jsence2 wrote: ↑Wed May 12, 2021 11:20 am
Ok, let's discuss Louisville....
1) If you think $150 covers core utilities, try again. LG&E alone will eat that much per month, usually more.
It took me all over 1 google search to rebuke this non-sense. $144 for a 915 sq ft, which is 50% bigger than a 600 sq ft, 1 bedroom.
https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Louisville
2) Unlimited meals, what McDonald's you working at?! I have friends who have worked there... if you edit the menu item at all (no mustard, for example), it's no longer free. And it's one meal per shift. No add-ons.
Then find something on the menu that you don't have to fuck with. Free is free. As for 1 meal per shift, etc... as I said, IDK the current policy. 1 meal is 1 meal though.
3) $50 for internet....for the first year, maybe. And if your apartment doesn't have multiple options for providers (many don't), you're up to $85 a month after that first year with Spectrum.
Sounds like you've got a year to earn a .25 raise to cover your internet expense increase. Seems doable.
4.) That "left over" of $150 a month doesn't go far at all. Public transit? Yeah, not available in all places. Where it is, like here....you're on the bus 1-2 hours a day. At least. Oh, and "extras" include things like doctor appointments, clothing for work, random fees, etc. And forget having any savings if you have something happen like you hurt yourself or you have an emergency expense of some sort.
No one said it's easy. That's why you show up, work hard, and improve yourself in your spare time. God forbid you have to put in some effort to be successful.
Again, why demean someone for the job they work? Why look down on them and say "you don't deserve to be paid a livable wage"? It makes no sense to me. It's class warfare, and the people at the top are laughing their asses all the way to the bank as they rob the rest of us blind, hoard all the wealth in this country, and watch us fight amongst each other.
I didn't pick the job or wage rate to analyze. I just responded. $10 an hour at McDonald's, full time, is livable. Just because you don't get to live the good life on it, doesn't mean it's not.
Nobody, NO BO DY, needs to have a billion dollars, much less multiple billions. There is enough wealth in this country for everyone to be able to live without fear of losing their home, their job, their food, etc. There is enough wealth for those who work harder and take more risks to be compensated accordingly. You're demeaning someone saying they don't deserve more--do you think you don't deserve more than what you're making at your job now? We all do.
Here's the last thing I'm going to say on this....UPS and Amazon. Two companies with similar demands for their warehouse staff. It's manual labor. Both employers in this area. This gets to the point of "deserve". It's not about what people "deserve", it's about companies paying the least they can so the people at the top can get richer...
Amazon pays their employees shit. They don't give good benefits. Their workers are under insane stress, and if they mess up twice, they're out. Few breaks. Micromanaged beyond hell. No COVID protections during the past year. If they try to unionize, they're rooted out and fired.
UPS pays their employees $14 an hour, minimum, and give bonuses for working nights and weekends. They pay for college, not just community college but UofL, for four years if you work for them that time (pay it each semester directly to the school). Union benefits. Promotion opportunities. If you screw up, you have a documented path of what happens. Very stringent protections for their workers the past year.
It's not about worth. It's not about "deserve". It's about labor realizing their power and exercising it in the union negotiations. Both companies can afford to pay their workers what they're worth. One does, one doesn't. That doesn't mean the Amazon employees "get what they deserve", it means they take what they can get. And workers are finally realizing they hold the power, and they're demanding better.
Listen Don Quixote, all of the raging about billionaires is fine, but it has nothing to do people being lazy and waiting for a handout. In fact, your own example is a prime example of what's great about our system. If you don't like Amazon, then make sure you show up, put in the work, get the good review and head on over to UPS. Then when you get to UPS, bust your ass sorting/loading, get some more good reviews and move up to get your route and enjoy a pretty comfortable life and eventually retirement. You don't need a college education. You don't need trade school. All you have to do is show up on time, do your job, not fuck up and you'll be on your way.
