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Wanderiing_Star t1_jae5j57 wrote

Reply to comment by kamikaze_girl in Just came back from FL and ... by kamikaze_girl

The really sad part is that my roommate and I are headed to the Tampa Bay area for good on on 4/3 (she's got family there), and we can't find anywhere two middle-aged min-wage workers can afford either. We're crashing someone's living room until we can. I wonder how long we can hold out...

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bb5199 t1_jae8ukw wrote

Genuine question: how do you get to middle age and only have the skills for minimum wage? No skills? No experience that would garner greater than minimum wage? How did you get to 40+ and making minimum wage? Thanks.

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DataRikerGeordiTroi t1_jaewn3w wrote

Hey- ill bite in case you are not a troll and just young or inexperienced.

Just because someone is low paid, does not mean they do not have important skills.

For most of time service industry was a fine salary. You could be a waitress or paint houses seasonally or be an EA in a school district or a CNA and have enough for rent and enough time & cognitive bandwidth to pursue your actual passions, or raise your family or care give for others.

It is only since about 2008 AND Citizens United that things became nightmarish & dystopian for the working classes. I did not say things were good, but they were less bad.

There are an infinite amount of pathways that would lead to THE HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF US CITIZENS AND BILLIONS of people globally who earn less than substance wages.

The person likely has skills, but the powers that be do not pay adequately.

Teachers including most adjunct college professors in most states make less than minutes wage.

Add in any single personal crisis- mental health, addiction, a mega bad break up, etc. and voila.

Most Americans are 1-2 paychecks away from actual financial ruin. EU and some other countries do NOT have these same schemes. Education and Medical is free in most other countries globally, including developing nations.

Its not that individuals are failing, it is systemic structures in place for a fairly short amount of time that are harming most people.

Thank you for making yourself vulnerable by sharing your ignorance. Hopefully this explainer helps you & encourages you to look into why things are so bad for so many.

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