Elroy, it's the same old thing. The whole comparison game. The old rat race that makes everyone in post-modern societies feel like they got a raw deal, even those as wealthy as America.
Sure, I understand the concept of keeping up with the Joneses, as well as the concept of it being hard to move down in quality once you've tasted finer stuff (sort of like the difficulty of moving into a smaller apartment), and also the difficulty of putting off shopping today in order to save for tomorrow, but it's totally different from the idea of a "living wage". Given the relatively weak economic condition of millions of people where I live, I find it hard to feel sorry for the low level of American wages when the American may have cable TV, two phone lines, a two bedroom apartment with parking, and has trouble making car payments on their three year old SUV. Rather than be upset with their low wages the American should realize that that condition, which is so so difficult for them, is the envy of ~80% of the people on the planet.
AND, if they've chosen a career with insufficient wages, who's responsibility is that? I'd say it's their responsibility. At some point everyone in the US makes a decision of whether to pursue a career with greater wealth attached to it, which generally involved a higher level of education and training, or to take it easy with whatever education and training they already have, and settle into an easier regular pattern. |
