Colby. You and I have a lot in common.

I put myself through university by working on the drilling rigs during the summer. I made enough money in four months to afford rent, food, beer, tuition, and a car. I graduated with an engineering degee, but no student debt and no help from my family.

I was a self-made man in those days. I read something about libertarianism and made that my personal philosophy. I was rather contemptuous of my fellow students who spent the summers working in a grocery store or at a tourist park.

Then I realized that 90% of my post secondary education was paid for by the Alberta government. My tuition really didn't pay my share of professor salaries, support staff salaries, and keeping all those buildings working.

Then I realized that my 12 years of primary education was almost 100% paid by the Alberta government. Had my father (subsistance farmer) been obligated to pay for my primary schooling, he would have put me in the fields picking rocks instead. He just didn't have the money in those days.

Then I understood at how interconnected we are.

And these interconnections run both ways. If it were not for people like you and I to take on work that requires a lot of fortitude, modern society would not function very well. Just imagine the world if oil workers got only 25% of their usual pay.

In essense, you and I had traded comfort and ease for a bigger paycheck. Today I would argue that the free market has worked its magic. THere is no need to debate who is better or worse. We all made choices.

But even we--the more rugged--are interconnected. Looking at your picture, I see manufactured lumber. If you were truly self-sufficient, should you not cut your own lumber from the trees on your property? No, it is much easier, cheaper, and higher quality to use the stuff lumber mills make. Yes, you could have bought a sawmill. But what if a bearing breaks down? Could you forge and machine a new bearing? No, it is much better to go to the bearing shop and buy a new one.

In my community, there is a group of Mennonites who are fairly insular. They have a disregard for education, but homeschool their kids because the government forces them. The kids get their Grade 10--and that's it. This group is quite hard-working and industriious. They are excellent farmers and truck drivers. They are quite capable with the trades--even though none of them have ever got their journeyman ticket. But they are far from self-sufficiency. If a farm machine breaks down, chances are they are buying parts from a farm equipment dealer.

A few years back, I had an interesting conversation with some young men of this community. They seem to think that they have the knowledge and experience to design and manufacture their own farm equipment. It would be just as good as the manufacturers. They only "use" the dealerships because it is convenient. But they have no clue on the importance of engineers in these products.

I like watching the reality show called ALONE. These people are about 80% self-sufficient. They are tough, skilled in outdoors, hard-working, and industrious. And we get to watch them slowly die as they live off the land.

The cabin in the woods saving us from the apocalypse is a myth. The cabin will be a target for roving bands--who need your stuff to survive. The odds of being in a successful roving band and living to 75 years old are quite small.

Methinks it is better to invest in society before the apocalypse.

All of us are interconnected.

Having said that, we still need ways to reward those who sacrifice comfort and ease for the betterment of us all. From what I see, the free market works quite well. There is no need to pass judgment on those earning the big paycheck--and those who have chosen to earn 75% less.