SHEsaysWITHaSMILE.blogspot.com

DEAR INTELLIGENT PEOPLE, from (me!) Sandra, tvgp

I have to get ready for church, so this will be brief... But I KNOW someone.. Some group of highly intelligent people can figure this out: Problem: we have kind, honest, hardworking, -really hardworking- people here in our town (I'll keep this to just our town for convenience and hope it serves as a formula...) who are working two full time jobs.. At or near minimum wage, and even still, can barely keep up with rent, mortgage, daily expenses, etc. And who never get to vacation, etc. They are not drowning in debt because they overspend on luxuries.. They are drowning because the cost of living vs. Pay for work discrepancy is OUTRAGEOUS! Unacceptable! K, we have a lovely town. In order to keep our town this lovely.. We need lots of minimum wage workers... Janitors, cashiers, housekeepers, customer service, window cleaners, street cleaners, maintenance, security... Long list of people working in restaurants, retail stores, small and large businesses, etc. Who contribute to our healthy, vibrant city.. Without them. Entire city as we know it, collapses. We cannot in fact exist this way in a world where everyone is well educated with a great high paying career. The very nature of our city, our precious hometown, depends on a certain portion of the population -needing- any job they can get.. Without this need and need for money.. Collapse! A large portion of the jobs required to maintain our standard of city living.. Well, they aren't the type of jobs that people take because -they need done. The only way many of these jobs are filled is out of a certain desperation. We do not have enough altruistic volunteers among us.. Trust me. Desperation for money is key! I wish I knew exactly what percentage of our cities employed people fall in this category.. Anyway.. We need these jobs filled. Period. Can't live and thrive without them. What we dont need.. Is for such hardworking wonderful people to live with so little... Constantly drowning, never vacationing.. SOLUTION CHALLENGE: We need minimum wage to afford a better basic lifestyle.. Increase the minimum wage? lower the cost of living? I dont know... I only know that we should appreciate, value, and demonstrate our gratitude in a better way. I only know that honest, kind, hardworking people SHOULD BE REWARDED! And allowed to live with breathing space and dignity. Everyone matters. I believe in sliding scales... I believe in % over flat amounts. I believe we can do better. I believe the people who have should take a longer look at the people who have not.. And see how maybe they can help. God forbid we give one penny to the undeserving among us, write... Youve worked hard to have... They should have to work hard also... But you know what.. THEY ARE! And without them... You don't get to enjoy your meal at the beautiful downtown restaurant, your gourmet coffee and bagel to go in your fancy car, your upgraded hotel room, your long walk through the greenbelts, your private tours.. Your hand waxed car, your landscaping, your child cared for while you shop.. We need to adjust this discrepancy between wage earned and cost of living. We need to at least find ways for people earning less to pay less.. Does this feel like a punishment.. I earn more so I pay more? For the exact same thing? No. Not a punishment... The willingness to do this will result in the greatest reward. Consider the person making 100,000 or more per year. Vs. The person making under 20,000. Both working 40 or more hours per week. Both contributing and necessary and vital to the well being of our city. Both have mouths to feed, Have bills to pay... Cars to drive, etc. I agree with the beautiful actress/singer (forgive me.. Name?) at the democratic national convention... Eva? "the me working flipping burgers could have used a tax break. The me now (successful, rich), doesn't need one." That thinking, that understanding... That philosophy spread and applied -has the potential to elevate us one and all! Not everyone needs or even desires the grand materialistic objects in life... But we should strive so that everyone has at least the basics... A place to call home. Plenty of food on the table. School supplies. Transportation. Clothes. Healthcare. Dental care. Some occasional entertainment and annual vacation. A tad spending money.. Which contributes to the overall economy... No one should drown. No one should even just float.. Everyone should swim. And the rich can have their speed boats and yachts and such. Admittedly, I'm better at describing the problem than solution, but I know there are people out there who can fix this. Look forward to meeting you.

posted by SHE @ 9:51 AM