The Department of Labour had heard a rumour that a farmer wasn’t paying his staff the minimum wage.
The agent who was sent out to interview him asked for a list of his employees and how much he paid them.
The farmer replied, “Well, there’s my farm hand who’s been with me for 3 years. I pay him $550.00 a week plus a free house and meat. The cook has been here for 18 months, and I pay her as much as she wants, plus free room and board.
“Then there’s the half-wit. He works about 16 hours every day and does about 90% of all the work around here. He makes about $10.00 per week, pays his own room and board, and I shout him a beer or two every Saturday night.”
“That’s the guy I want to talk to…..the half-wit”, the agent said.
That would be me”, replied the farmer.
July 11, 2009 at 9:59 pm
That may be why I retired at 58 nearly 10 years ago from 40 odd years of hard and at some times successful farming cows, cropping, and sheep in Canterbury and the southern NI.
Without much self indulgence but a truckload of community service, taking opportunities to meet some wonderful people and spending many happy hours with my best friend and soulmate creating our own garden of eden, all the time wondering why so many can’t find happiness in the simple things of life.
How much do you need to save for retirement, that depends what you expect, we are comfortable, happy and healthy and being freehold helps, but I can empathise when I remember the UK joining the Common Market,the oil shocks Rogernomics, droughts, floods, El Nina, La Nina,Mt Pinotabo, freezing works strikes, waterside strikes,transport strikes, interest rate hikes, sad bank managers who couldn’t get any other job, Muldoons simplistic answers to economics, Nordys budget in 58, the cold war etcetera, we were so lucky to have survived.
I often remember the old joke : What would you do if you won Lotto ? huh keep farming till it was all gone.
Was it worth it, Hell yes, would I do it again , Helll yesss!
Kind regards