There was a time............
There was once a time when a man (yes, as in "has a penis") could have ONE job. Work 40 hours a week, and make enough to support himself, his wife (who was unemployed cause she didn't need to work, not because she was incappable) and his 2.5 kids. All while paying for his house in suburbia and his car. He did this without a college education. He did it with grit. This is what was formerly known as "The American Dream."
Now. Lets flash ahead 50-60 years. Most people have minimum 2 income families. The jobs you can get without a college education are shit, and the ones you can get with a college education are the same ones unless you happen to know the right people or get lucky. I can't name a single job that I've had since 2000 that has allotted me much more than rent that is split 2-3 ways with roommates, some shitty food (fast food or cheap shit from the grocer), cigarettes, and a bottle of whiskey every couple weeks.
Most people I know are in this same boat. They either work 2 jobs and have no life whatsoever or they work one job and split the cost with their signifigant other or friends. So the question I pose is "What the fuck heppened?"
Seriously, I know the theory that's been around since the dawn of time that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, but this is fastly becoming such an economic fuck up that the poor have been reduced to what is nearly bums or slaves, depending on how much they work. I currently work a lot. I have a job waiting tables that pays me anywhere from 10-100 dollars a shift, the lower numbers being the predominat ones and I work in a place that's moderate scale. I'm not slinging fifty cent coffee at a truck stop, I'm serving dishes that per person total to about $15-20 dollars. My wage puts me above the federally inflicted $5.15/hr rate, but not much.
Which leads me to ask, since we all know inflation occurs, and especially felt the bite when gas prices were in the three dollar range.... Why in the fuck has minimum wage not been adjusted? Simple. Big business and government have been in bed with each other for years. If the government raises the minimum wage regularly, then big business loses a lot of money, and won't be "donating" as much revenue to their campaigns. Benefits? Health care? Both big business and the government hate healthy people. The cold stone truth about this lies in the fact that right behind YOU is a line of people that can do your job, probably for less if you've been there for a while, so who the fuck cares if you get hurt and can't come to work? Not the company. Not the government. These revelations have been stirring in my head much as of late. And to say I'm VERY pissed off is an understatement.
If a person goes into work and cannot afford to make enough to support themself, then WHY FUCKING GO?! Our sports players are having strikes, but that's all bullshit. Real unions for real people have been all but destroyed, leaving us out in the cold. You're not a "team member." You're not a "sandwich artist." You're not a "Customer Service Representitive." You're a piece of flesh that can die at any time and no one will give a shit cause tomorrow they'll bring in your replacement. Your position in life is filled, and those raises we gave you over the last couple years? Yeah, those are gone. The new guy works for minimum wage.
There was once a time when a man (yes, as in "has a penis") could have ONE job. Work 40 hours a week, and make enough to support himself, his wife (who was unemployed cause she didn't need to work, not because she was incappable) and his 2.5 kids. All while paying for his house in suburbia and his car. He did this without a college education. He did it with grit. This is what was formerly known as "The American Dream."
Now. Lets flash ahead 50-60 years. Most people have minimum 2 income families. The jobs you can get without a college education are shit, and the ones you can get with a college education are the same ones unless you happen to know the right people or get lucky. I can't name a single job that I've had since 2000 that has allotted me much more than rent that is split 2-3 ways with roommates, some shitty food (fast food or cheap shit from the grocer), cigarettes, and a bottle of whiskey every couple weeks.
Most people I know are in this same boat. They either work 2 jobs and have no life whatsoever or they work one job and split the cost with their signifigant other or friends. So the question I pose is "What the fuck heppened?"
Seriously, I know the theory that's been around since the dawn of time that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, but this is fastly becoming such an economic fuck up that the poor have been reduced to what is nearly bums or slaves, depending on how much they work. I currently work a lot. I have a job waiting tables that pays me anywhere from 10-100 dollars a shift, the lower numbers being the predominat ones and I work in a place that's moderate scale. I'm not slinging fifty cent coffee at a truck stop, I'm serving dishes that per person total to about $15-20 dollars. My wage puts me above the federally inflicted $5.15/hr rate, but not much.
Which leads me to ask, since we all know inflation occurs, and especially felt the bite when gas prices were in the three dollar range.... Why in the fuck has minimum wage not been adjusted? Simple. Big business and government have been in bed with each other for years. If the government raises the minimum wage regularly, then big business loses a lot of money, and won't be "donating" as much revenue to their campaigns. Benefits? Health care? Both big business and the government hate healthy people. The cold stone truth about this lies in the fact that right behind YOU is a line of people that can do your job, probably for less if you've been there for a while, so who the fuck cares if you get hurt and can't come to work? Not the company. Not the government. These revelations have been stirring in my head much as of late. And to say I'm VERY pissed off is an understatement.
If a person goes into work and cannot afford to make enough to support themself, then WHY FUCKING GO?! Our sports players are having strikes, but that's all bullshit. Real unions for real people have been all but destroyed, leaving us out in the cold. You're not a "team member." You're not a "sandwich artist." You're not a "Customer Service Representitive." You're a piece of flesh that can die at any time and no one will give a shit cause tomorrow they'll bring in your replacement. Your position in life is filled, and those raises we gave you over the last couple years? Yeah, those are gone. The new guy works for minimum wage.
The sad part is, if I leave and go somewhere else I'll make less. It's pitiful. I need to finish my novel and get filthy rich off my fans.