Low Wage Work

Yesterday, while at work as I was ringing up a guest and he asked me how I liked working at Target.

Me: I like it, the pay is decent and mostly everyone I encounter here is nice. I would never want to work in retail my entire life though.

Man: Do you plan on going to school to get a better job?

Me: I am in school.

Man: Oh.

I wasn't offended or anything, but it got me thinking, the whole "go to school and get a better paying job" mentality is pretty offensive. Many of my coworkers have bachelor degrees and have had a difficult time finding work in their field of study. And to make matters worse the requirements for jobs is becoming more difficult. Things have changed in the work world. It's frustrating for many people to not only to find a job but to keep it as well. 

That whole classist attitude is disgusting, to be honest. It sounds ridiculous when anyone says, "go back to school and get a better paying job." While working in retail or fast food may be deemed "kids work" to many Americans, there are people who are working these jobs that have families to support while prices for everything are rising daily.

I think that a blanket minimum wage is stupid. The federal government should set a minimum wage (to keep a standard) and the states should (be forced to) set one based on the cost of living in that state. One that's rooted in actual economics and not a number that businesses lobby for. You might even be able to put it even more locally than that.

I also feel that it should be a livable wage which is different in, say, South Carolina and New York.

I was having a discussion with some people in my Econ class last semester about setting a minimum wage for minors and a separate, higher one for adults. It could work since employers have to pay more to employ kids and they can't work as often but I'd still worry about the companies that would exploit them and then kick them out at 18.

This is definitely a complex discussion that calls for PROGRESSIVE thinking/ideas. I don't think we're talking about it enough, to be honest.

Great Scene.

Merry Christmas!

 I love that the person I hear on the album is absolutely standing there answering questions. It’s not some “musical escape” or “fantasy”. This is her truth. The best part is her saying that if she couldn’t challenge the basic formulaic way the industry is ran then why even record music anymore? Realizing that she has to now make her art for her first and not worry about radio, reactions, or critics is the best lesson she could have learned  and she will be better off for it. She is the best example in mainstream music of what it means to tear down walls & perceptions of what people place on your brand. They always say when you start your own business, expect to not see any major returns within the first year. That’s how I look at the release of her last album, firing her manager/father, and the creation of her production company Parkwood. There was so much going on at once, but it was the transition & turning point in her career. Self managed, answering to no one, opening a company, and releasing an album full of soul music & midtempos during a market of electro dance pop. There were a lot of mistakes and people working but she didn’t let it break her. She continued to move forward and build on her foundation which represented reliability & talent. That foundation and trustworthy brand blessed her with the Super Bowl halftime show, the Inauguration, and a world tour without any new music out. She was setting new rules all year. The pay off for all her hard work happened December 12. And as a fan I am so inspired.

So much respect and adoration for Beyoncé.

The Bus...

I find it irritating when people get on the bus and don’t have their money ready. You should have had your clipper card or cash, coins, iTunes gift card, etc ready to pay the fare. There’s no reason why you get on the bus and search through your carryon luggage some people call a purse. YOU KNEW 10 minutes ago you were getting on the bus. You should have taken care of that beforehand. Now, I can understand if you were running to make it, that’s justified. But when you’ve been standing at the bus stop for at least a minute watching the bus approach, there’s no justification. There’s nothing that irritates me more than when a bus stops at the corner, and the second the bus begins to pull off, the light changes and we have to stop, especially when I am in a hurry to get somewhere.

On Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays my first class is conveniently at 8:10 in the morning. So, today I really didn’t feel like getting out of my bed and to going to the class, so I planned to show up late so I wouldn’t have to sit through all 50 minutes of the class. I left my home around 7:40 and got to class around 8:30. Upon my arrival to class I noticed the professor never showed up, and everyone was signing the role and leaving.

I was talking about the Trayvon Martin case  to someone yesterday and she really pissed me off. She had this mentality of "it can happen to anyone, horrible things can happen to everyone" and then she makes other comparisons that happened. After I told the story about George Zimmermen threatening to shoot his current girlfriend she told me about a guy who jumped out a plane while someone was with him. Like...ok.