“You’re assuming a static situation.”
Well, yes, but it’s not an assumption, it’s reality. Prices going up and wages remaining the same IS the situation and it has been that way for decades, so it is pretty static.
“We have a much more UNemployable job force than we did decades ago...”
Oh cool, so we can just blame those deplorables, I mean “unemployables” for the situation and then we won’t have to worry about doing any thing to fix it. That’s a relief.
Several years ago, entry level minimum wage jobs paid about $8/hrs. I have no idea what they pay now, but I do know the cost of nearly everything has doubled or tripled in that time. If people couldn’t make it on minimum wage then, they sure can’t now. But anyone who makes that little, and has a few kids, is eligible for assistance of various types. When our kids were growing up, we didn’t have two nickels to rub together for anything extra, but we had a pretty nice house, and some of those years, we had a newer car, but with food and utilities, we had nothing left over for the things I see “poor” folks have, nowadays. I have no idea where they get the money. I do know that as soon as our kids were old enough, they went out and got jobs, so they could buy some of the things they wanted that we couldn’t afford, and they’ve been working hard ever since. We have a relative, though, who has been on welfare her entire adult life, and wouldn’t let her kids go out and get jobs, because it would affect the welfare. When each kid reached 18, the welfare benefits for them stopped. Only then, did the mom let the kids get a job. And when one would get a job, she would make them pay 1/4 of the household bills, til they were paying 3/4 of the household costs. She thought absolutely nothing of living off her kids. And of course, SHE never got out and went to work. Every time anyone gave those kids birthday or Christmas money, she’d make them pool it together, “so we’ll have money when we need anything extra”. She finally wised up a little when one of the kids went off the deep end. She’s going to apply for a job any day now...
Several years ago, entry level minimum wage jobs paid about $8/hrs. I have no idea what they pay now, but I do know the cost of nearly everything has doubled or tripled in that time. If people couldn’t make it on minimum wage then, they sure can’t now. But anyone who makes that little, and has a few kids, is eligible for assistance of various types. When our kids were growing up, we didn’t have two nickels to rub together for anything extra, but we had a pretty nice house, and some of those years, we had a newer car, but with food and utilities, we had nothing left over for the things I see “poor” folks have, nowadays. I have no idea where they get the money. I do know that as soon as our kids were old enough, they went out and got jobs, so they could buy some of the things they wanted that we couldn’t afford, and they’ve been working hard ever since. We have a relative, though, who has been on welfare her entire adult life, and wouldn’t let her kids go out and get jobs, because it would affect the welfare. When each kid reached 18, the welfare benefits for them stopped. Only then, did the mom let the kids get a job. And when one would get a job, she would make them pay 1/4 of the household bills, til they were paying 3/4 of the household costs. She thought absolutely nothing of living off her kids. And of course, SHE never got out and went to work. Every time anyone gave those kids birthday or Christmas money, she’d make them pool it together, “so we’ll have money when we need anything extra”. She finally wised up a little when one of the kids went off the deep end. She’s going to apply for a job any day now...