As this country continues to open back up and companies look to rehire and staff up as a result, it’s funny to me how many companies are having a hard time filling the job openings they have. It’s almost like they’ve forgotten just how pathetic the money they were paying people prior to the pandemic. I think something that was lost in the this pandemic was that when people were receiving their unemployment benefits, plus the federal matching dollars, it allowed many people to get a taste of what real middle class living is like and they don’t want to give that up. Now yes, to some extent we all understand that those benefits won’t last forever, and as a result people will have to go back to work. The thing is though, this pandemic has pulled the scab off another one of America’s hemorrhaging social and financial issues.. the living wage in America isn’t being paid by a majority of these companies. You can start with whatever industry that you choose to and you will see that what companies pay most workers is bull shit. It’s like they’ve been stuck in 2000 for the past twenty years and every day folks are getting tired of not being paid a salary that lets them live in peace.

Do you realize that most people in this country either have a second, or third job just to make ends meet in their lives. Just so they can pay bills and have a little something left over to treat themselves. People are out here scamming and using their bodies sexually to make money or extra money because the “normal system” really isn’t paying them shit. So why not turn to something that doesn’t take taxes out and you can monetize yourself far quicker. I was watching one morning show and I found it laughable that one of the small business owners was upset that he had to raise the pay and offer signing bonuses to get employees in the door. He said that it was going to be harder for them to make profit doing that as well. I sat and I wondered to myself, how long have you been fucking people out of a real salary before this pandemic. People had no choice but to accept those jobs pre-pandemic because they didn’t have easier access to assistance that allowed them to pay their bills while obtaining a higher paying job. Think about that, you want to make more money, but the job you have uses job classification loop holes and phony “cost of labor” numbers to dictate pay, rather than the real cost of living to determine what to pay someone.

I just really wonder how long companies thought that they were going to continue to get away with just paying people low middle class to high barely above poverty wages? And let’s not forget Congress. You know them “Conservative” ass Republicans who don’t even want to let wages be standardized at $15.00 an hour. I mean that’s not even a living wage, but damn, it’s much better than the current minimum wages across most all states in this country. Quite honestly, with the current prices of food, gas, clothing and housing, paying $20.00 an hour isn’t enough to live with comfort in most places. I can literally remember when I started working seriously and I was making salaries similar to what they’re still paying today and it makes no sense at all to me. Like where do these people get their numbers from when it comes to salaries? It just feels like all these corporations have done is made record profits quarter after quarter, year after year and haven’t reinvested that money into their people. They’ve kept it in their pockets. Meanwhile, everything has continued to increase. The things we need to survive have gone up in price, why can’t our salaries match that? Why are so many Republicans afraid to let people make a baseline wage? They claim to be so American and being the party for the American people, but all their policies are geared towards rich ass people who don’t need the shit.

You know I really don’t understand the argument made against paying people salaries that lets them not need to rely on the Federal and State social/financial assistance programs. I wonder if enough of us think about just how much more beneficial it would be if we made enough money to only need one job and not two. That means it’s even more jobs out there to be had. It means that younger folks, like teenagers and college students can have jobs that aren’t being taken by someone who needs the extra pay check. If we actually changed the tax code so that rich people paid actual taxes. Not some bull shit amount that barely amounts to a tenth of their earnings. But they pay actual income taxes like regular folks do, and give tax breaks to middle class people so that we’re not losing a third of our checks to taxes then the another third to health insurance. Why the fuck do we have the most expensive health care premiums in the world? We can pay upwards of 300 to 500 dollars a month for insurance premiums and still have to pay co-pays and deductibles for services. Why the fuck don’t the premiums cover the co-pays? Talk about a monopoly on the system. The shit is rigged for you to go broke taking care of yourself if you get any type of illness.

This pandemic is waking Americans up to the need and desire to make more, while not constantly over-extending yourself. Make a living and not be so tired that you can’t have a life. No one is saying that they’re opposed to hard work, but we are opposed to hard work with nothing to show for it. So I say keep pushing, keep holding out and force these companies to have to increase their wages in order for us to work for them. Make them compete for our services. Clearly, Congress ain’t gone do shit to help us get the salaries we deserve, so we have to take it upon ourselves to get what we deserve. Secure your bag the way you want and live the best way you can in the process.