The "bettering" of liberals arts college educated is real, and not just in hearts and minds. Imagine if people without degrees were paid more than pittance wages, and in fact earned a living wage. We wouldn't be crapping our pants about foisting everyone into college if being a warehouse worker yielded a comfortable life.
The "bettering" of liberals arts college educated is real, and not just in hearts and minds. Imagine if people without degrees were paid more than pittance wages, and in fact earned a living wage. We wouldn't be crapping our pants about foisting everyone into college if being a warehouse worker yielded a comfortable life.
I think that's a good point. I'm not sure what to do with it as yet, other than to say I think part of the reason these jobs earn so little is that they -- and those who do them -- have so little respect, but I'd be willing to bet there's some feedback loop here where the low wages only further reinforce the existing feeling.
I struggle within myself as to what constitutes fair wages for work, and what we "owe" people for their labor. I think we owe a living wage; but where that line is drawn is unclear to me. I've seen the $15 / hour wage often cited, but naturally this is *heavily* influenced by geography; San Francisco and NYC don't carry $15 and hour very far, but in some more rural areas in, say, North Carolina it may be enough to own a home.
Just for one example, a warehouse worker typically earns less than $15; they clock in around $12 or so (and varies roughly between $10 and $15 depending on the state). (data from here: https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/Warehouse-Worker-Salary)
So IMO, should we pay warehouse workers more? Yep. How much more? I'm really not sure. But based on what I hear from a lot of warehouse managers (I work for a company related to supply chain), it's *really* hard right now to hire more people, so you'd think wages should be going up.
As it happens I myself live in NC :) youтАЩre absolutely right that cost of living varies enormously. But even in our area (the Triad), when my husband (who has a four year degree) worked as a police officer we were barley making ends meet (I eventually became a stay at home mom because the cost of childcare vs what I earned in a white collar office job wasnтАЩt worth it. I believe he was earning about $30,000 a year. We didnтАЩt use credit cards, we didnтАЩt have car payments, and it was still a struggle. IтАЩm a big fan of the child credit and other basic support measures on top of higher minimum wage precisely because of what you mentioned above.
The "bettering" of liberals arts college educated is real, and not just in hearts and minds. Imagine if people without degrees were paid more than pittance wages, and in fact earned a living wage. We wouldn't be crapping our pants about foisting everyone into college if being a warehouse worker yielded a comfortable life.
I think that's a good point. I'm not sure what to do with it as yet, other than to say I think part of the reason these jobs earn so little is that they -- and those who do them -- have so little respect, but I'd be willing to bet there's some feedback loop here where the low wages only further reinforce the existing feeling.
I struggle within myself as to what constitutes fair wages for work, and what we "owe" people for their labor. I think we owe a living wage; but where that line is drawn is unclear to me. I've seen the $15 / hour wage often cited, but naturally this is *heavily* influenced by geography; San Francisco and NYC don't carry $15 and hour very far, but in some more rural areas in, say, North Carolina it may be enough to own a home.
Just for one example, a warehouse worker typically earns less than $15; they clock in around $12 or so (and varies roughly between $10 and $15 depending on the state). (data from here: https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/Warehouse-Worker-Salary)
So IMO, should we pay warehouse workers more? Yep. How much more? I'm really not sure. But based on what I hear from a lot of warehouse managers (I work for a company related to supply chain), it's *really* hard right now to hire more people, so you'd think wages should be going up.
As it happens I myself live in NC :) youтАЩre absolutely right that cost of living varies enormously. But even in our area (the Triad), when my husband (who has a four year degree) worked as a police officer we were barley making ends meet (I eventually became a stay at home mom because the cost of childcare vs what I earned in a white collar office job wasnтАЩt worth it. I believe he was earning about $30,000 a year. We didnтАЩt use credit cards, we didnтАЩt have car payments, and it was still a struggle. IтАЩm a big fan of the child credit and other basic support measures on top of higher minimum wage precisely because of what you mentioned above.