Living Wage
Damn.
Someone had to go and post something to ruin my morning agony time the other day.
It was an across the board condemnation of those looking to earn a higher wage in the fast food industry.
And of course, it's pointless to argue such things on a message board, but it really gets my blood boiling. You inevitably hear the "loser" label slapped on such people who are stuck working such jobs.
The same loser label that's slapped on those needing government assistance.
And to be sure, those losers are out there, and they deserve scorn, I suppose, but I really don't know everything I need to know to slap such a label on them.
But I do know that McDonald's and KFC and Wal-Mart are successful franchises making billions and billions. I do know that those who work in such places are not supposed to try and make a career out of it, but My God, if you can't afford to get to work why would you go to work?
Maybe $15 an hour isn't the answer, but $7.25 sure the hell isn't either.
But what galls me are those who look at it as simply people being losers.
I know a lot of hard-working guys who are just staying in their homes. They get up each and every day and head off to work.
If they do that shouldn't they get some sort of life?
And it pains me to think about it, but I say it all the time.
In 1983, I was a common laborer. I worked really, really hard. I poured miles and miles of concrete, lifting heavy hoses straight up over my head. I dug ditches. I cleaned out elevator pits. I worked 60, 70, 80 hours a week some weeks.
And I was paid well to do it.
30 years later a guy doing the same exact job is making less money than I was back then.
Less money!
Gas was a buck a gallon. College was two grand a semester. I didn't have a phone bill. Food was way less expensive. Clothes then would be considered absolute steals today.
How can that be?
How did I get a medical package with my job?
How were men back then able to save for retirement?
How did women stay home?
How did a guy installing drywall send a bunch of kids to school, feed them, clothe them, and still go on a vacation?
It happened!
Now.
You do that work and you're a loser who can't adequately provide.
You're an embarrassment to the American way.
You should be fed peanuts.
That's all your worth.
This country was built on the sweat, blood and backs of men who prided themselves on doing the right thing.
As you bash those who want a raise in the service industry consider a few things:
Not everyone has the same opportunity.
Not everyone can become CEO of the world.
It just doesn't happen, folks.
And to disregard those who need to toil is a mistake.
It always has been and it always will be.
They are flesh and blood. They want the same sort of lives for their children. They didn't choose to be limited in their capacity to grow, and they are getting out of bed each day and trying.
They are trying.
A millionaire sitting in the boardroom of a billion dollar company somewhere must have considered that for a split second, right?
Maybe not.
Someone had to go and post something to ruin my morning agony time the other day.
It was an across the board condemnation of those looking to earn a higher wage in the fast food industry.
And of course, it's pointless to argue such things on a message board, but it really gets my blood boiling. You inevitably hear the "loser" label slapped on such people who are stuck working such jobs.
The same loser label that's slapped on those needing government assistance.
And to be sure, those losers are out there, and they deserve scorn, I suppose, but I really don't know everything I need to know to slap such a label on them.
But I do know that McDonald's and KFC and Wal-Mart are successful franchises making billions and billions. I do know that those who work in such places are not supposed to try and make a career out of it, but My God, if you can't afford to get to work why would you go to work?
Maybe $15 an hour isn't the answer, but $7.25 sure the hell isn't either.
But what galls me are those who look at it as simply people being losers.
I know a lot of hard-working guys who are just staying in their homes. They get up each and every day and head off to work.
If they do that shouldn't they get some sort of life?
And it pains me to think about it, but I say it all the time.
In 1983, I was a common laborer. I worked really, really hard. I poured miles and miles of concrete, lifting heavy hoses straight up over my head. I dug ditches. I cleaned out elevator pits. I worked 60, 70, 80 hours a week some weeks.
And I was paid well to do it.
30 years later a guy doing the same exact job is making less money than I was back then.
Less money!
Gas was a buck a gallon. College was two grand a semester. I didn't have a phone bill. Food was way less expensive. Clothes then would be considered absolute steals today.
How can that be?
How did I get a medical package with my job?
How were men back then able to save for retirement?
How did women stay home?
How did a guy installing drywall send a bunch of kids to school, feed them, clothe them, and still go on a vacation?
It happened!
Now.
You do that work and you're a loser who can't adequately provide.
You're an embarrassment to the American way.
You should be fed peanuts.
That's all your worth.
This country was built on the sweat, blood and backs of men who prided themselves on doing the right thing.
As you bash those who want a raise in the service industry consider a few things:
Not everyone has the same opportunity.
Not everyone can become CEO of the world.
It just doesn't happen, folks.
And to disregard those who need to toil is a mistake.
It always has been and it always will be.
They are flesh and blood. They want the same sort of lives for their children. They didn't choose to be limited in their capacity to grow, and they are getting out of bed each day and trying.
They are trying.
A millionaire sitting in the boardroom of a billion dollar company somewhere must have considered that for a split second, right?
Maybe not.
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