Responding to yesterday’s “worth reading” reference to a New York Times story about the value of a living wage, MNB reader Gary A. Narberes wrote:
At what point, over the past 30 years, did a minimum wage job go from being a springboard for youth to get into the job sector and giving them spending money to a life-sustaining career?
Never in their wildest dreams did CEO’s for fast food companies and the like begin to think they would be providing jobs to people supporting families who would want and need medical and dental care.
I think this is less an issue about a living wage, but an issue on how our education system is failing our population. Graduating people without skills to function in the real world (not all students are college bound) cause those individuals to reach for “low-hanging fruit” jobs, ie: minimum wage jobs.
On a different subject, a note from MNB reader Skye Lininger:
Thanks for the Oscars update. It is instructive to note that all the films listed were only possible because teams from many nations and backgrounds collaborated (see below).
Best Picture: GreenBook … Based on a true story about friendship and race relations in the South during segregation.
Best Actress: Olivia Colman, The Favourite … Colman is a British National.
Best Actor: Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody … Malek is the son of Egyptian immigrants and was raised in the Coptic Orthodox Christian faith.
Best Supporting Actress: Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk … King is African American in a movie based on book by famed black author James Baldwin.
Best Supporting Actor: Mahershala Ali, Green Book … Ali is now a two-time winning African-American who converted to Islam in 2000.
Best Director: Alfonso Cuarón, Roma … Cuarón is Mexican and lives in London. This is his second Best Director Oscar in 5 years.
Best Adapted Screenplay: BlacKkKlansman … Spike Lee movie based on a true story about race relations in Colorado during era of KKK.
Best Original Screenplay: Green Book … See above.
Best Documentary Feature: Free Solo … Husband (son of Chinese immigrants) and wife (daughter of Hungarian and Chinese immigrants) filmmaking team.
Best Animated Feature: Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse … Multi-cultural multiverse story about numerous Spider-Men cooperating to save earth in all its dimensions.
Excellent point.
In other words, it sort of looked like the world and even the workplace as it actually is. And maybe even as how some would like it to be.
At what point, over the past 30 years, did a minimum wage job go from being a springboard for youth to get into the job sector and giving them spending money to a life-sustaining career?
Never in their wildest dreams did CEO’s for fast food companies and the like begin to think they would be providing jobs to people supporting families who would want and need medical and dental care.
I think this is less an issue about a living wage, but an issue on how our education system is failing our population. Graduating people without skills to function in the real world (not all students are college bound) cause those individuals to reach for “low-hanging fruit” jobs, ie: minimum wage jobs.
On a different subject, a note from MNB reader Skye Lininger:
Thanks for the Oscars update. It is instructive to note that all the films listed were only possible because teams from many nations and backgrounds collaborated (see below).
Best Picture: GreenBook … Based on a true story about friendship and race relations in the South during segregation.
Best Actress: Olivia Colman, The Favourite … Colman is a British National.
Best Actor: Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody … Malek is the son of Egyptian immigrants and was raised in the Coptic Orthodox Christian faith.
Best Supporting Actress: Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk … King is African American in a movie based on book by famed black author James Baldwin.
Best Supporting Actor: Mahershala Ali, Green Book … Ali is now a two-time winning African-American who converted to Islam in 2000.
Best Director: Alfonso Cuarón, Roma … Cuarón is Mexican and lives in London. This is his second Best Director Oscar in 5 years.
Best Adapted Screenplay: BlacKkKlansman … Spike Lee movie based on a true story about race relations in Colorado during era of KKK.
Best Original Screenplay: Green Book … See above.
Best Documentary Feature: Free Solo … Husband (son of Chinese immigrants) and wife (daughter of Hungarian and Chinese immigrants) filmmaking team.
Best Animated Feature: Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse … Multi-cultural multiverse story about numerous Spider-Men cooperating to save earth in all its dimensions.
Excellent point.
In other words, it sort of looked like the world and even the workplace as it actually is. And maybe even as how some would like it to be.
- KC's View:
