I'm apply to be one, because its a fairly mindless simple job, not many variables to handle so I wont have to think much at all. It will be a bit of exercise instead of being stuck on my backside in front of a computer all the time and I will get to interact with all sorts of people. I did a similar job when I was younger, was quite good at it. Sure the money sucks, but I've also experienced the other end of the scale, like writing a program which took a week to build earning me £10k in two hours and saving 3 months of coding for a major Charity. At least its paying money instead of spending money on games like Candy Crush and in a way its no different to some of these types of games so I'll still get my epinephrine, norepinephrine and dopamine buzz.
A Week in the Life of a McDonald’s Cashier
401–410 of 753 posts
Re: A Week in the Life of a McDonald’s Cashier
#402Earlier quoted context omitted.
I agree, but at the same time an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of treatment. 40% of American adults, including the woman featured here, are obese. You can't just eat 3000 calories of junk food a day and expect the doctor to "fix it"
I get the fat and obese are frustrating, but you are victim blaming in the context of a US that lets unfettered advertising and product pushing of unhealthy food, healthcare, support, education, and lifestyles. If economics and policy actually worked, there would be regulatory feedbacks, but not in 'murica
So advertising and marketing are to blame for people overeating? At some point you have to take responsibility for your decisions and the consequences. I don't think it's victim blaming to point out that something that is entirely within their control.
Re: A Week in the Life of a McDonald’s Cashier
#403Other than the low salaries, there are two compounding issues here: – Transportation. The US is very unfriendly to forms of transportation that are not cars. There are a few exceptions, but these are exceptions. Good public transport or even bike lanes would massively improve conditions for a lot of people. – Health care. Private companies are overcharging people and have made health care(hospitals and medication) un…
> Health care. Private companies are overcharging people and have made health care(hospitals and medication) unreachable if you don't have your costs subsidized by your employer. Medicare for all is one of the most important policies to alleviate pressure on lower-income people. Even for the middle class, the freedom to change jobs or take time off without fear of disaster will take such a load off of society.
If we implement it like the Scandinavian countries, the average poor family would still have to pay 600-700 per month. I believe that would be about 2/3 of her monthly income.
Re: A Week in the Life of a McDonald’s Cashier
#404Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I know it's unpopular to say, but most poor people are poor for reasons related to their genes, personality and upbringing, not because of the system. Some kind of implied false dichotomy here. Is upbringing unrelated to the system?
I won't say it's entirely decoupled but yes, it's mostly separate, I'm talking about the values that you learn from your parents and social peers as a child/teenager.
And they aren't affected by "the system" at all, I take it?
Re: A Week in the Life of a McDonald’s Cashier
#405This by far not a popular opinion, but some jobs aren’t worth $15 an hour. We shouldn’t force social policy on private corporations. Sure she needs more than $9.15/hour to live as an adult and pay for insurance but a teenager staying at home doesn’t. I am strong believer in a social safety net but I think that should be the role of government. She shouldn’t have to depend on private corporations for insurance, that s…
> This by far not a popular opinion, but some jobs aren’t worth $15 an hour. We shouldn’t force social policy on private corporations. Some jobs aren't worth doing, thats for sure. We decided that if a job isn't worth paying someone $15 an hour to do, it's not worth someone doing. The market can figure that out. We're forcing the policy on the worker as much as the corporation, they cannot sell their labor for less t…
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Re: A Week in the Life of a McDonald’s Cashier
#406This by far not a popular opinion, but some jobs aren’t worth $15 an hour. We shouldn’t force social policy on private corporations. Sure she needs more than $9.15/hour to live as an adult and pay for insurance but a teenager staying at home doesn’t. I am strong believer in a social safety net but I think that should be the role of government. She shouldn’t have to depend on private corporations for insurance, that s…
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Minimum wage jobs should be an entry level job or for people who are not trying to support themselves. We should have job training and the temporary subsidies necessary so that adults aren’t trying to support a family flipping burgers.
But life happens, and that’s where the social safety net comes in.
I consider myself a bleeding heart capitalist. It’s a company’s responsible to make money. It should be the government’s responsibility to implement social policy and guard against allowing companies to introduce negative externalities.
Re: A Week in the Life of a McDonald’s Cashier
#407Earlier quoted context omitted.
I find it very interesting that most people assume it should be the employer's responsibility to provide for the employee's wellbeing. Call me naive, but I think it should be society's responsibility. What about Hedge Funds, Technology companies, Law Firms and every other company that hires primarily 6-figure white collar employees. Should they be completely off the hook, just because their business model only requir…
Yes, it should be society's responsibility, but until we all accept it as a group the onus remains on employers. I haven't qualified for the Earned Income Credit in quite a few years, but I have nonetheless claimed it a number of times. I experienced none of the magical properties you seem to think it has.
The only "magical property" I claimed, is cash in your wallet, funded by taxes. I'm not sure what other magical properties you were expecting. My proposal is that instead of increasing the minimum wage, we beef up the amount of support provided by EITC
Re: A Week in the Life of a McDonald’s Cashier
#408Everybody seems to be latching on to the McDonald's part of her story, the author included. But it's the hospital part I find mortifying. McDonald's is pinching pennies left and right, it's their key to success. The hospital is not. How much would you guess they're charging per day for the average patient to stay there? I bet it's enough money to cover full-time employment and benefits for their food service workers.
I find it very interesting that most people assume it should be the employer's responsibility to provide for the employee's wellbeing. Call me naive, but I think it should be society's responsibility. What about Hedge Funds, Technology companies, Law Firms and every other company that hires primarily 6-figure white collar employees. Should they be completely off the hook, just because their business model only requir…
> Minimum wage laws are fundamentally a tax on low-margin businesses
"For the fiscal year 2017, McDonalds reported earnings of US$5.2 billion"
Why are you making this sound like a bad thing? What's with the EITC drum-beating in this thread?
Re: A Week in the Life of a McDonald’s Cashier
#409This by far not a popular opinion, but some jobs aren’t worth $15 an hour. We shouldn’t force social policy on private corporations. Sure she needs more than $9.15/hour to live as an adult and pay for insurance but a teenager staying at home doesn’t. I am strong believer in a social safety net but I think that should be the role of government. She shouldn’t have to depend on private corporations for insurance, that s…
This is a capex vs opex question. Raise minimum wage enough and firms cross the border to investing in capex such that they replace employees.
Re: A Week in the Life of a McDonald’s Cashier
#410Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Health care. Private companies are overcharging people and have made health care(hospitals and medication) unreachable if you don't have your costs subsidized by your employer. Medicare for all is one of the most important policies to alleviate pressure on lower-income people. Even for the middle class, the freedom to change jobs or take time off without fear of disaster will take such a load off of society.
If we implement it like the Scandinavian countries, the average poor family would still have to pay 600-700 per month. I believe that would be about 2/3 of her monthly income.
The Scandinavian implementation is not the only option; although it would still be an improvement. ~$700 is about what people pay for 'Bronze' plans before their deductible. For someone with a chronic condition, the average out-of-pocket would be much higher to access any amount of care.
Alternatively, the Canadian system does not require any sort of insurance-like payment to access all but a few parts of the healthcare system. While wait times are a bit of a problem for non-emergency care, Canada pays ~1/3rd of what America pays for healthcare. That leaves significant funding available to improve on that system simply through more doctors and and better equipment availability, while still being much more cost-effective than the current system. It should also be extended to dental and drug insurance, but again, there is ample funding available to accomplish that and still remain cheaper than the current system.
Medicare For All is most similar to the Canadian 'insurance', and the best candidate for healthcare reform. There are some important conditions for it's success however---the restrictions on price negotiation must be removed; equivalent private insurance must not be allowed; and taxes must be increased to appropriately fund the system. Ignoring any of these will allow the system to be corrupted by wealthy interests (of HN includes many), and could result in a system deliberately designed to fail. Rich people _must_ use the same healthcare service as poor people, aligning incentives among all socio-economic classes, ensuring the system remains effective and well-funded.