Nothing to do with JB’s upcoming divorce, but getting off work, riding the Amazon shuttle last night, it was just another woman and myself heading to the parking lot. I’d estimate that she was in her late 40s. She said she hadn’t yet started her shift, but had gotten a call from her DIL to meet her at the local Wal-Mart to get what sounded like some money the DIL had borrowed to buy food for the lady’s grandbaby. The woman was excited and so grateful to be getting it because she said now she could put much needed gas in her car and have the heat in her house again. She also professed her loyalty to Amazon saying that it was the only thing keeping her in Denver and she would continue to make it her priority even after she started her second job. I don’t begrudge Jeff Bezos the money he has made. And he’s put thousands of people to work all over the world...directly and indirectly. His wealth is astronomical even compared to other super wealthy people so he is an unusual case, for sure. It just seems like things are being set up for more people to be in the position of the lady on the shuttle...barely getting by. I believe that many on the left, and some even on the right, are rooting for us on the bottom to have to fight for the scraps.
OK, show me where the "lady on the shuttle" had a degree in any useful subject/training/skills/experience that would push her job market value higher and I will start to have sympathy.
I see a lot of people who essentially waste their high school/college education by not applying themselves or taking courses with no economic value. Then when all they can find are low level jobs they complain and talk about people on the bottom only getting scraps.
As far as I can see most of the people on the bottom threw away their chances for a better life by ignoring the advice they were given in their younger years and not taking advantage of the free education every American is given. Then when they have no skill, no training and dim prospects they complain about their situation and try to vote themselves money from the public treasury.
No one held a gun to her head and forced her to take a job at Amazon. If she wants a better job she needs to improve her skill level.
Not me. I love free markets, but what we have created here is unsustainable. We are beginning to regress into a 3rd world economy; a very privileged few at the top with every luxury to be had at the snap of the fingers, and everyone else just “getting by”...or not.
The corporatism we have going on in this nation is not a “free market” economy. It does keep getting called that though, so the snake oil salesmen like Sanders can attack it and persuade the masses to go all in on becoming Venezuela.