There was an article on Yahoo.com discussing 10 fields where it was surprising that people were only making minimum wage. Hmm, I’m going to see if I can guess the jobs. Let me ask, are any of those jobs dependent on your speed, agility and ability to hold onto or launch a ball? No? Perhaps it might involve a ball being dunked, dribbled or maybe being swung at by a bat interspersed with lots of spitting? No? Do any of them require meticulous outward appearances, interpretations of scripts and are shown on television or in theaters? No? What about the job where you sing and at the same time you create a new dance step? No? None of those jobs pay minimal wage? Okay, then is it one of those gigs where you get paid just because you are you? Yeah I know, who am I kidding, I know there are those “fabulous” ones who are lucky enough to make a cushy living on that one. Minimum wage, yeah right. Well let’s see what jobs actually made the underpaid and underappreciated list. EMTs and lifeguards, wow, they can breathe life into our bodies but not necessarily into their own pockets. Preschool teachers and nannies, evidently the formative years don’t pay. CNAs, guess that’s the problem with the nursing home smells, they don’t earn enough to clean, well pretty much anything. Rounding off the list were tax preparers, automobile mechanics, line cooks, amusement park ride operators and pharmacy techs. While I appreciate the talent that individuals in sports, entertainment and the fabulous ones have, I think we also need to appreciate the things that people contribute every day as well. It may not be on the grand scale or platform that some professions offer, but important and respectable none the less. Irrespective of a person’s field of choice, shouldn’t people in general be able to live without their daily necessities balancing in the wind? I don’t think that athletes, entertainers, the “fabulous” and only those at the top of a company ladder should have that aspect of life on lock as they say. But hey, only a select few think I’m fabulous, so I guess I don’t carry much weight!
Posts Tagged ‘Employment’
The Jobs That Pay
Wednesday, September 16th, 2009Teachable Moment
Monday, September 7th, 2009Isn’t everything a teachable moment? I thought so even if the lesson was one you didn’t care that much for. Isn’t there value in learning how to agree to disagree, to speak your mind about those things that concern you and provide constructive input about the way you think things should be? There is “controversy”, surprise, surprise and listen I’m removing the sarcasm from that statement because I am truly surprised that people are objecting to the President of the United States talking to school students. Come on give me a break. Okay, then there was a back peddling saying it’s not that the President is speaking but there is an issue that a lesson plan was proposed to go along with the speech. Oh the horror, something associated with school actually may require students to pay attention and gasp, provide some information about what they heard. Listen I didn’t agree with organic chemistry or physics, mostly because I didn’t know what the heck was going on, but it certainly didn’t give me the right to refuse to participate. And newsflash whether you like Mr. Obama or not, whether you voted for him or not, he is the President of this country. That doesn’t mean you have to agree with everything he says or does but there is a level of respect and consideration that should be granted to whoever holds that office. Not everybody can be President, as smart as I am I’m probably not on track for the office. There are a series of lifelong choices that are associated with making it to a level of achievement where you can be the President of our country or heck even president of the bank that just ripped us off. So kudos are due to those who put themselves in the position to reach such levels. Teaching our children that they don’t have to have respect for authority and accomplishment, that they can pick and chose when and how they listen to authority, and can show disregard for not only their elders but the hierarchy of our society is an attitude that will not serve them well when it’s time to face the real world.
Equity Is Key
Thursday, August 6th, 2009Okay, admittedly it’s hard to be sympathetic to someone who is making what appears to be an exceeding large salary when they are still not satisfied and want more. I know many would gladly accept that salary and at this time I will happily throw my name into the bucket for getting paid to share opinions especially since right now I’m doing it for free. Tell you what American Idol, I’m feeling really generous and I’ve got a real bargain for you, I’ll do it for one-fifth of Paula Abdul’s salary. Sorry Paula, a girls’ got to eat. Irrespective of the fact that Paula and others in her position do not have to worry about everyday things like so many of us do, the fact of the matter is companies garner lots of money from having certain “names” attached with their projects, sports teams, television shows, etc. Because of this, I do believe that individuals should be fairly compensated within the realm of fairness for that specific circumstance. Of course that does mean that we will continue to hear ridiculous sounding salaries like those of many athletes and entertainers. However, as with anything, I am in favor of equity. An organization shouldn’t make millions and feel that they should not compensate appropriately those who contributed to them having those earnings. I’m sure it is also a big blow to the egos of entertainers and athletes alike to learn they are not exempt to those issues of us non-clouted individuals, you know when someone else makes judgments on your worth. Being compensated based on your “value” to the company for all but the one at the top will always knock you down a peg. You know businesses have the unique ability to make you feel like crap on so many levels, whether you are the third assistant removed or the co-star of a movie you still can get it handed to you. It’s got to be hard to sit next to someone who is making say $45 million for just a couple of years of work when you feel your work is no less important than theirs and you only get 10. Plain and simple, that sucks. I think I would complain too. No matter what these companies pay those who assist with their operation, rest assured, the company is without doubt getting theirs. Companies just show some respect for those who helped you get it.
AIG, The Sequel
Friday, June 26th, 2009Okay so it’s not actually AIG this time, it’s Citigroup. To be perfectly honest I am sick of them too. The air of entitlement, and regular flipping of the bird that these companies give and better yet, get away with truly astonishes me. I guess it shouldn’t, but the blatant disrespect that they are able to dish to the public with no repercussions is just ridiculous. Citigroup has been complaining about their ability to hire because of the stipulations that accompany bailout money. So instead of giving obscene bonuses, they will simply give their employees a higher salary, as much as 50%, to offset the reduction. Sounds like a great solution, my question is does this apply to those who are considered more expendable? Oh yeah, silly me, of course not because they’re expendable. They won’t even have jobs. Companies are cutting salaries, cutting positions, taking away benefits but miraculously somehow Citigroup has figured out a way to pay people, who I’m assuming are operational mangers, I guess I could be wrong but I doubt it, what they want, irrespective of any government stipulations and despite the fact most of those who will receive this bump in “salary” were pretty much underperforming. After all, aren’t they supposed to be the experts? How did they get in this mess in the first place, requiring tax payer money? Again I am stating that the way these companies are allowed to do whatever they please has got to be stopped. Particularly when our dollars are giving them the leverage to make these decisions. Enough is simply enough. I would say let’s take our business elsewhere but honestly, I don’t think there is anywhere to go.
The Business of Nepotism
Monday, June 8th, 2009Surprise, surprise. No not really. Nepotism makes the world go round but shhh, don’t tell anybody. Give me a break. If you don’t know by now that favors are flowing like um, um, sorry my wittiness escaped me but you get the gist, anyway it’s happens all the time and if you think it doesn’t you’re not living in the real world. Acceptance into schools, getting the job, scoring the contract, opportunities abound if you know the person in the know. So why do we have to pretend to be shocked and outraged when this happens. Why do we have to have the drama? That’s the way it goes. Save the money on the investigations. Save the emails, memos, speeches, etc. We already know they’ll deny it and we already know they did it. Big deal, it’s business, kinda. I guess the real question is who did they tick off that called them out.