http://www.democraticunderground.com/1018630959I added paragraphs to this OP. It was giving me a headache trying to read it.
Mon Jun 23, 2014, 02:56 AM
blur256 (221 posts)
So I had a rant on Facebook, and my family told me I was embarrassing...
I don't post here often, and when I do, I realize it is a lot of self loathing, and I deeply apologize for that. But I have to talk to someone, anyone about this. I wrote a post on what the lack of having a useful minimum wage does to a person who is working at a job that does not pay enough. I get $10 an hour working at a liquor store. I apply for jobs all of the time with nothing back (when I do get interviews, I don't hired because of my credit, which is shitty because, well I don't get paid enough). I have a master's degree. And I cannot find a job right now. No, more accurately, I cannot find a career right now. I live on payday loans and I don't have a vehicle at the moment. I am in serious trouble for someone who worked a long time and now is in debt because of it to become what I have.
Don't get me wrong, I like my job. But I do not get paid enough for what I do. I am the best employee that store has, I mean people come to our store just to see me. I'm not tooting my own horn, they literally tell me that. I lift heavy boxes all day, I put on a smiling face all day, I do what is asked of me and more. And I still get paid $10 an hour. THAT is not a living wage. And I posted about how the income inequality is out of hand in this country, and what happens? My family tells me that is embarrassing.
My family. Some family. They don't get it because they all have good jobs. They will never understand what it is like to have to work 60, 70 hours a week to hopefully pay the electric bill, or the gas bill, or rent, because they have it made. My mother hasn't talked to me in months because I am such an embarrassment to her. My mother. The one person in my corner, my father, passed away almost five years now, and now I have no one except my partner, and she doesn't earn any more than I do. But at least she has my back. I can't believe that there is nothing else in the world for me, but at the moment I am stuck.
So I make my plea here. Make the minimum wage livable. Make it so that hard working people like me and everyone else in this country can survive. Not on payday loans. Not on paying bills late. Make it so that the people in this country can live a normal life. Make it so we don't feel guilty for taking a day off. Make it so we can provide for our families. Make it so we can hold our heads up high with dignity that we work hard, and get paid accordingly. Until then, this country will continue to be a third world country. And regardless, I will work 12 hours tomorrow, just to pay off a payday loan to pay off another payday loan. There has to be more than this.
Mon Jun 23, 2014, 04:05 AM
Half-Century Man (2,400 posts)
1. There should be more, I agree
Telling us is preaching to the choir.
Write letters to the editor of every paper you can.
Volunteer what little time you can.
Do what you must to force change.
It's a long rough road filled with potholes and debris, but it beats sitting at the shoulder waiting to die.
Just another bump in the road.
Mon Jun 23, 2014, 04:19 AM
Star Member eShirl (13,163 posts)
2. Keep ranting; eventually it might sink in.
Keep ranting; eventually they will all unfriend you.
Mon Jun 23, 2014, 04:31 AM
Star Member pinboy3niner (35,839 posts)
3. One suggestion for your rants and for posting here
Divide your text into short paragraphs with line spaces in between. It makes a huge difference in readability and those who won't read a "wall of text" will read something that's more reader-friendly.
You might try editing the OP that way and see what you think about the difference.
Paragraphs: Just another service CC offers.
Mon Jun 23, 2014, 07:36 AM
Star Member TBF (24,697 posts)
5. People in this country have been brainwashed and
several years of FAUX news has not helped.
We are in a similar position. We happen to be high income but only after many years of education. Most of our debt is student loan but we did have the credit cards that messed up our credit (used those while trying to get through grad school to improve our chances). We did get jobs afterwards but it is a big hole to dig out of with little room for error even when you are working. I can't imagine doing it on $10/hr.
This is why I continue to advocate. The people of the US deserve better. Hugs
Mon Jun 23, 2014, 07:41 AM
Chan790 (16,593 posts)
6. Wow blur, that sucks.
1.) We're going to continue to fight for a liveable wage.
2.) You have my permission to tell your family to piss off and unfriend you if they don't like what you post on Facebook.
3.) Stop taking payday loans. Call your creditors, see if you can work something out...but stop taking payday loans regardless. They just dig you a deeper hole and make future financial responsibility increasingly impossible. As a former licensed banker, I can't believe I'm saying this, but...you're better off being late or not paying things than you are using credit-cards and payday loans for everyday expenses and bills. All the loans are doing is burning what income you have coming in, making the hole deeper...at some point, it's better to stop digging, take the lumps and get out of the hole any way necessary. Stop with the payday loans...call debt-relief instead.
4.) What's the MA in? How tied are you to your area? (I'm assuming "not-very" if you don't like your family and your partner is in the same situation you are.)
1.The Chan790 primitive, who as far as I know, hasn't been employed since August 17, 2011. It wasn't too long ago he was complaining about long-term unemployment was crippling his chances of being able to go out on the weekends.
2. He doesn't need your permission; his family will more than likely unfriend him first. Who needs whom more? The liquor store clerk making $10 an hour, or his well-off family?
3. Good advice, but suicide would be faster.
4. Underwater basket weaving, with an emphasis on wimmins studies, and central american slavery.
Wed Jun 25, 2014, 10:25 PM
woo me with science (26,634 posts)
12. K&R
You have my great respect and gratitude for posting this.
Yes, we all deserve better. Way past time to throw out the sociopaths who orchestrate this, and create a system that values human beings.
Woo me with paragraphs.
