I really loved my job at the grocery store - worked there from the age of 16 until I headed off to graduate school, age 22. I worked part time, but it was unionized - produce dept, later the deli - and for the last few years there, made 5.00 per hour, probably in 1976 or so. It seemed like a good pay, went pretty far, and coming from a low income family, it allowed me to pay most of my way to college.
I remember a few things back then - bananas were 18 cents per pound. Bologna - from my deli days - 99 cents per pound...ham often on sale for 1.99 per pound. I went to a pretty good local college - I commuted, but worked hard at it - got a double major (chemistry and biology) - for the bargain price of less than 300.00 per semester. So my double major BS (not counting books) was less than 2400.00!
My daughter is a great young woman who works her butt off - she finally got a grocery store job at full time. She is going to be starting at just over 9.00 per hour. She also works at a deli - and that bologna is typically 6 dollars per pound, the ham 10 dollars per pound...
Where am I going with this? if she is making less than twice what I was making 40 years ago.....compare that with prices of such common items as lunch meat, which has gone up 5, 6, 7 times in price....gasoline? Tuition? Rent?
She is going to end up making less than 20K per year...gross - and out of that will come taxes, health costs. After she drives to work, pays her insurance, buys groceries - I don't have to explain it much more, and suspect many here are in the same boat or worse. What will she be able to save during her working years? 401K plan? Hah! I just Googled that for a single person, poverty level is 11,500.00. It totally boggles the mind, trying to understand how that is even remotely a liveable amount of money.
It makes no sense at all to me, comparing what incomes were 40 years ago as I worked through school and costs to what is going on today. One of our daughters has so much college debt that it appears to be endless; the other gets so little to show for how hard she works and how committed and professional that she is.
How has this happened - how has the country gotten to such a state as this? It is shameful.
I remember a few things back then - bananas were 18 cents per pound. Bologna - from my deli days - 99 cents per pound...ham often on sale for 1.99 per pound. I went to a pretty good local college - I commuted, but worked hard at it - got a double major (chemistry and biology) - for the bargain price of less than 300.00 per semester. So my double major BS (not counting books) was less than 2400.00!
My daughter is a great young woman who works her butt off - she finally got a grocery store job at full time. She is going to be starting at just over 9.00 per hour. She also works at a deli - and that bologna is typically 6 dollars per pound, the ham 10 dollars per pound...
Where am I going with this? if she is making less than twice what I was making 40 years ago.....compare that with prices of such common items as lunch meat, which has gone up 5, 6, 7 times in price....gasoline? Tuition? Rent?
She is going to end up making less than 20K per year...gross - and out of that will come taxes, health costs. After she drives to work, pays her insurance, buys groceries - I don't have to explain it much more, and suspect many here are in the same boat or worse. What will she be able to save during her working years? 401K plan? Hah! I just Googled that for a single person, poverty level is 11,500.00. It totally boggles the mind, trying to understand how that is even remotely a liveable amount of money.
It makes no sense at all to me, comparing what incomes were 40 years ago as I worked through school and costs to what is going on today. One of our daughters has so much college debt that it appears to be endless; the other gets so little to show for how hard she works and how committed and professional that she is.
How has this happened - how has the country gotten to such a state as this? It is shameful.
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