The General American Employee Rant

[BwareDWare94 723]

I feel it is important, along with low wages, that we discuss why American employees face these issues.

 

Much as has been made, as it should, of incredibly low wages in the US. How often do we hear about a friend or family member who went to school for four years, got a coveted degree, and entered the professional workforce at only a handful of dollars above poverty line wages? The focus is currently on low-income workers, but what many don't realize is that most every-day Americans simply aren't paid enough. This is not a generalization--it's observable. Student loan debt is crippling professionals across the country, a seemingly insurmountable mountain of inflated tuition costs and textbooks that are now mostly obsolete. The burger flipper and the suit and tie wearer are are both underpaid.

 

This reality has resulted in disinterested employees who put forth a half-assed effort and do only enough to stay out of the cross hairs--call this a generalization if you want to, but watch your co-workers next week. Look in the mirror a little bit. Most of us have fallen into it.

 

Employers didn't want to pay employees, and now the general American employee has devolved into someone who struggles to break a sweat during the day, even in factories. With the cost of living, it's even hard to get by as a single individual if you don't even take home at least 2 grand in a month (which you likely wouldn't at $15 an hour--I suppose it might depend on the state). For instance, I make $13-16 an hour at my three main jobs, $8 when I bartend, $9 when I write articles for my local newspaper (I do the last two very rarely, and haven't written an article in over a year--it's just not worth it for me when I can make damn near twice that at my primary occupations). I do love every job that I do--4 of them are active, and the 5th puts me in touch with my creative side, but your damn right I'd work only one primarily if it would allow me to easily pay my bills with some left over. I am not every general American employee, but there are others like me all over this country, and it's not because we like being busy. It's because rent is ridiculous (and I get by with what seems to be cheap in my small town, but I'd still likely pay less every month with a mortgage as opposed to renting, but who wants to take out ANOTHER loan just so 20% can be laid down?), student loan debt is monumental, and let's face it--how of many of us could do nothing and be happy? People go out to eat. They go to play pool and have a few over-priced beers. They don't do it constantly but even people who live minimally need to be social. Nobody should have to hole up in their house or apartment just because society deems they don't make enough to enjoy life.

 

The average American, even unskilled Americans, shouldn't have to work 3-5 jobs in order to get by while living minimally. That is the reality of our over-taxed and underpaid blue collar America. In other words, there's a reason people choose assistance programs over working more than they should have to. The pure exhaustion that results from this is also partly to blame for low quality work seen throughout the country. Lunch pail Tom and Gossiping Susie are headed somewhere else to work after their day job, and that's why they drag ass every day. It's why they've become disinterested and check their phones constantly. It's why they sit on their ass as often as possible. We are overworked and underpaid. Period.

Edited June 10, 2016 by BwareDWare94

[OSUViking 505]

I didn't really get a chance to read the OP, Bware, but my input from reading the title is this: corporations are shitty and they should not have the same rights as people. They need to be held accountable, and we shouldn't be slaves to them just because they threaten to go somewhere else for more profit.