids mostly 
two generations with few or  no collateral’s

the market economy that dominates us all 
and has  for generations now 
  rubbed away most of the rest 

 “the more the  market provides 
the more the  family   divides  ”

           thats  
           Robert Frost 


 yes   money changes everything 
in a market world 


if we end up with enough 
 to cover the dry spots
 enough money to cover
 modern  life’s long   good-byes

 then hell sister 
 the old extended family network 
is   as  unnecessary 
 as nipples on a bull 

unfortunately some times 
the money isn’t there 
where its needed 
 
the great depression showed us that 
on a nation wide decade long scale

communities were too small 
volunteering too feeble

so  since FDR  we’ve tried 
to work at a larger level
to do what
 the extended family
used to do  


its now called 
the tax and transfer system

its America’s  great  interfamily 
 payments highway

 built from 1935 to 1965
  it  runs  between
all of  us  and our federal  government 
back and forth 
in and out 

mostly it runs 
only one way 
at a time ofcourse

 mostly we’re either
 sending or receiving   
 either  putting in 
or taking out 

  we’re either playing   DR   Jackyl 
or Mr.   Hyde 
  not both at once

thats right  
 the social security system 
is  Americas  clan replacement system
 and it works OK
sure it does  
but it ain’t lovable 
is it ?

it does not please 

then again 
 does it have to be this way 

I say no

 it absolutely does not 
have to be this way 

I say with a little 
ingenuity and up to date equipment 
 we can reintroduce some 
of the old extended family characteristics

I think we could do all this to and fro
with a side order 
of  human warmth and texture  

here’s how 
  
say I’m a wage slave
 right now uncle takes a slice of my check 
and gives it indirectly to some old someone
out there 
its all blended and depersonalized on both ends
 I feel fleeced
and  the codger maybe he  feels
 uncles a cheap skate  

 the present arrangement doesn’t work
 its too  smooth too slick too automatic
  
 no faces here
 no peoples little lives and livelihoods 
to attach to the transactions

no  sense of sacrifice for or benefit from
no give and take 
the system is just a  take here 
  and  a grab  there 


i say 
since the working world
 knows its pure  confiscation 
at least show them where
 and to whom
it  all goes 

 I say lets hook em up
 donor to beneficiary 

 make it family 

or at least make it 
 a    virtual family
  a synthetic cyber family 

good people to good people 

 assign a real beneficiary to each payroll tax donor 
 like those agencies that let you  adopt an Abasynian
or a mexicano

“ yes sir this is who your moneys going to”
and “ yes lady he’s the one paying  for you ”

 picture and bio available 
on uncle’s  special 
Great American Family  website

heres your pin PAYSLIP PAT 
 go check it  out 

 letter of gratitude
 pictures of her  pet cat 
sleepy sweet 
bower bright  bungalow
a respite from your own 
 workplace clutter and flutter

then a little  you back to her 
“ here’s me at the job site
 making it happen for ya hun ”


you get the gimmick
personalize the deal

like alot else these days
 personal computers make this feasible

the recipients would have a few pen pals 
and a sense of personal gratitude
and the donors ( sic )
 would have
 a simulated  sense of giving

only  a  simulated sense ofcourse 
because it wouldn’t be voluntary
but at least you could see it going 
 to some one real and personal 
      anyway
-----------------------------------------------------------------
  right now more then one worker
 supports each senior beneficiary 

we could fool with that too maybe 
but here 
I’m trying to keep this basic 
just get the concept across 

think virtual families
 or better yet think  
virtual extensions of families

 it would be sort of like 
  a  family limb system
 
an artificial family limb system  

make  the take and grab 
of the tax and transfer
more homey
 more like the  give and take
 of the  old fashion  family cookie jar  

 see it folks !!!

old man in porch rocker
he’s eyeing a crisp C- note

brawny man in coveralls beams at him 

“ thanks son ”
old man says 

“ my pleasure pop”

broad smiles all around 

----------------------------------------------------------

 by the way seems to me 
   the old farts will need to do
 some writing or calling or something 
that is  
 if they don’t want to seem like ingrates

 now obviously
 such a  system could lead to 
 trouble 
it could back fire 
it could  lead to  turbulence
 maybe even a revolt
 a tax revolt 
a massive society rattling 
wageling tax revolt 

 if enough benes
feel entitled  rather then  grateful

 if theres too much 
“ I paid for this myself 
back when I  was working  ”

 and if in response
to the ingrates 
 enough no recourse 
 donors say
 “ screw that old toad”

and the wagelings start demanding  
  some plug pulling 
some removal  
of the life sustaining  money tubes

that sort of action reaction 
well it   could  hurt
it could rend the national  fabric 
 void the intergenerational social contract  

 I say 
     so what !!!!

 
 hows that so bad 
at least it would be
 personal 
zesty
 empowering on the one side
  and shocking 
challenging 
deepening on the other
 
how much better 
even a huge social catastrophe
 then this robbed by a robot
fed by a steel teat  stuff we have now 

 my  way 
the personalized way 
you could put a personal kisser
with the deal 
 when  to you the set up  hums 
 you’d  know who your helping 
 and when it hurts 
and you want out out out 
you’d also  know 
just exactly  
who’s fucking  wings 
 you  were  clipping 
-----------------------------------------------------

for the record 
those gray topped  benes 
out there 
sour enough to say 
 “I paid for this ”
they’d be oh so  wrong  ofcourse

 they didn’t pay for “this ” 
not by a long shot 
not by any annuity scheme I’ve seen

so pre implimento
 some remedial ed 
is in order

“paid in” benes should see
 their subsidy rate right up front
in black and white 

 before fully going up 
 i’d send  all the old flames 
 right over to 
the Great American Family album  
 send them flat out  into the  eye wash 
throw in some sappy sound track 
 a gaggle of voices and a plinky plink piano 

then zap ‘em
let the old chums see how much
of their monthly check 
 is a straight transfer 
from todays working stiffs 

the website should be able to calc this for them

 I suggest sticking it under their drippy blue and red  noses 
 make em feel the burden the drag they have become 

and the “ tax- donors ” 
need to see the diagram too

“ hey  Freddie 
down tools a second
 look here ” 
“ in goes x of your dollars 
 to major  Bluto of Tucson Colorado
and heres y dollars  of yours 
going into  the trust fund 
to buy some more 
 incredibly  low yield bonds 
 so you  Freddie Fear-not 
 have a shot at your  
own future bene payments ”
------------------------------------------------------------

let me add something 

this is  directed at  some of you  senior partners of ours 
 
 if you don’t want to know who your donors are
you old bastards 
if you don’t want to know 
  out of some hellishly 
 invincible sense of  entitlement 

to you dead limp  pricks
 I say 

knock yourself out 

what can anyone do 

 after fucking all 
doesn’t your pain deserves an out let 

lok at it this way 
better you jolly yourself 
 spiting your donors

 then get behind the wheel 
of your heavy sedan  
and  go  people plowing at 100 miles 
an hour thru the farmer’s market 



 listen you  morbid crum 
you’re  not so bad really 

  your just one generation 
ahead of yourself

 your really just like me and mine 
your a  boomer prefiguration
 
I bet you don’t  let telemarketers push 
you around either do you

hello Mrs. Koldberg I’m calling from...
 slam !

SPEAKING OF BOOMERS 
WAIT TILL WE RETIRE 
but thats another story

back to the subject


ofcourse there’s a good chance 
 any well run 
 bene /donor swap system will 
add tons of refinements over time 

 surely we’ll end up 
with a  old folks swap 

 an ebay type of setup 

that might empower the lot  
 take a little edge  off 
 the compulsory underbelly of it all  

then again secondary exchanges could 
lead to complications too
 the old maid  syndrome 
thats  bound to emerge
 god knows there are a lot of stinkers out there

I can see them now 
wilting away unswappable 
gargoyles perched in rows 
like pound dogs
on e-bay 

then again you can make someone 
 look pretty good with these new  digital formats

  heck  your donor  just to free his mind a little 
may find a working relative of yours 
willing to barter  decency for  blood 

then again 
 the original match up 
at”all  benes   day”
 could be 
family /clan centered to begin with

some  kind of ultra sophisticated computer program
  hell thats got to be possible 
I bet they got one that 
 could do that in its sleep 
look how they find you now 

 todays marketeers what with their 
smart hit  marketing systems 
 fuck  they’re able to  call or email you 
  with a proposition 
right as your just about 
to go  out the door  to buy one 

and with a can’t refuse proposition to boot


uncle needs to get some of that
high powered  know how

hire those boys like the army has 

put them on the case 
 what with 
 todays techniques they probably could 
  guide  each and every vinegar Bill out there
to the precise soft hearted 
patient and forgiving patsy that could tolerate him
 
 every last  back biting  retiree and SSI deadbeat 
  in this whole glorious  land of ours
might find a stoic kindly resolute 
 donor to match up with
 
computers can do miracles 
what  with the massive 
sifting and shaking and sorting they can do 
 
they could make matches
 that would  dance the night away 

 get the genealogy folks
 and the dating service people 
 to help here
we’re talking high high volume
 unit costs can be low
 very low 

 hell  get sponsors

as I’ ve pointed out time and time again 
in a number of these  public enterprises
 
 the exposure and good will of being associated 
with a project like this 
 may be worth more to someone with a little something to sell 
then the whole damn thing actually  costs 


sure its uncle providing the service 
but lets try to capture some  profit
along the side here for the public purse

 imagine something like this
 
“ we at Konsolidated Kandy 
 put these beautiful people together ”

 show ‘em all in a montage  chewing 
Konsolidated’s world famous
 SMOOCH BARS 
everybody one after the other
grand poo and little jimmy too 


do you see it !
 pretty damn good isn’t it 
 
could be Mickey Eisner himself  
 working these keys here 



 now 
 how about health 

can we do same magic work here too  ?

ofcourse we can !!!!!

 why not 

 I see hospital beds
 sad moments  and triumphs 
set backs
and glorious  wheeled escapes 
with life renewing  sunny  home returns 

 mother of fucking god 
this could be a personalized
super soaper 
for every pay stubber out there

and god how about
  the public  school systems

 thats  local funding ofcourse
 i’m getting manic here i know 
 but talk about a match game potential
 
 “course little  Jody can spell
             HALITOSIS 
thanks to you Ben Bubbles “  
 
we could probably.................