21st Century Slavery

Are you looking for a job? I have started my search, after being seriously ill for a small amount of time, and I have started adding my costs up to see how much money I will need to live well in Texas. I am not wanting to make the bare minimum that doesn’t allow for any outside activities, I don’t want to give up on being able to save some money, I used that up while I was sick anyways, and I want to make sure I can eliminate some of the debt that I have incurred over the last year. These are all things that I believe anyone would like to strive for, and I don’t think that this should be something hard to achieve, after all this is America, famous for allowing those with perseverance to achieve the impossible. With the current economic problems, I wanted to do some home work, look into how much I should be expecting to be paid, and most importantly, how much should I ask for? How much is minimum wage (that good ol’ limit that government has put in place so people like me can’t be taken advantage of by companies)? The answer, $6.55 as of 6/24/08, and it will go up again shortly by, I believe, $0.50 early next year.

Alright minimum wage is $6.55 an hour, and I am currently a full time student taking 15 hours at a community college. Between school and homework needed for all my classes, I can work around 20-30 hours a week. At the most being 30 hours, I would make roughly $700.00 per month, after taxes. Utilities run around $100.00 each month, rent is $300.00 each month (Only because my mom is my landlord, so it could be higher), and I will plan on $250.00 a month to feed myself. This would leave me with $50.00 to drive to school, pay my credit card bills, and you know what, maybe I’ll put one dollar in my savings account. Yes Sir, I am living high and mighty! Can you feel the bounty of America! Thank you my oh-so beautiful government for implementing such a high and reasonable minimum living wage that I can’t do anything with but live on it. Why am I sitting here working my ass off going to classes and work to pay for some jackass to sit in Washington, D.C. with his fancy blazer and high class life style, when I can’t get paid a livable wage?

The problem isn’t that they don’t know, THAT isn’t the problem, the problem is that they don’t CARE about me anymore, you Mr. Congressman, Mr. Senator, Mr. President! The lobbyists on Capitol Hill are treating you awfully nicely. I bet you don’t even need the check that is given to you by the millions of tax payers who actually could use that money. The lobbyists are probably asking you to keep minimum wage down, since they don’t want to be paying higher payroll for us to have an enjoyable life. They want to hoard their millions to themselves and keep us as close to the same level as the slaves were in the 1800’s. Sadly, I have to make this comparison. Slaves were treated in a manner that no person should ever have to endure, ever! But, they were kept just well enough so they could work and help their “owners” make fortunes, but they were never well enough to escape their situation in life. This is how many of the American people, working day and night, are being treated today. We aren’t making enough to live pleasantly or do something for ourselves, and we aren’t given the adequate health care to help us when we are sick and not able to work.

If minimum wage is truly a livable wage, why aren’t our state officials being paid minimum wage? If the people controlling our country are the people who can afford to let America decline in any manner without shame or repentance; then, America will fail. Countries cannot succeed when the rich and greedy take over, and the working and struggling can’t put food on their table. When a country decides that the rich and famous need more help than the mothers who are working two jobs just to feed their children, or the fathers who are wondering if they will be able to bring in enough to pay the mortgage bill, or the students who comply with societies standards of going to school to better themselves and their country, can’t afford to attend the schools that will help them raise their own productive families.

Our state officials are granted health care and a more then livable wage paid for by us, the working (tax paying) citizens of the United States, so why is it they can turn their backs on their employer and enslave us for their personal gain? This country was founded on the idea that power is to be maintained by the people, so that it works for the people. It is time we demand our government puts the power back in the hands of the people not the hands of the greedy and to start helping the working, and middle classes of America; and start helping the homeless and poor. Our state officials are supposed to work for us. We pay our taxes, which go to their living expenses, and if I didn’t do what was best for my employer’s interest, I’d have been fired. So it is time they stop treating us like slaves and start acting like employees and work to improve the things of our interest, LIFE!