No American should have to work two or three jobs in order to survive. Whatever happened to the 40-hour work week? Even salaried employees - with many companies - are required to work 10, 12 or more hours a day. I don't care if a person is making a 6-figure salary or better...nobody should be told that they have to work more than 8 hours a day, 5 days a week.
People are working too hard today. A 2012 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - the CDC - states that 41 million American workers - that's about 30 percent of the nation's civilian workforce - receive fewer than 6 hours of sleep a night. And the National Sleep Foundation recommends 7 to 9 hours of slumber everyday. The CDC says that for people who do not get that amount of shuteye...there's a "serious and potentially fatal risk" to themselves and to their co-workers.
The United States Census Bureau reports that the average American worker - with one job - commutes more than 50 minutes round-trip daily. And that 8 percent of American workers - with one employment position - commute an hour or longer to their job everyday.
Therefore...let us use the following schedule...based on the statistics noted above...for a 5-day...Monday through Friday work week.
Wake up in the morning - 7:00 A.M.
Bathroom (including regular bodily functions and proper bathing) followed by a recommended breakfast - 7:00 A.M. to 8:30 A.M.
Commute to work - 8:30 A.M. to 9:00 A.M. (for just the average American worker).
Work at first job - 9:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. (That's if you only work an 8-hour day plus a one-hour lunch break).
Commute to/eat at a fast-food restaurant for dinner and commute to second job - 6:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M. (if you can do all of that in just an hour).
Work at second job - 7:00 P.M. to 12:00 Midnight.
Commute home - 12:00 Midnight to 12:30 A.M. (and that's if you're average and it only takes half an hour).
Unwind...maybe have a snack...watch a little bit of television...perhaps take a shower...or - if you've got the strength - "hang out" with your significant other - 12:30 A.M. to 1:30 A.M.
Go to bed - to sleep - 1:30 A.M.
But just because you climb in to bed at 1:30 A.M., doesn't mean you're going to fall asleep as soon as your head hits the pillow. A study by Brown University says the average "well-rested person" will take 10 to 15 minutes to fall asleep. Of course some people take a lot longer...while others take less.
For argument sake...let's say that person - with the schedule above...with two jobs - is fast asleep by 1:45 A.M. He or she then has to awaken in 5 hours and 15 minutes...at 7:00 A.M...to start all over again. That is clearly not enough sleep. Understandably...the times in the schedule above are merely estimates. Therefore...some people with two jobs may get a little more sleep, while others may get even less. And for those individuals who have a third job on the weekend...well...I won't even begin to discuss his or her medical issues. But believe me...no American should have to work multiple jobs. And nobody should have to work 6 days a week...and especially not 7 days a week.
Given that schedule over a period of years...the lack of proper sleep...and the stress that is endured because of work, work and more work...the death rate in America is bound to increase.
The human body was not created to work...the amount of hours that many, many Americans are forced to...because of the need for money. "All work and no play" - you know the rest of the proverb - is not just an old saying to recommend that a person needs to have fun in his or her life and not just work...but "all work and no play" can affect a person's health. No person should be required to work where their health is being placed in jeopardy.
The rate of inflation has increased to the point that most people cannot afford to buy healthy food...so therefore...their meals are filled with high amounts of fat and carbohydrates...thus the obesity rate in America is overwhelmingly high.
There needs to be different levels of minimum wage. Major retail, restaurant, industrial, food, automotive and other companies that Fortune 500 ranks at the top...would need to pay the highest minimum wage of $22 an hour. Other businesses would be required to pay lower amounts - depending on their yearly revenue. But it's mindboggling...that companies with annual revenues that exceed 100 billion dollars...are paying their employees a minimum wage of only $7.25 an hour. The lowest of the minimum wage... needs to be $16 an hour, which is a dollar more than what fast food workers across the country are seeking...and the amount they noted in their 100-city protest on Thursday, December 5th, 2013. They also want the right to form a union. And they should have that right.
It is a misconception that only high school and college students...and adults who do not have a higher education degree...are flipping burgers, frying chicken and fries...delivering pizzas...and working in other areas of the fast food world. Believe it or not...numerous college graduates are working for minimum wage at fast food restaurants...and 26% of all fast food workers in the United States...are parents...who are raising children.
You don't have to be a rocket scientist...or a math genius...to figure out that the fast food employee...the person working at a retail discount store or grocery supermarket...or anybody else who is only bringing in a paltry sum of $7.25 an hour...is not earning enough money to live a human life in the United States. If that employee is lucky enough to get 40 hours a week - which many companies don't offer to hourly workers because only full timers - at most businesses - are eligible for benefits - the total gross income is only $290 a week or $15,080 a year. If you're a single parent...who needs to be home in the evening with his or her kids...so you can't take a second job - which nobody should have to do anyway - you cannot live...without federal and state assistance...on that little amount of money. And sometimes...even with Uncle Sam and state, county or city subsidies...you still can't live.
Also...it drives me nuts...when people use the "gross" amount...and not the "net"...when calculating how much money an individual earns. It's the NET - the "take-home" pay - that counts.
At between $16 and $22 an hour...that would give a person who works 40 hours a week...a gross weekly total of between $640 and $880...a gross yearly income of between $33,280 and $45,760 - which is still not a great deal of money in 2013...but is substantially better than the $7.25 an hour that he or she is currently paid.
According to the U.S. government...the official poverty line is $23,283 a year for a family of four with two adults and two children...but that amount varies from state to state...city to city. In San Francisco, California - for example - an income of $35,500 can be considered "poor."
Companies that are making record profits...shouldn't be complaining about giving more money to their employees...and that's not JUST minimum wage workers, but low to middle income...salaried earners too. There are people in all forms of business management today...who are not being paid more than 25, 30 or 40 thousand dollars a year...working 10, 12, 14 hours or more a day. They should be paid double or more. And even those individuals whose salaries are in the 40 to 60...to even 80 thousand dollar range...they too cannot survive in many areas of the United States today. Remember something...not everybody is married...not everybody lives in a two-income household.
Raising the minimum wage does not mean for businesses to increase their costs of merchandise, products, food, etc. Understand me clearly. No prices, no rents, no rates, no costs of any kind can be increased. If they are...it defeats the purpose of giving people higher wages. The whole idea here is that EVERYBODY in the United States of America...can earn at least enough money...so they can squeak by in life...and have some pleasures in their life - not to mention to be able to save for their children's college education...and their own retirement.
All children - no matter what their parents' incomes - should receive the same educational opportunities. Everybody in America deserves the same chances...and income should not have anything to do with it. Parents - for centuries - have told their kids..."Work hard and you can do whatever you want." Well...it just isn't true. But it should be.
At $16 an hour - $33,280 a year...a couple - with both earning minimum wage - would have a total household income of $66,560...which is NOT "rich," by any stretch of the imagination...and is still NOT "comfortable" in many areas of the country. But with $66,560...two adults...with two children...can enjoy life...at least a little bit. They can purchase a home - in certain parts of the United States...take a vacation every year - without breaking their bank...and be able to afford some of the luxuries that ALL Americans should rightfully be privileged.
The rich...and especially the super rich...don't need to be...so rich. The giant corporations that pay executives millions...and millions...and millions of dollars - and in many cases, hundreds of millions of dollars - would receive somewhat less...but would still be rich...or super rich. And companies paying employees at the low end of the minimum wage spectrum...$16...even small businesses would be able to still make a fine profit.
According to the Economic Policy Institute - from 1978 to 2011 - the compensation for chief executive officers in America has dramatically increased by 725 percent. That's totally outrageous...and incredibly unbelievable. But it's true. However...that being said...the pay for the average worker has only gone up by 5.7 percent...in that same 33-year period. The disparity is disgraceful.
And what about those CEOs who get fired? Many of them receive a "golden parachute" worth hundreds of millions of dollars. And yet his or her hourly employees...who continue to bust their butts everyday...make only $7.25 an hour. There's something definitely wrong with this picture.
Minimum wage today of $7.25...is $3.35 less than the minimum wage in 1968...when adjusted for inflation, it would have been $10.60. President Obama says he will support a Senate bill...that would increase minimum wage to $10.10. Of course...as I have discussed throughout this commentary...it should be even higher than that. 
And that's The Controversy for today.
I'm Gary B. Duglin.
"We'll talk again."
The Controversy is a publication of GBD Productions. Founder and Editor-In-Chief of The Controversy is Gary B. Duglin.
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The question for you is where is the money to pay $16-$22 an hour to come from? I have a friend that has a small so called fast food franchise with 3 stores each with approximately 25 employees, most at or just above minimum wage $7.25 to $8.00 per hour (managers get more but most not even close to $22 per hour). The average is 30 hours per week totaling about 2200 hours per week. If you raised the hourly rate to $16 (an $8 increase) it would cost him almost $19,000 extra per week (with payroll tax) , that is close to $1,000,000 per year. His 3 stores don’t net $1,000,000 a year after taxes and expenses ( he makes less than one third of that). To cover these cost he would have increase his prices by 50% or more depending on what his suppliers increased his cost. To stay in business he would need to fire 25-30% of his staff raise his prices and hope customers would pay the higher prices. If not go out of business and fire everyone. Would you be willing to pay $4 for a McDonald’s hamburger, $3 for a fry and $3 for a drink ($10 plus tax for a fast food lunch)? I don’t disagree with your thinking that there are people over paid, many corporate CEO, presidents, etc. How about athletes making $25,000,000 or more a year, actors that get $20,000,000 or more per movie, TV stars that make $1,000,000 a week , everyone one of these industries have many workers making minimum wage or less when you add up the hours they put in and not to mention unpaid interns. Going after “Big Box Stores “ is one thing corporate owned, but most fast food restaurants are small business franchises and don’t make millions of dollars in profit. Raising the minimum wage would maybe help the 25 employees in that store but put that meal out of reach 100’s more. Just remember a board of directors has a fiduciary responsibility to it’s stock holder to make as much money for them as possible, that is there legal responsibility. Your suggestions as is your belief if Obama Care would make this country one step closer to socialism and a further step away from being a Representative republic based on a capitalism. That is not the way the United States of America has ever been or ever should be.
ReplyDeleteTo your comments - which obviously I disagree with - all I can say is this. Fast food restaurants - to use the example you selected - charge the American consumer about two bucks (or more) for a soft drink beverage when all it costs the restaurant is pennies (if that). I'm sure the same applies to their food - in many cases. Have you been to a burger or chicken fast food restaurant lately? I suppose not. You WILL spend 7, 8 or 10 dollars (or more) on lunch. For a family of four...the amount is insane. Fast food restaurants (whether corporately owned or franchises) are charging too much as it is...and they...THE BOSSES...are raking in the BIG MONEY. Meanwhile...the employees are making BUPKIS!!! GBD
DeleteYou still did not answer the question, where should the money come from? As for your assumptions of cost you failed to include a few things, rent, electric, insurance, loan used to setup the business, fees to the franchisor, paper products and more. A Dunkin Donuts that does $25,000 per week (which is a lot of coffee and donuts) or $1,300,000 per year paying it’s employess an average of $8.00 per hour, makes the owner after all cost and average about $150,000 per year in profit. With an average of 20 employees in a store at 25 hours each is 500 man hours per week. If you increase each employee by $8 per hour is $208,000 per year, there was only $150,000 in profit, I guess the owner shouldn't make anything and in fact have to kick-in $58,000 extra every year. Right now donuts go for about $8.50 a dozen and a medium coffee goes for $1.69, with your plan a dozen donuts would go to about $14 and coffee to about $3. And most would go out of business and everyone gets fired.
DeleteI don't know what McDonalds you go to but around here you get a McDouble (double cheeseburger) for $1.19 small fries $1.19 and a coke for $1.39 for a total of $3.77 not $10 a person. That's how those mean bosses are making the BIG MONEY. Per McDonalds to open a franchise you need to put up about $500,000 (cash and loans) and plan to work 60-70 hours a week at first and make about $100,000 after paying for food, labor, rent or mortgage, franchise fees and all the rest. And those numbers are based on doing a $1,000,000 or more in sales. You really need to check your facts and your math because both are wrong.
DeleteYour math - and the costs that you quote - simply do not add up. As for paying employees - $7.25 an hour - or even 8 bucks (to use your figure)...that little amount of money just isn't enough to live on...and quite frankly...it's insulting. I will leave it at that. GBD
DeleteI've just gotta comment that this set of comments is so funny. Multiple people pointing out how you are not being accurate and not doing research about the actual cost to run a franchise (and I know it's multiple people because I am one of them but I'm not writing the other ones!). And you do just as I said, you respond that the other person's math just doesn't add up and you are right again. They even provided you with the cost breakdown for a meal at McDonald's and you still say it's wrong! Go to McDonald's wherever you are and take a picture of the menu and then post it on your next article... I want to see where you can't get the same items for about $4 like the other person mentioned. You obviously have never run a business... or if you have I'm sure it failed because you were paying out more than you were taking in (as shown by the cost breakdown by the other person).
DeleteI don't know what you're reading, but it wasn't me who wrote anything about the McDonald's prices. It was a reply from another reader. That's number one. Number two is simple. Regarding my commentary...apparently, you and the others who responded to my column in a negative fashion...just don't get it. And you never will. What a shame! I find it interesting that the only readers to write in and agree with my commentary and called it "insightful"...actually identified himself and herself. Irish17020 asked the question "How do they (the takers) sleep at night? Once again, I applaud Irish 17020 for their wonderfully written presentation. GBD
DeleteYour article was so insightful. When is enough enough for the rich and filthy rich? I am not condemning brilliant minds from earning a wage or profit commensurate to their level of intelligence (and in some cases LUCK or inheritance), but ....really: WHEN IS ENOUGH ENOUGH? Were I wealthy I would not likely be wealthy for long as no child would go hungry if i had money in my pocket to feed them. No child would go without a jacket to protect them from the winter cold. No child would ever go without breakfast. How do they sleep at night? The takers?
ReplyDeleteApplause, applause, applause to you Irish17020. Very few people who agree with my column reply to what I have written. Most comments oppose my thoughts. It would be great if more people such as yourselves would speak out. Your remarks were perfectly stated. Excellent, excellent, excellent. Thank you very much. GBD
Delete(Bear with me… this is going to take a couple of links to complete.)
ReplyDeleteThe case… has been made… here… (sorry, Gary, but I had to do that just for laughs) for a higher minimum wage in the US. And while the argument is passionate, there is a modicum of “de-bunking” that needs to be done before attacking the crux of the problem. To wit:
“...nobody should be told that they have to work more than 8 hours a day, 5 days a week.” In fact, unless one’s contract specifically states a longer working day or week, no one IS told to work longer hours. The concept of “casual overtime” wormed its way into the American lexicon as an accepted practice amongst exempt - read “salaried” - employees (non-exempt employees are legally required to be paid for overtime). It came about as a means of impressing the boss, of showing the management that you’re a team player, willing to go the extra mile, as it were. Casual overtime is a voluntary thing; it is brought on by the employee, not the employer.
“...no American should have to work multiple jobs.” According to The Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 5.2 percent of Americans work more than one job, down significantly from its 1990s peak at 6.2 percent. Women comprise the largest group at 5.6 percent, and whites surpass blacks, 5.4 percent to 4.8 percent. A second - or third - job is not the standard; it is the exception. Many of these two- or three-job holders are secondary-earner spouses or adult children living at home. And, again, a second or third job is voluntary; it is the individual’s choice.
“...or anybody else who is only bringing in a paltry sum of $7.25 an hour...is not earning enough money to live a human life in the United States.” Census Bureau statistics show that the average family income of someone working a minimum wage job is $47,000 per year (minimumwage.com). I’m no rocket scientist or math genius, but $47,000 is roughly double the official poverty line. It may not be enough to purchase a home, or buy a new car every three years, or take an out-of-state vacation every year, but it is certainly enough to exist on.
“...and be able to afford some of the luxuries that ALL Americans should rightfully be privileged.” Which brings us to a salient point: just what “luxuries” are granted to Americans? So far as I know, Americans are Constitutionally granted only the privileges of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” No where does it say that that Americans have an inherent right to a yacht, a vacation house, or even a primary domicile house. Don’t get me wrong: I believe that every American should pursue luxuries. It’s the way our capitalistic system works. But I don’t believe that we have a right to them.
(- continued -)
So, just how does the minimum wage affect our American standard of living? In truth, it doesn’t. It is simply a small part of a larger problem: our economy. Raising the minimum wage will not create more jobs, just as it will not reduce poverty. There simply is no empirical proof to substantiate either claim. Creating more jobs will improve our economy. Creating new industries to replace those that have taken their labor force to other countries will improve our economy. Putting more people to work remains the number one weapon in the war on poverty. And adopting a new attitude towards job creation is at the heart of the problem.
ReplyDeleteOur economic system - capitalism - love it or not, was designed like a race car: it needs fuel, it needs open road, and it needs constant monitoring. The fuel is provided by entrepreneurs and investors - lots and lots of them. The more money thrown into the capitalistic engine, the hotter and brighter it burns. Trouble is, new investment is down. The people with the money are holding on to the money. They’re not risking it on new ideas. They’re not even re-investing it to fuel internal growth. They’re folding their profits back into their earnings, which raise their stock prices (not to mention their salaries, but that‘s a separate discussion). The entrepreneurs and investors are fueling the Stock Exchange, not the brick and mortar of new ventures. And this, in effect, shuts down the road they’re driving on. Look at the average American car company and ask, when is a car “new” as opposed to “improved”? The vast majority of models produced by American car companies are simply re-fashioned, re-tooled regurgitations of previously produced models. They stand as metaphors for the larger American production system: nothing new, just re-hashed. Our capitalistic system has hit a plateau. What used to be a finely-tuned machine that was constantly being reinvented has become a lethargic, stagnant leviathan. And the monitoring required to keep capitalism churning ahead has been replaced by tinkering around the edges in the form of pork-barrel legislation and private-interest driven tax debates.
So, to bring it all back home, here’s the crux of the problem: the national discussion about minimum wage reform has been reduced to how it will benefit the wealthiest one percent and the corporate entities. The average worker earning minimum wage is no longer at the heart of the discussion, where he/she resides. It’s no longer about earning enough to stay afloat, much less out of poverty. The discussion is about earning the highest profit to make the corporation attractive to investors. Somehow, somewhere the people doing the work have been removed from the discussion.
Should the US raise it’s minimum wage standard? Yes, I believe it should, if for no other reason than to put more money in the hands of the people who fuel the system. Corporate America will survive at a higher minimum wage. Companies won’t shut down, workers won’t be disemployed, and the fabric of our capitalistic system will not be torn asunder. However, in tandem with reforming minimum wage, America needs to reform its tax codes, its corporate legislation and its entrepreneurial spirit. Capitalism needs an overhaul. It’s up to us to fix it.
(The author held a salaried management position at a Fortune-100 company for over twenty years before being downsized in 2009. He has been unemployed since that time and has deep concerns about the unemployment situation in America. A minimum wage job right now would be a blessing. Tangentially and coincidentally, he is a childhood friend of Mr. Duglin’s and holds him in the highest esteem. Rock on, Gary… we love ya’!)
First off, I've read a few of your articles and it is quite obvious that you do little to no research on your subjects and simply write opinion pieces. That's fine, but then when people present facts that dispute your opinions you simply reply that you are right and they are wrong without citing any actual evidence.
ReplyDeleteIn this particular case the first comment was spot on and explained how somebody who owns a fast food franchise cannot afford to pay employees $22 an hour. They even gave you a basic outline of why it doesn't add up. Did you reply and say that was interesting and you hadn't researched it to that level? No. You just replied and essentially told them that they are lying and don't know what they are talking about because anybody who runs a fast food restaurant is making tons of money and just doesn't pay their employees enough. You think that $2 for a drink somehow makes up for the razor thin margins on the actual food, not to mention the advertising, electricity, franchise fees, lease costs, etc. etc.
The other person had it right about prices. The problem is not employee wages. The problem is American consumers. You say that prices can't be raised, which means wages won't be raised either. If I told you the list of restaurants that pay their employees the best, but they all also were the most expensive restaurants in town would you go there just to help out the workers? Of course not. You'd do what all Americans do and go to the cheapest place you can find, even using coupons or anything else you could find to make it even cheaper.
Restaurants are hard businesses. I've owned two and got out of it because there really isn't much money to be made unless you just luck out and become wildly successful and are able to franchise out to other people.
Today I own a small business that employs about 20 people. We pay a relatively high wage for our area of $12 an hour starting to our manufacturing workers who assemble our products. We have several people in our office staff that are paid about $45,000 a year to do various things such as accounting, management, sales, etc. Now, let's say I have to pay the manufacturing workers $22 an hour. Basically bringing them up to $45,000 a year, the same as my office workers. What do I tell the office workers? These are people with college degrees who are doing a much more skilled job than the manufacturing workers. Do I just tell them tough, everybody makes the same now? That won't fly. I will have to pay them even more. This would be the case at any company. Wages would have to be raised across the board. Just raising to $22 would put me out of business to begin with, but even if it didn't then having to raise all my office employees pay would definitely. What is your solution to this issue? Everybody just makes $22 an hour regardless of education or experience?
You are right about MAJOR corporations being top heavy, but for the vast majority of businesses in the United States $22 an hour is impossible. The way to fight the corporations that you hate is to simply not give them your money, but again you won't do that because Americans are all about saving a buck. I'm willing to bet that despite all your commentary you still frequent these fast food restaurants for cheap food, you still shop at Wal-Mart for their cheap prices, you still look for the absolute cheapest prices on airfare when you have to travel... the list goes on and on. Price is king and quality and ethics are a far second and third in most consumers minds.
If you are going to respond please address each of my points and don't just give your usual blanket response saying you are right and I don't understand what I'm talking about, because I assure you I do.
First of all...in none of my responses to replies regarding this commentary did I say someone was "lying" - as you have wrongly indicated. Second of all...if you read my entire piece, you would have noticed that I did not state that minimum wage should be $22 an hour across the board. I was very specific WITH MY RESEARCH and WITH MY FIGURES. A miniumum wage of $16 is the bottom figure that I used...which is only one-dollar more than the amount that fast-food workers across the United States are wanting - and which is a wage that they well-deserve. Food costs are too high, as they are - and if restaurants are paying what you infer they are - then those prices need to be cut from the top down...from those giants who are selling the food to begin with...to those restaurants. Please remember something else. Restaurants - as it is with other businesses - charge more money for their products because of their name, their location, their reputation and so forth. For this example, let's not use a fast-food restaurant, but a locally-owned restaurant that uses prime sirloin beef to make their half-pound hamburger. Lunch - including a side item and a soft-drink beverage - just for this example - costs less than 9 dollars. I'm not making up a price or snatching it from the air - it's an actual cost of an excellent restaurant that I have frequented. I have also eaten that same meal at what may be considered an "upscale" restaurant - with the same exact hamburger, the same exact side item and the same exact soft-drink beverage - and I have paid just under 18 dollars. And then...at the top of the line restaurant - with the super name, the super reputation and a location that is also considered to be "super" - I have personally paid more than $32 for that same half-pound hamburger, side item and soft drink. No way can a prime sirloin beef hamburger legitimately range from 9 bucks to 32. And I would bet there are other high class restaurants with those "super" tags that charge even more than that. All prices must come down because people have inflated them to a degree, which is beyond insane. Sure, I'll go to the "cheaper" fast-food restaurant to get a quick lunch. But I also will go to the others I noted - the more expensive restaurants - and not necessarily because it's a better meal - because in many or most cases - it simply is not. There are other reasons for patronizing those places - and not - as you say - "to help out the workers." Thirdly - note all the stores who - from Thanksgiving to Christmas - that slice their prices for electronics, clothing and whatever else. In many cases prices are cut 20, 30, 40, 50 percent or more at this time of year. There's a nationally known, first class men's store with name brand designer clothing that currently advertises that if you buy one suit...you get 2 suits for the same or lower price...FOR FREE. Also, they advertise that you can buy one of their high-priced sweaters...and get two of the same...FOR FREE. Obviously, those clothes are over-priced to begin with...and thefore, nobody should ever pay FULL price for anything. Fourth...as to you telling your office employees who earn $45,000 a year that the hourly workers are now going to make the same...again you obviously didn't read my entire commentary. Note the $33,280 figure I mentioned. I do give you some credit for at least paying $12 an hour to your assemblyline workers. But there are many other businesses who only pay $7.25 for that same kind of work. Why should an office worker make $45,000, but the assemblyline employee only earns a gross total of a tad amount more than $15,000? The fact remains that a minimum wage worker who busts his or her butt for 40 hours a week is only taking home much less than that. Nobody in America should be forced to live that way. In my column, I specifically outlined how companies should pay. (Continued)
DeleteFurthermore, you state that "The way to fight the corporations that you hate is to simply not give them your money." I don't "hate" anybody. That being said...those giants are charging too much so that the "big-wigs" make more and those on the front lines - who help to make those giants so rich - make less. And finally...I don't give a "usual blanket response" saying that I'm right and you're not. But as you state that you "assure" me that you do know what you're talking about...if things changed the way I suggest they do...I can "assure" you... that I would be right. GBD
DeleteI truly appreciate your well-written essay and thank you for the kind words you directed personally towards me. I respect your comments and will touch on just a couple of them. First - regarding my words - "nobody should be told that they have to work more than 8 hours a day, 5 days a week," the operative word there is "told." And to your response that "no one IS told to work longer hours" - I have to disagree with you. I happen to know numerous people - who work for companies - where they ARE TOLD that they must work more than a 40-hour work week. In fact, they are actually scheduled to work 10 hours a day, 5 days a week - a 50-hour work week - and in reality - they work sometimes 60 hours or more. They are salaried - and are not paid great salaries by any means. But they are being TOLD that they HAVE to work those hours - or lose their jobs. Now the question is - do they file legal action against their companies - and spend more money on lawyers' fees - or do you they just keep their mouths shut and continue to work? Some of these people are in their 20s and 30s, while others are much older - in their 40s, 50s and nearing 60. Can they - in this economy - find new jobs? Perhaps not. And if they're in the older bracket - probably not. A person who is salaried and WANTS to work extra hours to further their career or a person who owns his own company and wants to devote more time in to building their business - I say - more power to him or her. It's the person who works for "the other guy" and is being taken advantage of - and where the employers are using employees so that "the other guy" - the "boss" is earning the big bucks while the workers are making a paltry sum - that's what boils my blood. Second - regarding your reply to my comment that “...or anybody else who is only bringing in a paltry sum of $7.25 an hour...is not earning enough money to live a human life in the United States," the math that you speak of simply doesn't add up. If - as you say, "Census Bureau statistics show that the average family income of someone working a minimum wage job is $47,000 per year (minimumwage.com)," that is impossible. As I noted in my column - 40 hours x $7.25 equals $290 a week. That's an annual amount of only $15,080. I'm puzzled where "minimumwage.com" gets $47,000. (Continued)
ReplyDeleteAnd third - I do feel that ALL Americans deserve the "luxuries" that I noted in my original commentary - not a yacht or a vacation home necessarily. However, at a minimum wage of $7.25 an hour - I don't believe that an American can truly enjoy the Constitutional privileges you noted of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Can someone who is hungry and who cannot afford ANY luxuries in life...truly be happy? And finally - I wish you all the best in seeking a new position with a wage that is not only acceptable to you, but is an amount for what you are certainly worth - and that is much more than $7.25 an hour. The recession ended a dream I had as I lost the nationally syndicated radio program I hosted and executive produced for 7 years, so I feel your pain and hope that you and all Americans who are unemployed - or those who are employed, but not earning what they are worth - or what they deserve to make based on their experience and background - find the jobs they want - as they, as you and as I still have a great deal to offer for many, many years to come. It's a shame that middle-aged or older Americans are being discriminated against because today experience and maturity is not as important as "youth." The words, "fresh, contemporary ideas" by people with "an abundance of energy" are often included in job descriptions. It is so obvious that what they are saying is - "If you're old or oldER - go away. We want 'em young!" Too bad. I remember a time when I was young when all I heard was "Pay your dues." Today, "paying dues" is a thing of the past. As for you personally...since you note that you are a"childhood friend" of mine...I genuinely hope that the "blessing" you seek is provided you in the coming new year of 2014...and that whatever it is that brings happiness and the best of health to you and your family is realized. Thanks again for your comment. GBD
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