Coronavirus (political)

[Buffalo Bob]

Originally Posted by MTK

Nothing more dumb right now than people out protesting the stay at home orders, like seriously WTF





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There are a lot of people who live paycheck to paycheck without a safety net or credit to get them by. Many of them through no fault of their own. They want to and need to get back to work. In many ways making a living by entering the workforce without trade school skills or an education is a lot more difficult than days gone by. I could write a book, but I will just give one example. Back when I graduated from High School 40 years ago passing an aptitude test could get you accepted as an apprentice in a trade where starting pay was two times minimum wage or more. Today trainees in those same trades are paid minimum wage.

Minimum wage was $2.90 an hour in 1979 when I was accepted in as a machinist apprentice and paid $5.85 an hour. About the only skill I had for the job was being a whiz at math. With a 45 hour work week which was industry standard, one week's take home wages paid my rent and I had no roommates kicking in.

Fast forward to the present, the entry level jobs like I took 40 years ago now pay minimum wage, plus housing costs have increased over and above the rate of inflation. Today that trainee job I took at a 45 hour a week will return $345 weekly less taxes. If anyone can rent a whole apartment monthly for that week's pay, raise your hand.

While I am disgusted with young people who grow up slow and whose life revolves around video games and constant attention to their cell phones, I will admit some things are harder on them than in past generations.