If you’re a 30-something making minimum wage.. you have failed at life.

And that blanket statement would also be wrong.

 

That was Mark Steyn.

Erickson's child-molestation accusation was directed at Justice David Souter, whom he also accused of fucking goats.

 

I don't honestly see a lot of minimum-wage earners blaming other people for the fact that they have minimum-wage jobs. I assume, however, there are many among them who consider themselves underemployed and aspire to better jobs. For example, I know a lot of people here in NYC who call themselves actors but who are only employed as waiters and bartenders. They get a little bitchy. Is that what you're getting at?

 

To any 30something making minimum wage, I would ask just a couple of questions.

--- What skills (computer, trade, etc.) have you aggressively tried to acquire over the past few years during your hours away from your job?

--- Having (I assume) acquired some, how aggressively have you pursued employment related to these skills?

--- (If the answer to the first two questions was "basically none") . . . What is your plan for the remainder of your working years?

The answer to those questions should pretty much narrow down whether someone is shiftless or lazy or a loser or just the unluckiest SOB to walk down the pike.

 

OK, a fair point. I'll rephrase to more closely represent what I was getting at:

An "other side" version of this ...

"If you're a 30-something struggling to live the life you want on the wages you can command in the place you live, someone else is to blame."

 

The answers in many/most cases:

 

Can you give me an example of this blaming that is apparently going on? Who exactly are they blaming? That's the part I don't quite understand.

 

That's because you don't listen to the right people, cran!

 

LOL.

This response is awesome. It makes me miss Devil a little less.

 

Yeah, but isn't that a choice too?

Lots of those people are bright, and have college degrees. They almost certainly have engaging personalities.

They could be better employed in another field if they chose to, but are "pursuing the dream". That's great, and I wish them well, but I'm not broken up over their current low pay.

 

Where do you find time for the non-negotiable daily treadmill hour?

 

Welcome back.