CALLER #1: My question... [speaks in German]

INT: [translating] Eddie, what would you do if you weren't a musician? What would you do in life?

EV: Well, let's say I worked in a McDonald's, right? (laughter) No, but let's just say...I will tell you I'd be the best McDonald's worker they ever saw.

INT: Why is that?

EV: Well, because I'd take pride in my job. No matter what I did, I would just take pride in my job. I really feel...I don't know...I don't know if it's the same here as in our country but everyone feels like they can't rise above, and that they aren't going to make as much money as their parents and that there's nothing but negative things in their future. But I feel like I'm a living example that if you work as hard as you can and you have some drive and something that you're devoted to, that with hard work you can, you can achieve that...and so, you know if I was, uh, well...I wouldn't work at McDonald's because I can't support McDonald's. (laughs) I think I would be intelligent enough to know that they're doing a fine job at giving everyone diseases and making them overweight by using fancy colors to sell their product, which is meat. But, no matter what I worked at, I still would actually play music because I always loved music and it was very important to me and even if the songs would be heard by myself and my wife and maybe my little kid when he grew up, then I would do that. I mean, then my kid would know who his dad was because you could hear it in these songs so I still would've played music. But no matter what job I had, I would've done so well that I would've ended up the president of the company (laughs) and I hope everyone knows that they can do that.

Unfortunately I don’t have time to type out a full response right now because I have ten minutes left on my lunch break which I spend sitting in my car shoving food into my mouth before I have to go back inside an office and sit for 3-4 hours performing mind-numbing, tedious work that I don’t care about surrounded by people I don’t care about in order to afford a roof over my head and more food to shove in my mouth. I do this because it makes me feel so dignified and gives me so much purpose. Much better than spending time with people I love and focusing energy on things that matter to me.

Anyway, I've come around to the conclusion that an EITC or negative income tax is the best way to take care of the "do people have enough to live?" question.