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Page 23.
 George Beasley, the machinist with the Helena Brewers baseball cap, never even glanced in Kenny's direction that day at work. Kenny thought it best to avoid him. He thought of him as an acquaintance, certainly, not a friend, but he also didn't trust him. Kenny did not have any friends here in San Diego yet.
Other than being searched on the street from time to time, his life stayed peaceful. He knew someone—the superintendent, the police—entered his room from time to time and looked around, when he was not at home, but it was so stealthy and unobtrusive he almost didn't mind. Nothing had been stolen, yet, and there was nobody to complain to, so why be bothered? He swept and cleaned with vigor at work. Each Friday, he got his pay as he left work. At $4 an hour minimum wage, he received $276 for a 68-hour work week, which included a $4 stipend for korporate mandated church attendance—four hours on Sunday mornings. That left $1,100 a month for rent ($500) rent and weekly expenses ($150).
You could get by on minimum wage if you weren't married and had no dependents or health issues. Kenny had no health insurance and could never see a doctor or dentist, but he'd been lucky so far and was in good health. If you went to the E.R., they read you your 'Christian Rights' and patched you up, a one-time visit for any specific illness. You still got a hefty bill from the private insurance company that paid the hospital corporation. After that, you were on your own, and many people turned to faith healers, herbal doctors, and other off-the-grid remedies. In the Good Old Days, there had been some limited programs called Social Security, Medicare, and what not, but that had all been abandoned as the economy shrank, and government abandoned more and more sectors under pressure from the Great Shepherd and the large corporations.
Only Big Business Can Save Amerika Now, was one slogan of The Great Shepherd's party. More and more holograms opened to briefly speak, all around the city streets:
Big Government is Godless Evil.
Big Business is Good Business.
Socialist Health Care Is A Godless Scam.
Don't Let Big Government Take Your Freedom of Choice Away.
Labor Unions are Bad for Labor
The Business of Big Business Is Your Health.
Capitalism Is The Faith Of Good Christians.
Big Business is God's Business.
The Lord is my CEO—I Shall Not Question.
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Copyright © 2018 by Jean-Thomas Cullen, Clocktower Books. All Rights Reserved.
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