Community Chat

[Steffdoggy10]

Fast food jobs were never intended to be a career with a living wage. They are great first jobs for teenagers. That way they know that it's a boring and tedious dead end job, and they need to get an education or some kind of skill in order to move up the ladder, and earn more money.

[Carmie]

@Sooner   If people don't work, it's probably the tax payers who are supporting them.

My husband and I both worked two jobs to get by when we were younger.  We had no choice.  We had bills to pay and kids to feed.

[bikerbabe]

Part of the problem is people think that these are still the first jobs work by teenagers and that is not the majority of the workforce.

[Hmmmmm24]

I

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@Laura14 wrote:

Nobody today, in California or many of the other forty-nine states, could live on $20 an hour without a financial partner. It's a great step for kids and seniors who need some pocket money or extra supplemental income though. 

How did I do it? Maybe since I never had kids. I worked many years in offices. The most I ever earned was $17 an hour, yet I was able to buy a condo and I always bought new cars every 4 years, never a lease. I retired in 2021 and sold that condo for 5 times what I paid for it in 1989. Bought a new place on a lake,  and paid cash for a 2022 SUV.  All without anyone's help.  It can be done. I guess you need to move to the midwest. 

Wages have become ridiculous since covid.  No one wants to work anymore. 

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[icezeus]

I think we can all agree that working in the fast food industry, was perhaps originally intended for teenagers or transitional jobs. Irregardless, that's not the case now, especially in California.

I do not judge,  scorn, or think less of people who may hold these types of jobs. In my view they are working, which is better then sitting around doing nothing and possibly turning to a life of crime, to take care of their needs. 

Some of these workers are teenagers, young or older adults. Some might even have families that they need to support.  Since when did we  start judging people on what type of job that they hold? Which is the vibe that I am picking up from this thread.

By the way. $20.00 am hour in California is nothing. 

[bikerbabe]

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@Hmmmmm24 wrote:

I

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@Laura14 wrote:

Nobody today, in California or many of the other forty-nine states, could live on $20 an hour without a financial partner. It's a great step for kids and seniors who need some pocket money or extra supplemental income though. 

How did I do it? Maybe since I never had kids. I worked many years in offices. The most I ever earned was $17 an hour, yet I was able to buy a condo and I always bought new cars every 4 years, never a lease. I retired in 2021 and sold that condo for 5 times what I paid for it in 1989. Bought a new place on a lake,  and paid cash for a 2022 SUV.  All without anyone's help.  It can be done. I guess you need to move to the midwest. 

Wages have become ridiculous since covid.  No one wants to work anymore. 

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@Hmmmmm24 

I doubt the person who purchased your home for 5x what you paid 32 years earlier was making $17 an hour. That's part of the point. The cost of housing has risen exponentially  relative to wages for many. Many younger adults are not buying homes because of it and wages don't support rents in many cities. 

When I was in high school in the 80s, my mom's mortgage was only a couple hundred dollars. Rents in this area are now $2,500 and up for 2 BR. 

[bells4me]

I remember working my rear off in an office billing for $4.25 an hour in California.  Glad I'm not a fan of fast food.  I see many closing.  It's cheaper to eat in a restaurant.

[Cats3000]

@aj1980And I read recently that White Castle was going to expand it's use of "Flippy" a robot that cooks burgers.  When you demand increased wages for simple jobs, you run the risk of additional efforts to find machines that will do the same job for less money.

[RetRN]

I do believe that we will soon be seeing many of these places closing their doors and going out of business. Middle class working people can no longer afford to go to them. I'm hoping for some changes in our economy but honestly don't see that happening. 

[Laura14]

@bikerbabe Thank you. 🙏

I have said this for over a decade now as a person who never had kids and kept the two cars I have had in my life for over 15 years each. I did everything right and continue to do everything right financially. It's not enough.

Do the current math, not the 20th century version. It doesn't add up for most people anymore because salaries have not kept pace with inflation.

And while my plan actually is to move to the Midwest, which is still somewhat affordable after my aging family commitments end, no one should be forced to move from their home and extended families across country to a strange place all alone because they can't afford a one bedroom apartment on what used to be a decent and reputable salary. 

Move or find a new job/career is a heartless, ridiculous, and ignorant answer.