A man with a plan

If a man puts in an honest day’s work, he can support himself and his family for a day, with a little put by for Sunday and the odd rainy day. If his day’s work amounts to one and one-sixth, he can feed someone else’s family on one day for every six. If that someone has six men working, they'll feed his family for a week. Seven and he can eat better on Sundays.

Each time the man at the top wants a rise, he can make the others work harder – maybe twice as hard. If work is difficult to come by, he can cut their pay – make them hungry. The truth is, he knows those seven men will always starve before he does.

The manager has nothing to his name but the authority to sign a cheque. He has earned trust and his share of the share. He’s in on the game. And he knows he won’t starve before the ones who are doing the work.

Then there’s the man with the plan. Always the man with the plan. Buy the plan and lose a man. Watch the world turn upside down.

“You ain’t livin’ off the man at the bottom. No, my friend. He’s livin’ off you. With my plan, you can do the work of six with five. Take your profit where you can. Get shot of the man that’s livin’ off you. Get with the plan.”

The man doesn’t understand the plan, but he likes the sound of it. So he buys it. In a year, it will have paid for itself. The rest is his to keep.

The man with the plan takes his money and runs to sell to the competition right along the street. Now it’s an even better plan.

And so it goes, ‘til there’s a line of men who can no longer find an honest day’s work. The man at the top takes a look and decides they’re living off him. So he finds a way to take away what’s keeping them alive.

Soon the men can’t watch their families go hungry anymore. One of them turns up at the gate. He’ll work for just enough to feed his family with nothing for himself. Another steals bread from the baker and is thrown into jail. Another comes up with a plan and goes off to see the man.

“With my plan, you’ll earn half again with a third of the men you had. Throw that old idea away. I promise you’ll never rue the day you bought my incredible plan.”

The man doesn’t understand the plan, but knows the competitor down the road will buy so shakes the hand of the clever man who sold the incredible plan.

Soon hungry men are all out selling the plan. Nobody works at the bottom no more and nobody understands the plan. No one could tell you who’s paying for what and nobody knows the man.

And no one remembers what people meant when they spoke of an honest day’s work.