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What It's Like to Live on Low Pay in a Land of Plenty

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Re: What It's Like to Live on Low Pay in a Land of Plenty

#51

Post by cmiles74 »

w1ntermute wrote: post #31

So let me get this straight. This guy got a girl who wasn't (or isn't anymore) his wife pregnant when he was 20 and didn't have a college degree. No shit it's going to be hard to get along. For fuck's sake , you can get FREE condoms from Planned Parenthood or another local health clinic. The sense of entitlement people have is just astonishing to me.

A sense of entitlement that is not present in the article in any way. In fact, this man worked hard and recently graduate college; he has moved on to a full-time position. He's concerned with his older co-workers and how they will manage to get by.

  But he says many security guards are much older, and 
  it would be hard for them to find another job.
Hard working, moving forward, concerned about his fellow man... I'm not sure where this "sense of entitlement" you mention is coming from.

Re: What It's Like to Live on Low Pay in a Land of Plenty

#52

Post by cmiles74 »

alexeisadeski3 wrote: post #39
ThomPete wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's luck because plenty of people do exactly the same thing as you and me. Work hard, take what they can get, have ambition and yet still don't make it. If you want to see this in it's purest form look at music and art. Plenty of amazing hardworking musicians that will never make a dime. Plenty of hacks who will.

Why do people always reference hard work? Ditch diggers work hard. Migrant farm laborers work hard. So what?

Hard work should have value and should be rewarded with a wage that one can live on. While the person in this article is living, they are still not earning enough to support themselves and their family without supplementing from a food pantry. Because this is a contract position they are not allowed to work more than thirty hours a week.

I would argue that this shows that this is not a living wage.

Re: What It's Like to Live on Low Pay in a Land of Plenty

#53

Post by cperry »

This is a sad consequence of the dynamism of the tech economy, and while no individual is directly to blame, it behooves us to do what we can to help out those around us. Pointing fingers at this guy, blaming him for his own mistakes, while possibly true (who's to say?) isn't worthwhile.

The rising inequality in the bay area is spurring the protests in SF aimed at tech workers, and are just the beginning of a turning point which will result in the tech elite becoming demonized at large[1], and by extension (and likely less so) your average tech worker.

Becoming involved in the community, expressing sympathy, volunteering at food banks, what have you, are all ways in which we can help avoid that fate.

[1] http://www.economist.com/news/21588893-tech-elite-will-join-...

Re: What It's Like to Live on Low Pay in a Land of Plenty

#54

Post by grecy »

blhack wrote: post #36

/s Does anybody see a link to this guys github profile? I wonder how far along he is on any side projects that he's working on. Surely he must hang out at any of the many coworking spaces in SF on the weekend, right? I don't mean to be crass here, but...there are SO MANY programs available for this guy to learn to code, and then get the employee benefit of taking home free food from his employer (seriously? He's upse…

> The Bay is one of the most desirable places in the WORLD to live.

It's unfortunate you believe the hype so completely.

Hundreds of millions of people living in developed countries wouldn't move to the The Bay if you paid them to. You might not know it, but most of us think living in the USA sucks.

(I'm a Software Engineer - I lived in CA for a while. I would never, ever want to have a family or buy a house in the USA. Life there is not very nice.)

Re: What It's Like to Live on Low Pay in a Land of Plenty

#55

Post by hbmnn »

ericabiz wrote: post #28
stephencanon wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you really want to pull yourself out of poverty and you’re very lucky , all doors can be open to you. Not everyone will be as lucky as you were.

I'm genuinely curious as to why people believe that it is 100% up to "luck" that some people are successful and others are not. If it was "luck", wouldn't CEOs be evenly distributed amongst minorities, men, and women? Or at least per the population distribution? Or are white males just that much more "lucky" than women and minorities? If you think answering those questions is tough, you and I are on the same page--th…

Being born a straight white male with a financially stable family in America is luck.

Re: What It's Like to Live on Low Pay in a Land of Plenty

#56

Post by sbhere »

cmiles74 wrote: post #47
ericabiz wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I started out doing desktop support for $15/hour. (I actually think I started out making less, but I'm not sure how much "less" was--perhaps $12/hour? so I quoted the higher number.) $49,500/year was after I spent over a year learning development, and our startup got bought out by a huge company, and I interviewed into a role at the big company as a developer. I also started out working for a subcontractor, much like…

Desktop support has and always will pay more than being a security guard in a parking lot. I did desktop support in the nineties as well and made decently more than my roommate who, oddly enough, worked in a parking garage. There is nothing comparable about a contractor who does desktop support versus a contractor who does security work in a parking lot. I don't think you really believe these are at all the same thin…

^This.

>"You feel like you're different," he says. "Even though you're working in the same place, you're still like an outsider. And it's weird because you're actually protecting these people."

Because you are different. You aren't an employee; you're a contractor. When I'm a contractor, I don't expect to be treated as an employee by the organization contracting me ... because I'm not.

Re: What It's Like to Live on Low Pay in a Land of Plenty

#57

Post by mrow84 »

ericabiz wrote: post #28
stephencanon wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you really want to pull yourself out of poverty and you’re very lucky , all doors can be open to you. Not everyone will be as lucky as you were.

I'm genuinely curious as to why people believe that it is 100% up to "luck" that some people are successful and others are not. If it was "luck", wouldn't CEOs be evenly distributed amongst minorities, men, and women? Or at least per the population distribution? Or are white males just that much more "lucky" than women and minorities? If you think answering those questions is tough, you and I are on the same page--th…

What is the converse to "luck" in your argument? Is it effort, or work, or something like that? If so, it seems that you are saying that white males just put more effort in than other people. I'm not convinced that that is true. In my opinion, when averaged over the population, a significant component of individual success is "luck", that being the opportunities that are presented to certain individuals, and not to others.

Re: What It's Like to Live on Low Pay in a Land of Plenty

#58

Post by MattGrommes »

w1ntermute wrote: post #31

So let me get this straight. This guy got a girl who wasn't (or isn't anymore) his wife pregnant when he was 20 and didn't have a college degree. No shit it's going to be hard to get along. For fuck's sake , you can get FREE condoms from Planned Parenthood or another local health clinic. The sense of entitlement people have is just astonishing to me.

I think you're forgetting the phrase "shit happens". There is no way of knowing what happened to the mom or their relationship. And I don't think it matters either. How would his having a wife have any impact on his situation? If she didn't work, it would be another person to take care of. If she did work, they'd have the same childcare problems mentioned in the article. He seems like he's working hard to take care of his kid but like most people wishes the huge company he works for would help a little more. Where's the entitlement?

Re: What It's Like to Live on Low Pay in a Land of Plenty

#59

Post by bottompair »

w1ntermute wrote: post #31

So let me get this straight. This guy got a girl who wasn't (or isn't anymore) his wife pregnant when he was 20 and didn't have a college degree. No shit it's going to be hard to get along. For fuck's sake , you can get FREE condoms from Planned Parenthood or another local health clinic. The sense of entitlement people have is just astonishing to me.

Couldn't agree more. Most of us started at the bottom and worked very hard to get where we are. Kids cost money, try refraining from having them until you can afford it. I'm sure his mom is loving the situation.
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