Bogus Gold

Now I don't usually comment on my other half's sight but this time I will. For the first 5 years that we were together (co-habitating and then married) we lived at or below the poverty line. At the time, it sucked. We frequently had to choose whether to pay a bill or eat. Fruit was a luxury that we seldom enjoyed. And I became really good at squeezing the Banquet Chicken Dinner boxes to find the ones with fatter pieces of chicken. We had a futon mattress(no frame) for a bed, the parents old couch for livingroom furniture, and nothing else in our run down 1 bedroom, no shower, plagued apartment, which flooded 2 weeks before we moved and we lost 80% of our belongings. We both worked, I was still in college, and a vacation meant that we both had 2 days off at the same time. We worked hard, played little, and realized that if we wanted better, we had to work even harder. And so we did. I worked my way up from line cook to restaurant manager for a restaurant chain, which transferred us up to MN. Doug took a temp job as a receptionist/shipping assistant. I used my restaurant experience and college degree in biology to get a job that actually required both qualifications. Doug honed his skills to become a full time computer guy. And on and on we went. Five years later we took our first vacation EVER. We were 27/28 years old. The post highschool/college years are tough. Like many others we struggled but eventually we grew up and took responsibility for our lives. These 15-24 year olds are living a typical life that has been lived by many before them. As far as the "more women than men" comment; I know more than a few post college professional woman that work part-time as waitresses or bartenders because with just a few hours they can make a LOT of money in tips. This is also a common job for stay at home moms. As far as the 54 year old, well Doug said it well enough. The guy made some bad choices and he is having to deal with the consequences. Life is about choices. And yes, sometimes bad things happen but that doesn't mean that it was some evil plan of society nor does society needs to fix these issues. The Lord helps those who help themselves. I doubt there will a follow-up story in 5 years. And finally, I actually look back at our years of struggle as fond and sometimes funny memories. Those years brought us to where we are today. Married for 13 years(today is our anniversary), 3 children, and a wonderful yet sometimes chaotic life.

Yeah, I remember working minimum wage, with no bennies. I was young then, and fairly healthy. It was ok. I just lived with roomies and tried to economize. I never went hungry.

But the other piece missing in all of this is Chemical Dependency and Mental Illness issues. Between the felon status, and the CD and MI issues, it becomes nearly impossible for anyone 54 years of age to secure any kind of meaningful, decent-paying employment without serious intervention.

There are many private and public agencies - like the Department of Rehabilitation Services - prepared to step in and help such folks, but client has to want the help and they have to be willing to work hard with DRS workers to get their lives back in order.

Trouble ie, even if they do everything right, from here on out, who's going to hire a 54 year-old ex-con with a lifetime of screwing up? It's usually so difficult that most just give up. Still, it's hardly society's fault for that lifetime of screwing up, is it? (Of course, Saint Nick would say that it is...)

Point of interest, a 5th degree felony resulting in 1 year of prison means he has committed the same offense on the same person within 5 years. This man's inability to get a job has nothing to do with the minimum wage but instead his felony conviction. Even with skills training, it would be unlikely for him to be hired because it would put the hiring company at risk for liability if he would assault another employee. Would any of you like someone you love to be exposed to this type of risk on a daily basis? And who would you hold responsible if something horrible happened?

Is the minimum wage too low or does too much of it go to the government in the form of taxes?