Quote:
Originally Posted by Sunny Day
The county just south of mine is so wealthy that 15 years ago, the starting salary at McD's was $9 an hour + medical, dental & 401K. For kids in high school who could work 20 hours a week.
That same time, my son went to work at a movie theatre for $5.25 an hour. I asked him why. He said no way he'd work fast food. Don't think he's lazy. The VP of the company, an original of the founding brothers came out the the theatre to see my son. Said it was the only the second time he had done this. Said he would be instantly be promoted to asst. manager, but he was only 17. Company policy, said you must be 18. But they loved his work ethic. He unofficially supervised the managers.
But he was living at home.
I had a friend that moved to rural Indiana and need to supplement his Social security. 1, that's right 1 job, in 50 miles, opened up at a Burger King. $5.25 an hour. 300+ people lined up for this job. All adults. there were no other jobs to be had. There was a pharma company paying good wages. And a 20 year waiting list to get hired.
Minimum wage jobs are only for kids is a myth. Many of my friends are 50+ and if they lose their good job, they know no one will hire them, no matter how good they are. A good portion of that is under current health care, they could raise a company's overall medical insurance costs.
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One of the main problems the US economy is having is what type of jobs are being created. 60% of the jobs created these days pay $12 an hour or less where before the recession 60% of the jobs created paid between $13-$25 an hour. The middle class jobs simply are not being created which is one of the reasons the unemployment rate is dropping, but a ton of people are still on food stamps and other assistance.
Add into it the fact that the baby boomer lost a lot during the recession so many of them no longer retiring and it makes it a lot more difficult to move up the income ladder than before.
I went to the McDonald's in my town about a 2 weeks ago for lunch. I would say at least half the people working there were adults. Not elderly people, but people that looked to be in their 30's and 40's.