Your thoughts on the lack of workers- Great Dave Ramsey with Mike Row video

Now THAT is something I agree with 100%. I'm no socialist, but I mean seriously - how hard would it be to limit someone's pay to being rich, as opposed to being filthy rich, while giving your employees a raise/bonus/etc.?

FYI, I'm no CEO. I'm just a rank-and-file server guy. lol

 

I love everything about this post.

I'm a hiring manager but I don't just hire young people, I hire doctors, scientists, Ph.D.'s. Alongside them I hire highschool graduates.

The myth of not wanting to work is such a scam to incite old people to hate young people, it's not even funny.

 

Slight tangent here but both my current and former companies do big campaigns every year to try to convince folks to donate part of their paycheques to United Way. I never do, partially because I contribute to other charities and partially because the United Way employees make an obscene amount of money and don't give a high enough percentage of donations to the needy, in my opinion. People have said to me "oh the CEO of our local United Way office has to make so much because there's so much responsibility and if they paid less they wouldn't get someone who's capable". Bullshit. They are responsible only for our local area (a city of about a million people) and make something like $350k a year. The head of the United Church of Canada, who's responsible for policy affecting hundreds of churches and other bodies across the entire country only makes something like $70k a year.

 

We have taught that people are entitled to wages that enable them to support a middle class lifestyle and a small family whether they are janitors, Cashiers, or ditch diggers. If that doesn't materialize quickly enough there's no point in trying harder. Society failed them and the government must make up for it with support. And they have a right to sit there waiting for it to happen. There's no sense of a need to work your way up to a comfortable lifestyle by demonstrating in demand skills or willingness to work harder and be better than the person next to you.

There are hard workers out there, the problem is people think they should be well compensated even when they are doing things anybody is smart enough to do or that a large pool of people is willing to do.
My grandfather was an immigrant tradesman from the islands who moved his family into the tough neighborhoods while he had to, then moved them to an affluent suburb, raised and educated 6 kids, and left a 6 figure nest egg.

He worked hard, but that was not enough by itself. He became excellent at things few people knew how to do. Even then it still took a long time. That's what made him, and what most people are unwilling to accept now. The patience is the tough part, the idea that it might take half your adult life to get to where you want to be. The 4 bed 3 bath single doesn't materialize just like that because you put hours in somewhere. It takes patience and willingness to do what's in demand.

He moved into a neighborhood of Americans who would never be socially mobile and then blew past them because he had the drive to take advantage of opportunities that didn't exist in his country, which too many Americans take for granted.

 

CharityWatch is terribly good at demonstrating how badly donated money is handled. So many popular organizations spend most of their money on overhead/salaries and very little on actual causes. Like there was a veteran one recently found to drop 4¢ per each dollar donated on their actual veterans programs. Absolutely tremendous display of financial sociopath behaviors.

 

The company work for does the same thing. Feelings were hurt when I pointed out the waste of money and corruption that surrounds the United Way.

 

The CRA (our version of the IRS) has a pretty good site for looking that stuff up too.

 

The entitled kids weren’t raised correctly, bad parenting.

Most jobs have terrible pay and benefits. Nobody can live off what employers are willing to pay and only 5 vacation days after a year lmao, oh wait I might get 15 after 10 years to actually enjoy my life lmao.

There is no more loyalty because businesses have treated us workers like dog poop for decades.

Wages haven’t kept up with inflation in decades.

I’m 40 and a lot of jobs I see still pay the same that they did many years ago.

There’s no incentive to work anymore. America is dead, makes me sad.

Oh and Dave Ramsey wants us to live like peasants our entire lives so we might have money to retire with. The thing is a lot of us won’t make it to retirement age. I’ve known several people over the years die before the age of 50 due to cancer/sickness. So enjoy life when you’re young, go do stuff.

 

Ditto. I just keep my mouth shut and send my dollars elsewhere.

 

That's why I only give directly to local organizations. I want to see my money put to work. Big corporate "charities" can fuck off.

 

I like to stir the pot and ruffle feathers.

 

You? I never would have guessed.

 

Actually, my current company is trying to drop the annual United Way campaign and go to more of a "crowdfunding" idea, where you can donate money or volunteer time with any eligible organization and the company will match your dollars up to a certain amount. A lot of older folks were mad that the focus is moving away from the UW and a lot of parents were mad that they can't game this new system to get money for their kids' sports teams.

 

Surprisingly, I'm not the one on my team whose year end review stated his personality was "abrasive at times". I was called "highly professional, personable and a candidate for potential future management positions"

 

You just know who to be abrasive to and who to butter up.

I used to work with a guy whose only goal was to get promoted high enough to make enough money to afford a Range Rover and he didn't care who he alienated to get there. He would do as little work as possible, would not pay attention in meetings or try to learn anything not directly related to his core job and make interns do all his work for him. Everyone who worked with him directly knew he was a joke and a liability. But management thought he was great because he would send out these mass emails all the time taking credit for other people's work and just generally making it seem like he was adding all this value for the company when really it was coincidence, a fluke or he was riding someone else's coat tails. I never could figure out why no one higher up could see through his bullshit.

 

I hate those kinds of people. I honestly have no real interest in climbing the corporate ladder. In fact, I'm thinking about stepping down a rung or two. The only thing I care about is doing my job to the best of my ability and getting the overall project finished safely and as close to on time/on budget as possible. I'm not interested in seeking the credit or glamour. I don't have the time or energy for the political bullshit and inter-office bickering. A job well done and an honest paycheck is what I'm after.

My coworker usually shoots his mouth off and reverts back to his welder personality more than I do. I tend to subscribe to the philosophy that "diplomacy is the art of telling somebody to go to hell in such a way that he's happy to make the trip."

 

Buddy of mine just dropped dead at 37. Sat down to rest after moving a couch and gone. Puts things into perspective.

 

It’s called failing upward.

 

My previous company had a few people who were so incompetent that they had to promote them far enough above the front lines that they couldn't affect production.

 

I think we work for the same company

 

I think we all work for the same company. Should we all meet at the water cooler tomorrow?

 

I’ll see you guys there. I’ll be the guy with the ladder destroying the ceiling tiles looking for the sound that Susan claims is coming from the air conditioning.

 

The SHIT companies put people through these days. My former company knew I was going to leave for 14 months, it was official 14 months before I did in fact leave. A kid hires on, and it just so happens as I was leaving, one of my coworkers transferred out thus leaving only the kid behind in my (and my coworkers) absence. I say "kid", he was probably 35 or so.

They expected this kid to be on call 24-7 not only until they found my replacement, but until my replacement was trained and ready to be on his own which takes months and months. Additionally, they do not pay a penny to be on call.

They expected this kid to stick around as they trained (tied him up with policy "training" for months) my, and my coworkers, replacements. The kid understandably missed calls and was actually punished for not responding as he was not being paid. As far as I know, he is still working there, I don't know how.

There is no accountability from anyone anymore. Boss knows he is about to lose a long time employee with a lot of knowledge and does NOTHING for 14 months, then punishes the new hire when he is not available 24-7, free of charge.

Companies are just as guilty. No technical training since covid (none whatsoever), absolute last-second hare brained, knee jerk decisions, unwilling to pay qualified people what they are worth, and they therefore will never get anyone worth a shit for what they offer. Yet, companies expect miracles from people with no experience, no training and poverty level pay in a technical environment.

If you are not going to train a new employee, at least enable the internet so the employee can read manuals and watch tutorials on whatever the job may be. You CANNOT leave a new hire to their own devices and think everything is going to go smoothly, or that the employee will even stay.

The problem is two sided. Not all young people have a terrible work ethic, although I think most do.

 

Yeah, this is one of my big beefs with Ramsey. He's one to talk. He's on record as making $1.2 million per month. He gets paid extremely well for being a mouthpiece for big business and Wall Street, which is something totally unattainable for 99.9999999%+ of the population. But people idolize him and think he's the guru of sage advice for finance.

This is what really pisses me off in general about life today. Take any of the top 10 most abrasive cable news personalities, and each one of them is getting paid millions, some tens of millions per year to feed you misinformation and get you pissed off at your fellow citizens who don't share a fairly acute viewpoint. For the last few decades we've been rewarding the wrong behavior, idolizing the wrong people, which @Terndrerrr touched on earlier (and btw, props to you bro, for the success in shaping your life under adverse conditions)

It's all a dog and pony show. Which, again, for those aware enough to realize it, is just another reason to not give a fork.

First off, props to your dad, for ensuring his next generation wasn't straddled with limitations he dealt with at a younger age. It's commendable, akin to what my dad did for me and my brother, who didn't make it to adulthood. My mom grew up in a house in south Texas with dirt floors and 7 siblings and my dad from north Louisiana in the middle of nowhere doing labor jobs, then used the US military to pull up and out of the lower class so I could have a better life also. I love my parents and thank them every chance I get via word, cards, or by buying them whatever they need and want, because I can, because of their sacrifice. I hope if your pops is still around, and you do similar as much as you can. Cherish it.

Thing is, what you describe him doing and what I described my dad doing was 100% feasible 50 or 60 years ago. In fact, you could accomplish it under a single-earner household, with one parent working a single blue collar job, the other staying at home to take care of the kids and house, which was often owned vs. rented. It's what allowed family bonds to remain strong and intact, always a parent around to guide the kids rather than relying on strangers or devices like today. You got all your meals at home versus eating fast-food on-the-go (we wonder why obesity is rampant). A super ideal, super wholesome way to live. We need to get back to that, but the divide in today's market is, for the average American, impossible to cross with too many booby traps like medical bankruptcy identity theft, and fraud.

I'm not one to wax nostalgic, but pulling off what we both described is virtually impossible today unless you're a single person willing to work 60-100 hours a week at skilled/specialized labor. If skilled labor is not something you're able, these days, both parents in a household would need to work at least three and possibly four blue collar jobs combined to pull it off, kids upbringing and nuclear family bonds be damned. In some cases it's possible if you find a niche market, get a lucky break like I did and kill yourself to hold onto it, or you are a skilled tradesperson in a high-demand industry, which is not for everyone. It is absolutely not accessible these days, and a lot of these so-called "lazy underachievers" know it. AI and automation are only going to make it worse.

We shit on working class Americans today, and that's wrong. Whether it's the server at a restaurant or the sanitation worker hauling garbage, it's not possible to remotely come close to what was possible back in the day working a single full-time service or blue collar job. That's a major problem, we've abandoned and alienated our working class. Now, maybe it's possible in your neck of the woods, and if so, that's awesome. It's not possible in too many small towns and cities across the country. Big corporations are forking out a lot of money to do whatever they want, and run this amazing country into the ground.

Hell, some of these 20-something kids working with me are getting $45k - $60k/year depending on what they do. 30-35% of their income goes to paying rent and utilities (including things like TV, internet, phone service). Another 25% for groceries and sundries we all need. Another 25% for travel-related things, car payment, car insurance, fuel costs, vehicle maintenance, not to mention basic medical, dental, etc. That leaves them between $6.5k-9k/year (for the 45k earners) in discretionary money for an entire year for other stuff: Clothing, furniture, appliances, random unexpected bills. Forget about tucking aside for a nest egg. You're lucky to tuck away 2 paycheck's worth in case of a major disaster.

Most can't afford to live in the city, so they're spending 2-3 hours per day commuting to and from work, unpaid, time they can't utilize towards another employment opportunity. And I'm talking about workers in a technical industry, skilled labor, making twice what your average fast food jockey makes.

I'm glad I'm not them. I got my foot in the door 30 years ago, before the shit hit the fan. But I communicate with them, and I'm not blind to the numerical facts I just laid out - that's their real life today. The easiest way to save up is to live at home, in your 20s, so you're not losing 55-60% of your income on rent, utilities, and groceries/sundries.

Sometimes it's really hard to see just how easy us older folks had it, and/or how lucky those younger 20- and 30-somethings who're doing well today actually are.

 

Hourly. SO much incentive to waste a weekend just in case he might be called. But may god help him if he misses a phone call.