If You Are Over 30 And You Are Poor

I don't really want to step into this little feud that you guys seem to be having but.....GDP is maybe a useful number but shouldn't be interpreted as average income or benefit to workers (which is what you seem to be implying...forgive me if I'm wrong about that). The US can have an impressive GDP and still have shit wages for the average worker. Guess who wins in that scenario. The same people who are winning now. The same people who always win.

 

The US has a median income of about $50,000 a year. So not significantly different.

But regardless, GDP per capita works relatively well when comparing incomes between countries. All countries have income inequality.

 

I haven't checked for myself so I'll take your word for that but....median income can also be misleading. You can have a number of people with that median income, a few with massive incomes and an incredible number of people way below that median and still come out with the same median income. That is basically the case in the US. There are a lot more people who earn below the median income than that number would lead us to believe.

 

Why are they earning so low?

If you are a 'low-earner', what is the reason?

Are you a victim of circumstance? Are you injured or ill? Lazy? Don't have the necessary materials to make more? What's the hold up?

I'm truly interested in why people settle for low wages

 

Better than no wages...

 

some people's chosen fields dont pay very well. Sometimes you can have the education and start working your dream job after college and still struggle financially.

but I think "poor" is a relative term. If you have to sacrifice creature comforts but you don't have to sell your soul on a daily basis in your career I wouldn't really consider that poor.

and of course the harsh reality is not only are some people not meant for college but they also lack the smarts to achieve a satisfying and well paying position sans education.

which is why I think it is important for the minimum wage to keep up with inflation and cost of living. Just because someone isn't smart or ambitious enough to achieve a great career doesn't mean they shouldn't make enough to support a family.

 

I dare say that I don't think most people would consider me a "low earner" by almost any measure. But I'm no different from anyone else. I'm no better than anyone who works for me. I'm not a member of the 1%. I doubled down on a few bets and got lucky. But that isn't the case for many who work much harder than I do. It isn't fair and if you do a minimal amount of research for yourself you will find the reasons why that is true. I don't need to answer those questions because the answers are obvious. There are many people who work very hard and don't get what they really deserve because people above them take it all. This is why GDP isn't so accurate. There are different levels of capitalism. I don't engage in the worst of it but I do admit that I engage in a lesser, more useful level of it.

 

why does everyone run to the 'selling your soul' argument. as if that's the only way to make it in life.

people act like settling for low wages at a shitty job that they can handle is somehow noble as long as they're not 'selling out to the man' or some other hippy shit.

what does that even mean? sell your soul on a daily basis?

 

I was simply referring to someone who enjoys what they do even if their compensation is low versus someone who may make a lot of money but doesn't particularly enjoy it.

 

it's easy for the janitor to blame some faceless manager/executive type just stealing all the poor working class's money.

but what does the janitor say when he works his way up to manager/executive?

 

Barring a few exceptions, janitors generally don't work their way up that far. What's your point? That the janitor doesn't have a problem taking the cash when he gets it? Of course he doesn't. He's been pushing a fucking broom for the last 15 years for minimum wage. Do you blame him?

And yes....I stand by my statement that the very upper class basically steals the worth of the middle and lower class. I say it as someone who owns a company and I am very well prepared to back up my claims.

 

who do you steal from?

 

I think bottom line if a company makes ridiculous profits and their CEO takes home 20 million + a year there is no excuse for the lowest earners in the company to make less than the cost of living. A person working for a successful company should never have to resort to taking food stamps or other government assistance.

its easy to blame workers for being too lazy or uneducated but if we're talking workers who work 40+ hours a week and still struggle to survive while the executives of their company fall into the 1% it becomes an issue of unequal wealth distribution, not laziness.

the whole laziness argue is merely a result of a lack of critical and nuanced thinking imho

 

Honestly...it can be a fine line. I don't really legally steal from anyone but I do make a profit from the hours that people work for me. That itself isn't inherently wrong. But I think there is a line that gets crossed at levels of capitalism above me. When you pay so low that I and the rest of society have to subsidize your work force....you're over that line. You should be paying wages that don't require welfare and...if you don't....you are stealing from your employees and from the taxpayer and you are among the worst of the worst capitalists. Those people don't give a fuck about communities. They care about one thing and that is profit.

 

after reading this post, i find myself wanting to know more about Wizard-of-odd's business. PM if you don't mind.

 

I'm simply a local business owner. I'm a contractor who is hired by power companies. We do work that power companies assume can be done for cheaper by paying us to do it. I own all of the trucks and equipment and employ the people to get the job done.

 

oh ok. i was thinking it might be something related to the health field or science since you said you went to school to become a doctor, but started your own business instead. thanks for clarifying. i don't want to come work for you afterall

 

Well..I should be a doctor but things don't always work out as we planned. I can still finish that one day but I can't complain about my place in life.

 

And I'll tell ya......the reason I didn't get through med wasn't because i couldn't do it. I just couldn't afford it. I worked and paid my way through college so I wouldn't have loan debt. But at a certain point I just couldn't continue to pay for it. I had young kids and I was already making money with my business so I took the money and went the business route. Sometimes I regret that decision but I'm mostly happy and don't have much to complain about.

On a side note....the same thing happened to my father. He decided it was more important to take care of me and my brother but he promised himself that he would one day finish college. He was sick and knew he would eventually die but he fulfilled his promise to himself. He got a college degree and we even shared a few of the same classes back then.

 

In other words, you have money.