So if you live in America, you know the economy is bad. So bad that almost 1 in 10 American's are unemployed. People go to college for years wasting tens of thousands of dollars only to never find employment in the field of work they spent all that time getting a degree in. So you'd think that in dire times like these, employment of any sort would be appreciated, right?
I know at least for me, I consider it a blessing everytime I get the opportunity to bring home the bacon. And yes, I work in a measly gas station/convenience store. My hours are constantly shifting around. I never get the same two days off with any consistency. And the majority of my clientele are either tweekers or ☺☺☺☺☺☺☺s.
But damnit, it's a job. It's helping me pay rent, put food on the table (as scarce as it is), and still have a little bit of money left over for hanging out with friends or my girl. I am thankful for being employed in a world where that's not so much of a given anymore.
But whenever I go elsewhere, like to fast food places, even normal restaurants, movie theatres, grocery stores, retailers and just about anything in between that's a job that doesn't require some form of a degree, everyone's miserable. It's always about how much they hate their jobs or how everyone else but they are morons, how they are not making enough, or otherwise just being downright miserable.
I honestly haven't seen a single person working a minimum wage job right now that is actually HAPPY to be employed. While I know at least a few dozen friends who would love to be employed right now and would take their jobs in a heartbeat if they're so unhappy with their position in life.
I guess my question is, is this type of behavior justifiable? Should we really be cursing and grumbling and whining and moaning about being able to make an honest living right now? Especially when 10% of our fellow Americans are hanging on by a thread with absolutely no income whatsoever.
I dunno, I guess I'm just a simple man with simple needs, and minimum wage works passable enough for me that I can live happily through it until something better comes along.
You know, I was actually happy to be employed for minimum wage for a while. It was the time period when the boss didn't really care so much about me hacking the point-of-sale computer (mostly so I could write on it) and generally spending my time not being mind-numbingly bored. I figure what I didn't get in money I got in satisfaction. Also, I managed to do more work than pretty much everyone else despite the massive free time I had—after handling all the customers, doing the stocking, updating (and sometimes ordering) inventory, organizing the entire back room, cleaning the store, and all that, I'd still find several free hours each day. Between that and balancing their books for them (seriously, minimum wage and they made me do everything) I could probably run a business of my own based solely on that experience.
I should've known that overachieving while making everyone else look bad was a terrible idea, but alas, I was the first (but not last) one cut due to "the economy." Hilariously, the place really did go to crap after I left. Precisely because, as the person I was talking to explained, no one knew how to do anything since I did it all for so long.
Anyway, the big problem is that these jobs really are that bad most of the time, because employers are stuck on silly theories detached from the reality of the work environment. A big example of this is in not wanting employees to have any kind of distractions while they're on the clock, even when there's honestly nothing to do (late shifts are brutality incarnate with these kinds of bosses—one customer an hour and there's literally nothing to do). But the ball's entirely in their court. They know that if the current guy doesn't like his job, there's a pool of a few dozen other guys ready and willing to have his job the very next day. Service jobs aren't really skilled positions, and while an experienced employee can do things a random five-hour-a-week college temp could never accomplish, it's not really appealing for the management to see an idle worker because of the psychological effect of "why am I paying this person to do nothing?"
It is, to use the smiley faces, a ☺☺☺☺ty situation to be in, but when your options are to keep a job you absolutely hate or face the current job market, you learn a special brand of cynicism.
Well, here's how it seems from a UK point of view. I'm currently working in a bank and earn about £17,000 a year (about $25000) before tax. The executives of the company I work for earned £10,000,000 each in bonuses this year. Assuming I don't actively try to change my life and job at any stage, I will never make that kind of money in my lifetime, never mind in one year, so it's very easy to get bitter. It's especially to think this when it isn't just business people, but random celebrities who seem to have had no skill other than being lucky or being born into money (the David Beckhams and Paris Hiltons of the world) earn herculean amounts of income compared to people who work their butt off for years on end for a company that might not even appreciate their hard work.
I'm feeling this in the United Kingdom, where opinions and emotions are largely subdued as a cultural thing. In the U.S., it's even more insane because the pay gaps are so massive and money and power are even more important in obtaining the lifestyle you desire. I saw an advert in an airline magazine once that suggested one dentist was so much better than others in the country that you should fly to their surgery in NYC rather than go to one nearer you. Can you imagine the wealth of the people that advert is targeting, even factoring in health insurance? It can't be difficult for someone to read that article and get bitter because it causes clear divisions between the class they're in and the class they want to be in.
Being glad you have a job is much better for your stress levels than the kind of thinking mentioned above, but just be aware that unless you actively look for something better for you and your family, it won't fall on your lap. I'm sure you know that already though, because it sounds like you have a good head on your shoulders.
Just to be fair to David and Victoria, for every one person who makes a million $ plus per year doing modeling or football, there's probably 10,000 who went for it, and is now unemployed, doing a min wage job, or stripping.
Frankly, I think minimum wage was not really envisioned to be for career people, older people, college grads. It's just that with the current economy (and with globalization apart from just the current economy), more qualified people are fighting over crappy, low paying jobs. It's a real shame and hopefully the economy will get better.
Here in Washington DC area, the job situation is far better.
If I were in the situation of minimum wage, I'd have a plan of action for saving, going to school, etc. To GTFO of this career path. That would include moving temporarily to anywhere in the country that has jobs. Anybody ever watch the movie "Take Out", about a recent illegal Chinese immigrant who needs to earn enough tips in one day to pay down the gangsters who smuggled him and avoid doubling his debt? Just follows him all day delivering food to new Yorkers on a crappy bike in the rain. it's on Netflix streaming and really puts the "crappy job" thing in perspective.
Gotta try to save no matter what, and gotta have a plan for the long term.minimum wage blows. Far better to get any job where you can hustle an get tips or make more by doing more volume than the next guy.
Easy for me to say, though, I guess. Maybe my parents weren't as wrong as some people in other treads have suggested, for keeping the leash so short during my high school years and pushing me on a health care career. They lived through war, and always reminded me (even recently even at dinner talked about the war and how they would set a guy's leg and be paid in a little food, not cash) that if you go into medicine at any level, peope will always need you and you'll always be fine.
I dunno, I guess I'm just a simple man with simple needs, and minimum wage works passable enough for me that I can live happily through it until something better comes along.
If you need to support yourself on minimum wage, it can be soul crushing. If you are still living with your parents, it's not so bad. Minimum wage is only really awful when you have bills to pay.
Working mininium wage is horrible, only because it's so low that the moment you get anything slightly better you quickly realize how bad it really is. Even now, earning a couple of dollars an hour over mininium wage is bad, as I do everything my night managers do, get pummeled by several different managers daily, and have a large amount of responsibility and am the lowest paid person in my department. It kinda sucks, and going lower would just be worse.
I can't afford to live on my own, though I'm getting closer, if I was on mininium wage there was no way I could do it, and I definitely can't do it with paying school out of pocket currently.
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"I've always been a fan of reality by popular vote" - Stephen Colbert (in response to Don McLeroy)
I'm not really sure I understand the point of the minimum wage in our society today. I guess in this market there would be plenty of people who would work for $3-4 an hour so employers would lay off the people working for $7, but I think the economy would actually recover faster.
You mentioned the old "Time to Lean - Time to Clean" dogma of the night shift, and if managers were being honest they would admit you would be spending most of your time doing that kind of stuff.
Most people, especially 16 year old kids aren't good enough to stop texting, playing computer games et to actually switch and help a customer at the drop of a hat.
I railed against local franchise Checkers who used to pay better than average and employ working adults in their drive throughs. Someone decided to cut costs and started hiring teenagers and the service went to the crapper along with the stock price.
Most mangers are bad at motivating. I know because I used to be a bad manager but I took some classes, read some books, and realized that people don't care about what you want unless you care about what they want. Unfortunately not everyone up the chain has read those books.
My solution for the "minimum wage delima" was pretty simple. I don't know if it would work, but it involved paying an extra $3 or so an hour to working head of household and being able to take a tax credit equal to that difference. I know there are programs like this, but they don't really help the worker get ahead, they just encourage employers to try to hire people on public assitance for minimum wage and pocket the difference.
So the employeer basically pays minimum wage for a worker who normally would be better off staying in the system, but via my method the employer has to pay $3-4 more (which they get back in tax credits) so that head of household can actually survive. Of course I'd like to see some optional training et availible for those people so they can eventually create $10/hr worth of production rather than milking the gov at a fast food job.
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Out of the blackness and stench of the engulfing swamp emerged a shimmering figure. Only the splattered armor and ichor-stained sword hinted at the unfathomable evil the knight had just laid waste.
You only realize how horrible it is when you start getting paid more to do less elsewhere.
I completely agree. After getting my current career and got a much better appreciation for having a good job.
The worst part of minimum wage job is that you're disposable, plan and simple. Management see their employees like diapers ; Keep giving them crap and when they can't take it, get another one!
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It is always easy to be tolerant and understanding...Until someone presents an opinion completely opposite to your own.
Its funny how everyone just assumes only people without degrees are unemployed.
As for minimum wage. If there wasnt a minimum wage, companies would be paying pennys on the dollar for employment. The gap between the haves and have nots would be huge if it was not for minimum wage. The problem is people will sell themselves short and swallow their pride for very little in terms of money. I expect the employment situation to get worse before it gets any better. Since people are not use to living without, most will do whatever it takes to keep their level of living.
Look at it from an employer's viewpoint, especially a small business.
You scraped by saving money working odd jobs, busying, etc. Whatever to save enough to put together a little retail business which you take a loan for, take all the risk for, and work countless hours cleaning, doing every aspect front to back, dealing with razor thin margins, etc.
You need a little extra help just to help do part of the work, and you pay them for doing very little, and they sit around playing bejeweled on their phone when customers are in the store... Who might have a question or want to buy something, but on seeing the worker ignoring them, just get irritated and go somewhere else.
To the lazy employee it doesn't matter that the retailer just lost a few bucks, but evey penny comes out of the owners pocket. Every second you play games on your iPhone, he is paying money to you whether he makes money or not. Rent is due whether he sells something or not. So damn right he thinks "I'm not paying you to sit around and play games." I have a friend who owns and runs a comic shop and I could tell you soooo many stories about employee problems. Employees using their own store discounts to buy stuff for customers on the spot in trade for a little cash, stealing, not showing up, etc. He hires high school kids and tries to give them a chance no matter how stupid or incompetent, and gives them 3 strikes for anything but stealing or dishonesty.
Even hiring a person to man phones or sit at a gaurd desk for 24-7... Nothing more than that... At minimum wage, is going to require 4 shifts of labor, so 4 full time employees even at minimum wage comes to $7/hr x 7 days x 24 = what, around $60,000 a year without bennies, and you have to pay unemployment and insurance, etc. The small business owner I guarantee you is not lazy... That's how he got to be a small business owner.
I think it depends on the situation. If you are in high school or college and you need a job for some spending money, minimum wage is perfectly fine. If you are on your own paying rent, utilities, etc then minimum wage really sucks.
I think it depends on the situation. If you are in high school or college and you need a job for some spending money, minimum wage is perfectly fine. If you are on your own paying rent, utilities, etc then minimum wage really sucks.
This. If you have to feed yourself and pay for shelter and utilities, it can be tough. If you are trying to raise a kid too, it's even worse.
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"For small creatures such as we the vastness is bearable only through love." --Carl Sagan
Skullclamp cannot really be considered a best for it was banned upon release. I think the best card/most broken card on that list has to be Bloodbraid Elf. That card was too busted.
Its funny how everyone just assumes only people without degrees are unemployed.
As for minimum wage. If there wasnt a minimum wage, companies would be paying pennys on the dollar for employment. The gap between the haves and have nots would be huge if it was not for minimum wage. The problem is people will sell themselves short and swallow their pride for very little in terms of money. I expect the employment situation to get worse before it gets any better. Since people are not use to living without, most will do whatever it takes to keep their level of living.
Why do you think this? Gains produced by minimum wage are quickly erroded by inflation. The only reason our food isn't much higher is because workers pick fields for way below minimum wage because farms are largely exempt. A local grocery store just agreed to pay 1c more per lb of tomatoes which nearly doubled the salary of the picker. Crazy?
Think about it. If you work at McJob for 7.25 and you buy food from McGrocier who pays workers $7.25 if you both get a raise to $8.00 then McGrocier has to increase his prices and your prices went up. You get no attributable benefit from your increased purchasing power.
Hidden inflation actually increases the divide between the haves and have nots. By raising your costs the ultra rich gain more control over the means of production. Just think about how much it costs to start a business. Adding more red tape and regulation makes it only viable for the big boys and cuts out competition. Why do you think insurance companies don't want doctors to dictate prices directly to paitents?
Do you know who really gets hurt when minimum wage goes up? That guy who has been working at McJob for 5 years and now makes $8.50. McJob doesn't automatically pass that $0.50 to him, so his purchasing power actually goes down.
Minimum Wage like most "help people" policies sound good, but thier effects are not fully felt or understood. Collective barganing for instance is usually used to raise the minimum wage for a group or industry, however since they don't control the prices at which goods are produced they don't control the margins. Owners desire profit so they raise prices up to what the market will bear. When the market gets weak those prices are nonelastic. When was the last time you saw the "new model" of car selling for less than the old one?
Production suffers. Then either people have to loose work, or the factory no longer becomes profitable. Next thing you know people are asking for a government bailout to save those jobs.
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Out of the blackness and stench of the engulfing swamp emerged a shimmering figure. Only the splattered armor and ichor-stained sword hinted at the unfathomable evil the knight had just laid waste.
Why do you think this? Gains produced by minimum wage are quickly erroded by inflation. The only reason our food isn't much higher is because workers pick fields for way below minimum wage because farms are largely exempt. A local grocery store just agreed to pay 1c more per lb of tomatoes which nearly doubled the salary of the picker. Crazy?
Think about it. If you work at McJob for 7.25 and you buy food from McGrocier who pays workers $7.25 if you both get a raise to $8.00 then McGrocier has to increase his prices and your prices went up. You get no attributable benefit from your increased purchasing power.
Hidden inflation actually increases the divide between the haves and have nots. By raising your costs the ultra rich gain more control over the means of production. Just think about how much it costs to start a business. Adding more red tape and regulation makes it only viable for the big boys and cuts out competition. Why do you think insurance companies don't want doctors to dictate prices directly to paitents?
Do you know who really gets hurt when minimum wage goes up? That guy who has been working at McJob for 5 years and now makes $8.50. McJob doesn't automatically pass that $0.50 to him, so his purchasing power actually goes down.
Minimum Wage like most "help people" policies sound good, but thier effects are not fully felt or understood. Collective barganing for instance is usually used to raise the minimum wage for a group or industry, however since they don't control the prices at which goods are produced they don't control the margins. Owners desire profit so they raise prices up to what the market will bear. When the market gets weak those prices are nonelastic. When was the last time you saw the "new model" of car selling for less than the old one?
Production suffers. Then either people have to loose work, or the factory no longer becomes profitable. Next thing you know people are asking for a government bailout to save those jobs.
That's why you outsource the ☺☺☺☺ jobs, and reinvest into training up your present work force to do the newer jobs. That's one reason why Germany has had it's industry maintained intact. You work with the creative destruction cycle, rather than waiting on it to ebb and flow.
The same goes for companies that don't retain capital in order to expand during a recession.
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Ambition must be made to counteract ambition.
Individualities may form communities, but it is institutions alone that can create a nation.
Nothing succeeds like the appearance of success.
Here is my principle: Taxes shall be levied according to ability to pay. That is the only American principle.
Why do you think this? Gains produced by minimum wage are quickly erroded by inflation. The only reason our food isn't much higher is because workers pick fields for way below minimum wage because farms are largely exempt. A local grocery store just agreed to pay 1c more per lb of tomatoes which nearly doubled the salary of the picker. Crazy?
Think about it. If you work at McJob for 7.25 and you buy food from McGrocier who pays workers $7.25 if you both get a raise to $8.00 then McGrocier has to increase his prices and your prices went up. You get no attributable benefit from your increased purchasing power.
Hidden inflation actually increases the divide between the haves and have nots. By raising your costs the ultra rich gain more control over the means of production. Just think about how much it costs to start a business. Adding more red tape and regulation makes it only viable for the big boys and cuts out competition. Why do you think insurance companies don't want doctors to dictate prices directly to paitents?
Do you know who really gets hurt when minimum wage goes up? That guy who has been working at McJob for 5 years and now makes $8.50. McJob doesn't automatically pass that $0.50 to him, so his purchasing power actually goes down.
Minimum Wage like most "help people" policies sound good, but thier effects are not fully felt or understood. Collective barganing for instance is usually used to raise the minimum wage for a group or industry, however since they don't control the prices at which goods are produced they don't control the margins. Owners desire profit so they raise prices up to what the market will bear. When the market gets weak those prices are nonelastic. When was the last time you saw the "new model" of car selling for less than the old one?
Production suffers. Then either people have to loose work, or the factory no longer becomes profitable. Next thing you know people are asking for a government bailout to save those jobs.
I dont know where you live but that $.50 was never passed on to the employee. The employee got maybe $.05 of the $.50 and they expected you to be happy about it. The companies that passed on the profits to the employees are far and few between.
I currently work minimum wage, but being a college student with at least some help from my parents it isn't bad.
I would never be able to live like I do if I was 100% on my own though.
My agreement with my parents is that I'm paying for half of my tuition, half of my insurance, half of my rent, and my full gas/food bill. So I'm paying a few grand a year to get myself through community college (and then transfer out to a full school to finish my degree) but there is virtually no way I could afford it without help.
I'm always grateful for having my job though. I work at an East Coast food chain (Friendly's for those who know it) and even though the work sucks it's still a job. It still gets me through college, let's me keep my car filled up, and gives me a little spare money for my friends and girlfriend. Would I like to have a little more? Of course I would, but that's a lot to ask for these days and I'm not about to take what I have for granted.
I just hope that college pays off for me. I had a chance to take a supervisor position at work, but because I'm a full time student I couldn't devote the time needed to take up the offer. There's no guarantee that I can find a better job once I'm out of school, and I would hate to have missed out on a good supervisor position because I might make even more out of college. Time will tell I guess.
minimum wage was during the workers right act. what it did was enforce the a minimum standard of pay at a factory. when it was first enacted minimum wage was set at 5 cents an hour. It was never meant to be a living wage or anything else.
minimum wage is set for the least skill required to work at a job.
People are meant to move beyond minimum wage pay during their lifetime. Most of those jobs there require higher education.
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It just depends on where you're at in life. Minimum wage is fine depending on what your current goals and situation are.
I've got some friends who make less than minimum working on a farm (most, possibly all, US states allow farmers to pay hands less than minimum), but they enjoy it because their primary goal is to learn everything there is about owning and operating a farm. Between that and all the damaged vegetables they get for free, they have a blast.
However, if you want to raise a family, it can get real soul-crushing real fast when you can't make enough to supply your family.
minimum wage was during the workers right act. what it did was enforce the a minimum standard of pay at a factory. when it was first enacted minimum wage was set at 5 cents an hour. It was never meant to be a living wage or anything else.
minimum wage is set for the least skill required to work at a job.
People are meant to move beyond minimum wage pay during their lifetime. Most of those jobs there require higher education.
Problem is, in this economy we have highly educated people out of work fighting for those unskilled jobs. The fast food joint in town puts out an add for 2 positions open and they get 100's of people that show up. from high schoolers to college grads to 40 and 50 year olds put out of work due to comapny moves or down sizing. It use to be you worked your way up and out of the minimum wage bracket, now alot of unemployed are fighting for those jobs they should have moved on from long ago.
Yes they deserve to be unhappy, it's minimum wage. There is no way they will ever be able to save enough money to work their way up the social ladder. They are unskilled, expendable workers. The only reason I could see someone being happy with minimum wage is if they don't really care about their standard of living. If you were working a skilled job that required a college degree or more and are now unemployed, you are not going to flip burgers for minimum wage, when you have the skills to be making much more than that. Try getting your child into a good school system, paying off a mortgage, and helping your child get into college... You can't do that on minimum wage and you are kidding yourself if you think hard work is going to accomplish all of that, there are only 24 hours in a day.
I feel that if you have good experiences in life, you're much more wealthy than anyone else. If you're happy naturally, with good friends and a good family, strong hobbies and food on the table, it doesn't matter how much money you have in the bank.
For example, I traveled across the world. I've been to over 40 countries in my 18 years, and just yesterday I signed a SEAL Contract with the US Navy. Being a SEAL means that I'll go through more in 3 years than more than 99% of the population will ever be able to dream of achieving.
People may have more money than me, they may have fancy toys and nice cars, private planes and lavish life styles. That's fine. I still think I've got a better life, because I'm more physically fit (and by extension oftentimes more attractive, which helps me feel better whenever some short ugly dude pulls up in a hummer. It sounds vain, but for some reason it's true. I don't really get it either.) I've got a group of friends straight out of Lost Boys: The Tribe, if you've seen the movie, you've seen me and my friends.
I've got the best girlfriend anyone could ever ask for, she's beautiful and such a sweetheart. My family is awesome, family parties are a bunch of old people getting drunk and laughing the entire night.
I've got a decent job right now, but pretty soon I'll be leaving for SEAL training. The pay isn't great, but what comes with the job is.
The higher class can have all the money and material things that they want. I've got my middle class life with all the best of the things money can't buy, so they can be jealous.
I know at least for me, I consider it a blessing everytime I get the opportunity to bring home the bacon. And yes, I work in a measly gas station/convenience store. My hours are constantly shifting around. I never get the same two days off with any consistency. And the majority of my clientele are either tweekers or ☺☺☺☺☺☺☺s.
But damnit, it's a job. It's helping me pay rent, put food on the table (as scarce as it is), and still have a little bit of money left over for hanging out with friends or my girl. I am thankful for being employed in a world where that's not so much of a given anymore.
But whenever I go elsewhere, like to fast food places, even normal restaurants, movie theatres, grocery stores, retailers and just about anything in between that's a job that doesn't require some form of a degree, everyone's miserable. It's always about how much they hate their jobs or how everyone else but they are morons, how they are not making enough, or otherwise just being downright miserable.
I honestly haven't seen a single person working a minimum wage job right now that is actually HAPPY to be employed. While I know at least a few dozen friends who would love to be employed right now and would take their jobs in a heartbeat if they're so unhappy with their position in life.
I guess my question is, is this type of behavior justifiable? Should we really be cursing and grumbling and whining and moaning about being able to make an honest living right now? Especially when 10% of our fellow Americans are hanging on by a thread with absolutely no income whatsoever.
I dunno, I guess I'm just a simple man with simple needs, and minimum wage works passable enough for me that I can live happily through it until something better comes along.
I should've known that overachieving while making everyone else look bad was a terrible idea, but alas, I was the first (but not last) one cut due to "the economy." Hilariously, the place really did go to crap after I left. Precisely because, as the person I was talking to explained, no one knew how to do anything since I did it all for so long.
Anyway, the big problem is that these jobs really are that bad most of the time, because employers are stuck on silly theories detached from the reality of the work environment. A big example of this is in not wanting employees to have any kind of distractions while they're on the clock, even when there's honestly nothing to do (late shifts are brutality incarnate with these kinds of bosses—one customer an hour and there's literally nothing to do). But the ball's entirely in their court. They know that if the current guy doesn't like his job, there's a pool of a few dozen other guys ready and willing to have his job the very next day. Service jobs aren't really skilled positions, and while an experienced employee can do things a random five-hour-a-week college temp could never accomplish, it's not really appealing for the management to see an idle worker because of the psychological effect of "why am I paying this person to do nothing?"
It is, to use the smiley faces, a ☺☺☺☺ty situation to be in, but when your options are to keep a job you absolutely hate or face the current job market, you learn a special brand of cynicism.
I'm feeling this in the United Kingdom, where opinions and emotions are largely subdued as a cultural thing. In the U.S., it's even more insane because the pay gaps are so massive and money and power are even more important in obtaining the lifestyle you desire. I saw an advert in an airline magazine once that suggested one dentist was so much better than others in the country that you should fly to their surgery in NYC rather than go to one nearer you. Can you imagine the wealth of the people that advert is targeting, even factoring in health insurance? It can't be difficult for someone to read that article and get bitter because it causes clear divisions between the class they're in and the class they want to be in.
Being glad you have a job is much better for your stress levels than the kind of thinking mentioned above, but just be aware that unless you actively look for something better for you and your family, it won't fall on your lap. I'm sure you know that already though, because it sounds like you have a good head on your shoulders.
“I once had an entire race killed just to listen to the rattling of their dried bones as I waded through them.”
—Volrath
Frankly, I think minimum wage was not really envisioned to be for career people, older people, college grads. It's just that with the current economy (and with globalization apart from just the current economy), more qualified people are fighting over crappy, low paying jobs. It's a real shame and hopefully the economy will get better.
Here in Washington DC area, the job situation is far better.
If I were in the situation of minimum wage, I'd have a plan of action for saving, going to school, etc. To GTFO of this career path. That would include moving temporarily to anywhere in the country that has jobs. Anybody ever watch the movie "Take Out", about a recent illegal Chinese immigrant who needs to earn enough tips in one day to pay down the gangsters who smuggled him and avoid doubling his debt? Just follows him all day delivering food to new Yorkers on a crappy bike in the rain. it's on Netflix streaming and really puts the "crappy job" thing in perspective.
Gotta try to save no matter what, and gotta have a plan for the long term.minimum wage blows. Far better to get any job where you can hustle an get tips or make more by doing more volume than the next guy.
Easy for me to say, though, I guess. Maybe my parents weren't as wrong as some people in other treads have suggested, for keeping the leash so short during my high school years and pushing me on a health care career. They lived through war, and always reminded me (even recently even at dinner talked about the war and how they would set a guy's leg and be paid in a little food, not cash) that if you go into medicine at any level, peope will always need you and you'll always be fine.
If you need to support yourself on minimum wage, it can be soul crushing. If you are still living with your parents, it's not so bad. Minimum wage is only really awful when you have bills to pay.
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I can't afford to live on my own, though I'm getting closer, if I was on mininium wage there was no way I could do it, and I definitely can't do it with paying school out of pocket currently.
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You mentioned the old "Time to Lean - Time to Clean" dogma of the night shift, and if managers were being honest they would admit you would be spending most of your time doing that kind of stuff.
Most people, especially 16 year old kids aren't good enough to stop texting, playing computer games et to actually switch and help a customer at the drop of a hat.
I railed against local franchise Checkers who used to pay better than average and employ working adults in their drive throughs. Someone decided to cut costs and started hiring teenagers and the service went to the crapper along with the stock price.
Most mangers are bad at motivating. I know because I used to be a bad manager but I took some classes, read some books, and realized that people don't care about what you want unless you care about what they want. Unfortunately not everyone up the chain has read those books.
My solution for the "minimum wage delima" was pretty simple. I don't know if it would work, but it involved paying an extra $3 or so an hour to working head of household and being able to take a tax credit equal to that difference. I know there are programs like this, but they don't really help the worker get ahead, they just encourage employers to try to hire people on public assitance for minimum wage and pocket the difference.
So the employeer basically pays minimum wage for a worker who normally would be better off staying in the system, but via my method the employer has to pay $3-4 more (which they get back in tax credits) so that head of household can actually survive. Of course I'd like to see some optional training et availible for those people so they can eventually create $10/hr worth of production rather than milking the gov at a fast food job.
I completely agree. After getting my current career and got a much better appreciation for having a good job.
The worst part of minimum wage job is that you're disposable, plan and simple. Management see their employees like diapers ; Keep giving them crap and when they can't take it, get another one!
As for minimum wage. If there wasnt a minimum wage, companies would be paying pennys on the dollar for employment. The gap between the haves and have nots would be huge if it was not for minimum wage. The problem is people will sell themselves short and swallow their pride for very little in terms of money. I expect the employment situation to get worse before it gets any better. Since people are not use to living without, most will do whatever it takes to keep their level of living.
You scraped by saving money working odd jobs, busying, etc. Whatever to save enough to put together a little retail business which you take a loan for, take all the risk for, and work countless hours cleaning, doing every aspect front to back, dealing with razor thin margins, etc.
You need a little extra help just to help do part of the work, and you pay them for doing very little, and they sit around playing bejeweled on their phone when customers are in the store... Who might have a question or want to buy something, but on seeing the worker ignoring them, just get irritated and go somewhere else.
To the lazy employee it doesn't matter that the retailer just lost a few bucks, but evey penny comes out of the owners pocket. Every second you play games on your iPhone, he is paying money to you whether he makes money or not. Rent is due whether he sells something or not. So damn right he thinks "I'm not paying you to sit around and play games." I have a friend who owns and runs a comic shop and I could tell you soooo many stories about employee problems. Employees using their own store discounts to buy stuff for customers on the spot in trade for a little cash, stealing, not showing up, etc. He hires high school kids and tries to give them a chance no matter how stupid or incompetent, and gives them 3 strikes for anything but stealing or dishonesty.
Even hiring a person to man phones or sit at a gaurd desk for 24-7... Nothing more than that... At minimum wage, is going to require 4 shifts of labor, so 4 full time employees even at minimum wage comes to $7/hr x 7 days x 24 = what, around $60,000 a year without bennies, and you have to pay unemployment and insurance, etc. The small business owner I guarantee you is not lazy... That's how he got to be a small business owner.
This. If you have to feed yourself and pay for shelter and utilities, it can be tough. If you are trying to raise a kid too, it's even worse.
Why do you think this? Gains produced by minimum wage are quickly erroded by inflation. The only reason our food isn't much higher is because workers pick fields for way below minimum wage because farms are largely exempt. A local grocery store just agreed to pay 1c more per lb of tomatoes which nearly doubled the salary of the picker. Crazy?
Think about it. If you work at McJob for 7.25 and you buy food from McGrocier who pays workers $7.25 if you both get a raise to $8.00 then McGrocier has to increase his prices and your prices went up. You get no attributable benefit from your increased purchasing power.
Hidden inflation actually increases the divide between the haves and have nots. By raising your costs the ultra rich gain more control over the means of production. Just think about how much it costs to start a business. Adding more red tape and regulation makes it only viable for the big boys and cuts out competition. Why do you think insurance companies don't want doctors to dictate prices directly to paitents?
Do you know who really gets hurt when minimum wage goes up? That guy who has been working at McJob for 5 years and now makes $8.50. McJob doesn't automatically pass that $0.50 to him, so his purchasing power actually goes down.
Minimum Wage like most "help people" policies sound good, but thier effects are not fully felt or understood. Collective barganing for instance is usually used to raise the minimum wage for a group or industry, however since they don't control the prices at which goods are produced they don't control the margins. Owners desire profit so they raise prices up to what the market will bear. When the market gets weak those prices are nonelastic. When was the last time you saw the "new model" of car selling for less than the old one?
Production suffers. Then either people have to loose work, or the factory no longer becomes profitable. Next thing you know people are asking for a government bailout to save those jobs.
The grass is always greener on the other side....
Those people should walk in some different "shoes" for a few days and they will get to understanding that no matter what, it can always be worse...
BS is BS, any way you look at it!!!
That's why you outsource the ☺☺☺☺ jobs, and reinvest into training up your present work force to do the newer jobs. That's one reason why Germany has had it's industry maintained intact. You work with the creative destruction cycle, rather than waiting on it to ebb and flow.
The same goes for companies that don't retain capital in order to expand during a recession.
Ambition must be made to counteract ambition.
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Here is my principle: Taxes shall be levied according to ability to pay. That is the only American principle.
I dont know where you live but that $.50 was never passed on to the employee. The employee got maybe $.05 of the $.50 and they expected you to be happy about it. The companies that passed on the profits to the employees are far and few between.
I would never be able to live like I do if I was 100% on my own though.
My agreement with my parents is that I'm paying for half of my tuition, half of my insurance, half of my rent, and my full gas/food bill. So I'm paying a few grand a year to get myself through community college (and then transfer out to a full school to finish my degree) but there is virtually no way I could afford it without help.
I'm always grateful for having my job though. I work at an East Coast food chain (Friendly's for those who know it) and even though the work sucks it's still a job. It still gets me through college, let's me keep my car filled up, and gives me a little spare money for my friends and girlfriend. Would I like to have a little more? Of course I would, but that's a lot to ask for these days and I'm not about to take what I have for granted.
I just hope that college pays off for me. I had a chance to take a supervisor position at work, but because I'm a full time student I couldn't devote the time needed to take up the offer. There's no guarantee that I can find a better job once I'm out of school, and I would hate to have missed out on a good supervisor position because I might make even more out of college. Time will tell I guess.
minimum wage is set for the least skill required to work at a job.
People are meant to move beyond minimum wage pay during their lifetime. Most of those jobs there require higher education.
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I've got some friends who make less than minimum working on a farm (most, possibly all, US states allow farmers to pay hands less than minimum), but they enjoy it because their primary goal is to learn everything there is about owning and operating a farm. Between that and all the damaged vegetables they get for free, they have a blast.
However, if you want to raise a family, it can get real soul-crushing real fast when you can't make enough to supply your family.
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Problem is, in this economy we have highly educated people out of work fighting for those unskilled jobs. The fast food joint in town puts out an add for 2 positions open and they get 100's of people that show up. from high schoolers to college grads to 40 and 50 year olds put out of work due to comapny moves or down sizing. It use to be you worked your way up and out of the minimum wage bracket, now alot of unemployed are fighting for those jobs they should have moved on from long ago.
For example, I traveled across the world. I've been to over 40 countries in my 18 years, and just yesterday I signed a SEAL Contract with the US Navy. Being a SEAL means that I'll go through more in 3 years than more than 99% of the population will ever be able to dream of achieving.
People may have more money than me, they may have fancy toys and nice cars, private planes and lavish life styles. That's fine. I still think I've got a better life, because I'm more physically fit (and by extension oftentimes more attractive, which helps me feel better whenever some short ugly dude pulls up in a hummer. It sounds vain, but for some reason it's true. I don't really get it either.) I've got a group of friends straight out of Lost Boys: The Tribe, if you've seen the movie, you've seen me and my friends.
I've got the best girlfriend anyone could ever ask for, she's beautiful and such a sweetheart. My family is awesome, family parties are a bunch of old people getting drunk and laughing the entire night.
I've got a decent job right now, but pretty soon I'll be leaving for SEAL training. The pay isn't great, but what comes with the job is.
The higher class can have all the money and material things that they want. I've got my middle class life with all the best of the things money can't buy, so they can be jealous.