02/25/2016 – An Interesting “Conversation” About Low-Paying Jobs

I caught a post on FB today while I was eating my breakfast.  It was about a chain of responses to one woman’s post about the difficulty living on minimum wage.  Now, while I agree with workers who want to have a roof over their heads, food in their bellies, and shoes on their feet I do believe that expectations have to be adjusted for some situations.

Here is the beginning, from someone called Talia Jane:

An Open Letter to My CEO

Craig Sullivan’s empathetic response, I believe, was the best and most unbiased comment in the polarized world of “minimum wage should be raised” vs. “You’re an entitled brat, get a roommate, get a second job”:

Craig Sullivan’s comment on Talia’s post

The response from Stephanie Williams that went viral first:

An Open Letter to Millennials Like Talia

My favorite comment on Stephanie’s response was from Ken Getchell.  He stated, “As a small business owner, I often have conversations with other business owners from all types of industries. And they are ALWAYS in 100% agreement when I say, “There are a lot of people who want a job, but it’s real hard to find somebody who wants to work.””  I have to agree that as a business owner, there seems to be a lack of work ethic (even Talia stated some of her co-workers had none), but there is also a lack of recognition of going beyond the minimum work for minimum pay in larger corporations, and particularly call centers. The rest of his comment is here:

Ken Getchell’s comment on Stephanie’s post

And the last part of the conversation, Sara Lynn Michner’s response, of which my favorite part is, “companies are notorious for having figured out that offering their lowest level employees bells and whistles is a wonderfully cost effective smokescreen for what they actually pay human beings.”  See the last bit here:

36 year-old DESTROYS 29-year-old millennial who “ripped” 25-year-old Yelp employee who got fired after complaining about her salary

The best comment on this last piece, and the whole truth of the matter is this.  S. Adriane Kaylor’s comment.  “Jobs that don’t pay a living wage in the cities they are in shouldn’t exist FOR ANYONE.”  Her entire response is here:

S. Adriane Kaylor’s comment

Something to think about, isn’t it all?