Sad but true. I know so many bright, conscientious young people working McJobs for starvation wages because that's all they could get, when they'd be capable of doing so much more.
Here on the Peninsula, decent jobs are few, but prices in Seattle are sky-high; one could rent a pretty nice 3-bedroom house here for what a studio apartment costs in the city. On the other hand, our public transit is so pathetic here, and everything is spread out so far, that a person really can't get along without a car. The whole situation is just untenable.
I think you can rent a full blown house for as low as $600/mo here - it wouldn't be very nice, but it would be a house. That being said, most apartments aren't much better - lowest I've seen is around $400/mo, and that's in the super small town of 800 just down the road (and no real jobs nearby.) Most jobs are McJobs - I had one of the only jobs that wasn't (heh.) The skills were similar to a McJob for most of us, but eh, I guess most of the time pay is more important.
There's no real public transit here - mostly reserved for senior citizens and disabled folks - and it's not like there's a bus every hour on the hour. I guess that's just rural america for you - a car is a necessity here as well, unless you live right smack dab in the "city" of Warren - even then, depending on where you are, you can be looking at a one hour walking/biking commute as the city is fairly well spread out. Jobs are as well - United is the biggest employer in Warren itself (industrial-wise) but the Forge is a town over in Irvine, PA...and you won't be walking there unless you live -in- Irvine...which has fewer than 800 people...and not even a gas station or corner store.
On deeper thought with the whole issue, I think maybe it's too much to ask that everyone who is capable has something at their skill, or potential skill, level. I mean, yes, we live in an amazing time when it comes to technology, engineering, and science, but we're talking about relatively small sectors. Massive numbers of people are employed in service, farming, utilities and industry to keep this whole machine going at all, to give those specialized sectors the kind of material and free time to do what they are doing. Sure, we can say that this civilized machine is terrible for the planet (and it is) but there's no real "shutting it down" at this point...we'd have absolute chaos inside of a week. So maybe the truth is, we've educated our people well above what they're needed to have, and a lot of them are very disappointed with what they ended up having to do. But you know, a hundred or two hundred years ago, these same people would have been farmers or tradespeople, and they wouldn't have even been able to comprehend what it's like for a person who "got to live their dream." The dream back then was probably just -living- and -living well-.
If United had not been so toxic, I sure as hell would have stayed there because it was perfect financial security. At times I'm still -considering- going back, although I worry it's almost a stockholm syndrome situation. The chances of me finding something that pays similarly are pretty slim...and what else happens to be out there around here tends to not be conducive towards a financially secure life.
One of my friends in Port Townsend rents a tiny little house for about $600, utilities paid. It's no bigger than a small 1-bedroom apartment, but it's well-maintained, self-contained in its own little yard, and in a convenient and nice location. A Seattle apartment of that size would go for at least $1200 - a single person working 40 hrs/wk for $11/hr could just barely afford that, but few jobs are 40 hrs/wk, so people have to work two or more jobs (if they can find them.)
You're right about people being educated beyond what they need to know to do their jobs. That was a huge controversy during the Industrial Revolution: there's no profit in teaching a person history, science, mathematics, philosophy, literature, art and music, when he's going to raise pigs or run a drill press all his life, and she's going to sew shirts or scrub floors. But is everything about profit, or does society have a moral obligation to foster education and personal growth for its own sake, even among its 'lowest' members?
For sure, decolonizing the planet will not happen in the space of a week. It does have to happen, though, and the faster it happens, the better it'll be for everyone in the long run. Consider how fast and how thoroughly the USA converted to a war-time footing in WWII: we could do the same again, if the general populace was as convinced of the necessity. The tragic thing is that the general populace probably will not be convinced until the situation is too desperate to deny.
Our global consumer economy is unsustainable. What price a new cell phone in everybody's pocket every six months, when 'everybody' is seven billion people? How many irreplaceable resources are squandered every single day, producing, transporting and marketing things that no one actually needs? How many of those things end up in the trash within a year? It can't go on.
As far as work goes: I would like to see a National Service that every citizen works in for a couple of years after high school (or longer if they choose) in exchange for education credits and other benefits. This would ensure that every young person gets both practical work skills and experience, and the opportunity for higher education. If the guy running the drill press and the gal sewing shirts have it in them to be doctors or teachers or engineers, it's best for both them and society if they can do that.
Not everyone wants that, though. For a great many people, it's enough to do their work, get their pay, and go home - where they can pursue their interests to their heart's content, whether studying astrophysics, playing World of Warcraft, or watching the Cartoon Network. "Living the dream" mostly means having enough free time for one's family and interests, having enough money to live comfortably with some luxuries, and being liked and respected at work.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2016-03-04 10:39 pm (UTC)Here on the Peninsula, decent jobs are few, but prices in Seattle are sky-high; one could rent a pretty nice 3-bedroom house here for what a studio apartment costs in the city. On the other hand, our public transit is so pathetic here, and everything is spread out so far, that a person really can't get along without a car. The whole situation is just untenable.
no subject
Date: 2016-03-06 02:31 am (UTC)There's no real public transit here - mostly reserved for senior citizens and disabled folks - and it's not like there's a bus every hour on the hour. I guess that's just rural america for you - a car is a necessity here as well, unless you live right smack dab in the "city" of Warren - even then, depending on where you are, you can be looking at a one hour walking/biking commute as the city is fairly well spread out. Jobs are as well - United is the biggest employer in Warren itself (industrial-wise) but the Forge is a town over in Irvine, PA...and you won't be walking there unless you live -in- Irvine...which has fewer than 800 people...and not even a gas station or corner store.
On deeper thought with the whole issue, I think maybe it's too much to ask that everyone who is capable has something at their skill, or potential skill, level. I mean, yes, we live in an amazing time when it comes to technology, engineering, and science, but we're talking about relatively small sectors. Massive numbers of people are employed in service, farming, utilities and industry to keep this whole machine going at all, to give those specialized sectors the kind of material and free time to do what they are doing. Sure, we can say that this civilized machine is terrible for the planet (and it is) but there's no real "shutting it down" at this point...we'd have absolute chaos inside of a week. So maybe the truth is, we've educated our people well above what they're needed to have, and a lot of them are very disappointed with what they ended up having to do. But you know, a hundred or two hundred years ago, these same people would have been farmers or tradespeople, and they wouldn't have even been able to comprehend what it's like for a person who "got to live their dream." The dream back then was probably just -living- and -living well-.
If United had not been so toxic, I sure as hell would have stayed there because it was perfect financial security. At times I'm still -considering- going back, although I worry it's almost a stockholm syndrome situation. The chances of me finding something that pays similarly are pretty slim...and what else happens to be out there around here tends to not be conducive towards a financially secure life.
no subject
Date: 2016-03-06 01:59 pm (UTC)You're right about people being educated beyond what they need to know to do their jobs. That was a huge controversy during the Industrial Revolution: there's no profit in teaching a person history, science, mathematics, philosophy, literature, art and music, when he's going to raise pigs or run a drill press all his life, and she's going to sew shirts or scrub floors. But is everything about profit, or does society have a moral obligation to foster education and personal growth for its own sake, even among its 'lowest' members?
For sure, decolonizing the planet will not happen in the space of a week. It does have to happen, though, and the faster it happens, the better it'll be for everyone in the long run. Consider how fast and how thoroughly the USA converted to a war-time footing in WWII: we could do the same again, if the general populace was as convinced of the necessity. The tragic thing is that the general populace probably will not be convinced until the situation is too desperate to deny.
Our global consumer economy is unsustainable. What price a new cell phone in everybody's pocket every six months, when 'everybody' is seven billion people? How many irreplaceable resources are squandered every single day, producing, transporting and marketing things that no one actually needs? How many of those things end up in the trash within a year? It can't go on.
As far as work goes: I would like to see a National Service that every citizen works in for a couple of years after high school (or longer if they choose) in exchange for education credits and other benefits. This would ensure that every young person gets both practical work skills and experience, and the opportunity for higher education. If the guy running the drill press and the gal sewing shirts have it in them to be doctors or teachers or engineers, it's best for both them and society if they can do that.
Not everyone wants that, though. For a great many people, it's enough to do their work, get their pay, and go home - where they can pursue their interests to their heart's content, whether studying astrophysics, playing World of Warcraft, or watching the Cartoon Network. "Living the dream" mostly means having enough free time for one's family and interests, having enough money to live comfortably with some luxuries, and being liked and respected at work.