Yesterday, my nephew was on his digital device scrolling through reddit. He found something to share with his mom. Someone's post about how if the minimum wage in one of the southern states (I think Mississippi) would go up to $12/hour, then her above average wage of $12 an hour would not be special anymore. She posed the question that if minimum wage was going up $5, then her $12 and hour should also go up $5. Of course, that's not the way it works. I remarked about how the minimum wage going up won't affect her at all. If her job pays enough now, it still will after the minimum wage goes up. My nephew saw fit to explain to me the poster's point of view, which I already understood. I just rejected it as social media whining about perceived injustices. The fact that he clarified this point for me told me he wasn't up for a discussion about income inequality in America.
openphoto.net
Yes, Goat. There's such a thing as income inequality.
I've been gnawing on this idea for a while now, mostly because of our recent financial woes. I think to myself that it is mind-boggling that someone who makes what I make can't save for the future without restricting our groceries (but I like eating more than soup or ground beef every night) or only driving the 25 year old truck that used to be mine, but now is my husband's. My Zippy Subaru shouldn't be in our driveway. We shouldn't try and improve our home. We shouldn't do anything fun like go out of state for a trip. Even camping should be considered a luxury. I think about how we really don't spend on extravagances, yet here we are eeking by at the end of another month. We have a home and we have reliable vehicles (at least Zippy that is) and we have food. Compared to others, we have it pretty damn good actually. And I think that's part of the problem.
@suitsusanetwork
Ugh. But it so totally is.
I saw a posting from one of my friends about how if you're not poor, it's called self-care; but if you are poor, it's called laziness. I think that's very true. Last week when I felt lousy after my Benlysta, I could call in sick the next day. When I had a migraine the day after that, I could again call out sick and take care of myself. I didn't have to worry about losing that day's wages. I didn't have to worry about my boss firing me because I had to miss a shift. I can go get therapeutic massages as part of my treatment plan. I can somehow get all of our meds paid for each month. I can close myself in with my husband for a good old pantsdrunk weekend night if we need to decompress. No one looks at us sideways for these.
@ifc
That's pantsdrunk in a nutshell.
Things would look a lot different if I was working the same job as my husband though. Even though his job pays slightly above minimum, it's also "casual part-time", which means no insurance and no guarantee of hours. For example, he was reassigned to another client without much warning. It took a few days for the management folk to get him paired with another client and working again. We both brace ourselves with the knowledge that once again, his paycheck will be too small to cover all his household cost responsibilities. Fortunately, my check will cover it. It won't make the holidays any easier, but we'll manage ok.
80sCommercialVault
A metaphor for my paycheck.
However, those three days lost wages would be devastating if I was at minimum or just above it like so many others are. Someone with our myriad of health problems would sink. They'd work themselves into an early grave I have no doubt. We're going to skate by again and get back on stable(ish) ground eventually. Others would live in the constant fear and insecurity all while enduring the condemnation of those who've either forgotten or who have never known what it means to be working poor. In America, we've got this fucked up idea of the self-made man or woman. It's little more than a myth in our current state of affairs. Study after study comes out and says that moving out of one social class into another is beyond unlikely especially for those in poverty. It's about as likely as winning the lottery I'd wager. While there are stories out there of celebrities like Jay-Z, they are the exception not the rule. Those exceptions feed the myth and allow the have's to look at the have not's with blame and disdain.
www.reactiongifs.com
Always. Always with the judging.
I'd like nothing more than to live in the era my grandparents did where my grandfather being a butcher was enough to pay for his family of four to live in a house in a nice neighborhood. But that got shattered even by the next generation. My mother in law for example had four children, but to have only one job in the late '70s and '80s wasn't a sustainable household income the way it was in the '50s and '60s. I don't think she ever had less than three income sources that I recall, and I know that she had more when her kids were at home. Being poor doesn't equal being lazy. We'd all do well to remember that. Someone else finally getting raised up $5 an hour (although not enough really to keep pace with inflation) does not mean that everyone's wages should also go up. It means we should all take a step back and ask how did this all happen? What are we going to do about it?
superbowlgif
Most of us don't, Shark.
Well, I know we'll make adjustments. We'll do better about shutting off lights and managing our water use more wisely even though we are already highly cognizant of this. We'll look at making more meals that last over multiple nights even though I already take this into account when I make the monthly menu. We'll reduce little things like cutting our Hulu account and our New York Times subscription for now despite the fact that those only account for about $15 bucks. Those are such tiny and inconsequential changes though. It's a pittance in the bigger picture. So, we'll keep paying attention to policies that not only impact us, but impact those less fortunate than us. We will vote with that in mind.
@pusheen
And don't vote for any of that free market bullshit.
Free market only helps those who didn't have to worry about money in the first place.
It's the policy for the have's. Screw the have not's.
In my studies for my teaching degree, it was made clear to me that equality doesn't mean everyone getting the same thing. It's everyone getting what they need to be successful. Therefore the person who posted about not getting a $5 raise isn't being jilted in anyway. Other people are getting what they need; something she already has by her own admission. Giving others who earn minimum wage a raise, does not mean others will lose out or be worse off. In fact, it's just the opposite. Raising up others only makes things better for all.
pixabay.com
Keep your head up, Moose.
We're working to keep the water level where everyone can survive.
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