I meant that, and the part where I did mention learning a trade/skill, on the most basic level. As in, do something but don’t drop out of high school or even if you graduate, just sit there and wonder why Apple or Microsoft isn’t responding to your high school diploma resume.
I’m the Simpsons Texan…so oil and gas, which I knew I wanted to go into precisely because I know that the pay/benefits/bonuses etc. are very generous. Again, I had a general game plan for post-high school. Obviously it can be any industry, but you gotta aim for something that you know will be able to pay you a wage where you can have some freedom in life. I hate to sound like my dad but if you get a psychology degree, and don’t get your masters or beyond and actually get licensed and pursue that, but just have a random psychology degree, you can’t be upset for not analyzing the cost/benefit ratio of your degree choice..it is a choice.
As I said, I enjoy visiting and if oil and gas companies did have jobs there I would be there tomorrow, but unfortunately that’s not how it is. It’s a naturally beautiful state, moreso than Texas I will admit (I think I just lost my Texan card there), but I’m speaking of living where it is REALLY beautiful, La Jolla, Santa Barbara, Newport Beach, Hollywood hills, San Francisco…you know what I mean. If you don’t have money, yeah, you can probably live there in an apartment or maybe a 1,300 sq ft house that costs 7 figures. I just again meant afford to live there for everyday folks, to be able to have a big house with a yard/pool, to be able to afford the space to own several cars, and still have money to travel, purchase non-essential items.
I think minimum wage in my state is $11.20. At full time that’s around $1,800/month, minus taxes. It’s hard to find a not-totally-shitty apartment for not almost-half to half of that monthly income. Add in other bills, groceries, etc…
Places like McDonald’s, Starbucks, Target will start at $15-18. I can make $16/hour if I go work for a masonry company. Obviously, if I did that and stayed there for 20 years, I’d eventually make more. But, like almost any trade job I’ve ever been aware of, it doesn’t offer health insurance and it will absolutely destroy your body. (My dad’s been a mason for 20+ years.)
If you’re a fresh out of high school kid who knows they want to get involved in a trade and stay there long term, you might accept $16/hour.
If you’re still in high school, or are just thinking over options, and maybe college, military, etc. are still possibilities, I’d absolutely choose the physically-easy, air-conditioned job that pays just as much or more than the outdoor labor. Plus, lots of those places are offering help with college tuition, some healthcare, etc.
If we want trades to be a viable option for people, they need to find ways to be more appealing to young people looking to get started in life, maybe have a family, buy a home, etc. That’s hard when McDonald’s provides you with, for at least a period of time, a better life than some trades do.
I’m actually really glad to see an end to a lot of the old gatekeepers that used to make a lot of things unnecessarily hard to get into. Like if you know a single thing, that somehow made them worth less or threatened them somehow.
Many of us did not embrace the ‘Trophy for Everyone’ approach. Of course, our children participated alongside those with parents that did. People act like they are helpless to counter the messaging. If you are parenting properly, you are the biggest influence in your child’s life. Be present and prepared for opportunities teach when they arise.
The thing that has really been missing in all of the Donald Trump prosecutions is a convincing and sympathetic victim. If people believed that Donald Trump have actively and truly hurt someone sympathetic, I think it could be damaging to him. But paying a porn star to be quiet doesn’t reach that level and it isn’t really close.
Trump wasn’t wrong when he said he could shoot someone in the middle of the street and not lose a single vote.
There is certainly something wrong with the system when 34 felonies to your name and possible jail time has no bearing on your fitness for POTUS. Stupid.
I don’t feel bad, guilty, gullible, naive or anything resembling anything other than NGAF about voting for him. We’ve had these useless scum bag politicians in office for decades and they’ve accomplished fuck-all for us.
Just like the appeals where a non-elected official in Colorado took Orange Man off the ballot in Colorado. 9 - 0 by the partisan hacks in the Supreme Court.
Or the one where the bond amount was reduced in the other clown show trial in NY.
Like my lawyer wife says - we have a justice system, not justice.
I don’t like Trump but I would like to see similar efforts applied to all politicians regarding criminal things like insider trading and other politicians storing classified things where they shouldn’t to start.
If I did the latter I would be sentenced to many years in Leavenworth.
