[quote]kpsnap wrote:
I knew my comment would draw ire.
But maybe someone can address the concern I have with income disparity. I struggle with understanding why there are jobs in this country that are essential to the workings of the “machine” but do not pay enough to live on. Cleaning restrooms, working at daycare centers, working with the mentally ill, waiting tables, washing dishes, harvesting crops, cooking food, caring for the elderly in nursing homes, serving as a cashier, etc. etc. All of these jobs are essential to having a functioning society but do not pay enough for people to live respectably.
It’s not that I like giving lazy people a handout. I don’t. And I’m not lobbying for that at all. But I do think about the people who work their asses off for minimum wage. So it frustrates me to hear people who make so much money whine about having a little less. Eh, I’ve gone soft in my old age.[/quote]
Outside of the excellent posts by Trib and Jewbacca, who is as sharp and rational–and reasonable–as they come, my answer to you is this:
You speak about “not paying enough to live on” and then you speak about “living respectably”.
You can absolutely live on the salary of a waiter, a bouncer, a farmer’s hand, or a cook. The fact that you may not make enough money to BUY ALL THE THINGS YOU WANT is absolutely irrelevant. Respectably is more than a consumerist’s standard. It has nothing to do with the shit in your house, apartment, shared home, whatever. It has to do with YOU the person, having respect for yourself and pride in being able to take care of yourself.
And here’s the point–in the vast, vast, vast majority of the country, people CAN live on those wages.
I did.
My mom’s relatives did, they’re farmers and while growing up their sons did “harvesting work” and were otherwise farm hands when they were old enough to get a job, in ADDITION to the home chores. They made the bills. I made the bills. They and I both had a comfortable place, albeit small, to live, sleep and eat in.
I did not have a plasma tv. I did not have internet or cable. I did not have a smartphone. I did not have a Playstation 3. I did not get a new car, I had an old car that had rust on parts of it but that got me where I needed.
I see a bunch of people complaining on their iPads and smartphones and thru the “Playstation network” during online games about how they are broke and can’t make ends meet. TOO FUCKING BAD FOR THEM. Does that seem harsh to you? Probably. But I did the same thing they somehow can’t afford to do…while complaining over an appliance expensive enough to pay for food for a couple months, or rent for a month. And they usually have a bunch of these–all the poor college kids I see, yeah they work 15-20 hours a week and get playstation 3s, smart phones, and big tvs. I have no sympathy for that when you then start to complain about “unfair wages”. No, you could have lived if you worked full time–and don’t tell me working full time means you can’t go to school, I had 2 of my closest friends work 40-50 hours a week while going to school. They made ends meet with some student loans, and now they make good money. I had one very close friend hold 2 jobs while going to VET SCHOOL…which is a 50 hour job itself. She slept maybe 4 hours a night, but made it through.
What you might not realize, or might not want to realize, is that this sort of thing…the complaining about being broke while spending all your money on expensive toys…is not the exception. It is the RULE, brought about by the consumeristic culture of mass media and advertising materialism.
There are people in real dire straights, yes. People who really DIDN’T get a fair shake, who have little brothers and sisters to raise cuz mom and dad are fucked on drugs or dead. They should be helped, yes. So should the people who messed up in high school and are trying to get back on track. But the bottom line is that across a large, large chunk of the country the majority of the people “broke” brought it on themselves by being complete fucking dumbasses and lazy.
You can live on a waiter’s wage. If not, get another job OR quit buying shit you “want” and buy food and pay bills. Or work two. I did. A lot of people did. That’s called having pride in yourself. Almost everyone around me when I was working to get by at that point was also smart enough to work two jobs, do what they needed. However, A ton of people who “work their asses off” for minimum wage also buy shit with their money that they have absolutely ZERO need for, which pinches them with bills. And is entirely their fault–I’ve done it to myself, then fixed the problem. Most people just complain.
There is absolutely zero reality to the idea that someone is guaranteed a 40 hour work week and enough spare money to buy the newest phone on the market. I know your intentions were good, but man it really aggravates me–I still am what many such as yourself would consider “poor”, but I’ll be damned if I’m a lazy ass. I could make ends meet back then, and I’m better off now with money to buy supplements and take road trips.
here’s the bottom line: people need to take responsibility for their financial decisions. Don’t blame me or somebody richer like jewbacca for your problems when you take your pay check and tip money–and remember I worked almost exclusively for tips as my wage for years–and buy a smartphone or playstation and then can’t meet rent or pay the electric bill. Pay the bloody bill first and don’t eat out. Cook.
As a last point, yes I will admit and readily admit that there are parts of this country where the cost of living is so high you can’t really make ends meet with the same “ease” as I described. In general, these are places where the cost of living has skyrocketed due to HIGH TAXES and high bureaucracy costs. Or in other words, the very government that is trying to “help” them is hurting them worse than their job’s wages.
Pitt!