Wow! 12.50 an hour plus benefits my chatty cashier told me, as we chatted chattily at the checkout! Not bad for a kid. . . .
So after I left the store with my cantaloupes and bananas and cans of hot chocolate mix, I began thinking it over, doing the math and such to compare the current rate associated with this kind of job- one that pays just a mite above minimum wage- to my own buying power at a part time job several decades back, with minimum wage-ish earnings a mere fraction of today's sum, at least on the face of it.
The deal now in the year 2017 was as follows: 12.50 an hour at Whole Foods (aka Amazon) for an eight hour shift plus "benefits" (like standing on your feet endlessly ringing up raw meat, heavy, unweildy melons, unruly bunches of kale, damp clumps of celery, wet lettuce and steaming cups of soup with loose, dripping lids) while trying to be pleasant to the customers. She got two "breaks," one for 15 & another for 30 minutes-
versus
the cashier's previous job, one that she did not care for nearly as much apparently because the salary was a tad lower: 10.80 plus "benefits" at Starbucks plus all the coffee you could drink, or at least inhale! Not sure about the breaks and didn't really get into that with her, though I can well imagine it could get pretty busy when folks were in need of their quick fix; and in fact you might not even have time to go to the bathroom during peak caffeine dosing hours. On the other hand, the lines at Amazon Foods can become kind of scarily endless at times as well. . . .
So after I left the store with my cantaloupes and bananas and cans of hot chocolate mix, I began thinking it over, doing the math and such to compare the current rate associated with this kind of job- one that pays just a mite above minimum wage- to my own buying power at a part time job several decades back, with minimum wage-ish earnings a mere fraction of today's sum, at least on the face of it.
The deal now in the year 2017 was as follows: 12.50 an hour at Whole Foods (aka Amazon) for an eight hour shift plus "benefits" (like standing on your feet endlessly ringing up raw meat, heavy, unweildy melons, unruly bunches of kale, damp clumps of celery, wet lettuce and steaming cups of soup with loose, dripping lids) while trying to be pleasant to the customers. She got two "breaks," one for 15 & another for 30 minutes-
versus
the cashier's previous job, one that she did not care for nearly as much apparently because the salary was a tad lower: 10.80 plus "benefits" at Starbucks plus all the coffee you could drink, or at least inhale! Not sure about the breaks and didn't really get into that with her, though I can well imagine it could get pretty busy when folks were in need of their quick fix; and in fact you might not even have time to go to the bathroom during peak caffeine dosing hours. On the other hand, the lines at Amazon Foods can become kind of scarily endless at times as well. . . .
The result of my computations was that I began to realize all this could be yours too- while living at home that is with a parent, or perhaps two, depending on your domestic situation, and maybe some siblings- as you were trying like the dickens to get your associates degree. . . . so that by the time you attained a bachelor's - if you got that far (highly unlikely because of all the hours put in at the register)- you'd be ready for retirement. In other words, the chances of reaching any significant job goal whatsoever for those who have to work would be incredibly slim.
All that talk about these kinds of supermarket et al gigs not being "permanent" jobs but merely stepping stones clearly is rubbish, because if you were caught in that net for whatever reason- poor grades in high school, strange family setups, a youth misspent, old fashioned working class poverty- you'd have to hope hard the retail lifestyle did not last and (shudder) become a way of life; in addition, such employments at the register do not ever constitute any sort of real job, as in the kind you can live on, even modestly.
And although it's true that I did not receive any "benefits" at various scrub employments while at school way back when- stints from receptionist to cashier at a medley of improbable settings prior to the invasion of the chain and box store- and my hourly wage was substantially lower in numbers, my weekly check did seem to purchase a lot more: endless cups of coffee, hamburgers and pizza and lipstick and nail files.
In other words, just how many organic veggie wraps on the head of a pin can these current salaries actually purchase? Hmmm. . . .
Finally, I had the benefit of a career later on (meaning not that far down the road from when I graduated), even if a slightly lackluster one, at the onset. There were real jobs waiting. With benefits.
But alas, no bustling Starbucks for the starry eyed way back when, just diners and a handful of sorry looking, exceptionally prosaic and totally hopperesque Dunkin' Donuts operating mostly for the spiritually downtrodden (it was eons before the famed donut kings made their national expansion and comeback).
In truth, the coffee back then- no matter where you got it- was not that great either and could be downright watery, and certainly there were no flat whites or lattes or designer H2O; but on the other hand, none of it cost a whole lot either. So we drank coke instead. Gobs and gobs of it.
Is there never to be any winning. . . ?
All that talk about these kinds of supermarket et al gigs not being "permanent" jobs but merely stepping stones clearly is rubbish, because if you were caught in that net for whatever reason- poor grades in high school, strange family setups, a youth misspent, old fashioned working class poverty- you'd have to hope hard the retail lifestyle did not last and (shudder) become a way of life; in addition, such employments at the register do not ever constitute any sort of real job, as in the kind you can live on, even modestly.
And although it's true that I did not receive any "benefits" at various scrub employments while at school way back when- stints from receptionist to cashier at a medley of improbable settings prior to the invasion of the chain and box store- and my hourly wage was substantially lower in numbers, my weekly check did seem to purchase a lot more: endless cups of coffee, hamburgers and pizza and lipstick and nail files.
In other words, just how many organic veggie wraps on the head of a pin can these current salaries actually purchase? Hmmm. . . .
Finally, I had the benefit of a career later on (meaning not that far down the road from when I graduated), even if a slightly lackluster one, at the onset. There were real jobs waiting. With benefits.
But alas, no bustling Starbucks for the starry eyed way back when, just diners and a handful of sorry looking, exceptionally prosaic and totally hopperesque Dunkin' Donuts operating mostly for the spiritually downtrodden (it was eons before the famed donut kings made their national expansion and comeback).
In truth, the coffee back then- no matter where you got it- was not that great either and could be downright watery, and certainly there were no flat whites or lattes or designer H2O; but on the other hand, none of it cost a whole lot either. So we drank coke instead. Gobs and gobs of it.
Is there never to be any winning. . . ?
