The Real Reason Americans Aren't Returning To Work

[@paulfay357]

I've been a mobile equipment mechanic, working out of a service truck for years. Back in the 80s all we did was turn wrenches. Over time, our corporate masters decided that it would be more cost effective to issue us smart phones and laptops so that we could take over the responsibilities that office staff used to do. One day, it dawned on me that I was doing literally every single facet of the business by myself. I called the customers, set appointments, ordered the parts, inventoried the parts...and I was also the guy on the road running the calls. Out of thousands of employees in that company, some of them much better paid than me, I finally realized that the only ones that mattered were me and my fellow technicians. If I were going to be forced to do ALL of the stuff that mattered, I may as well be doing it for myself...so a year ago that's exactly what I did. All I needed was my own service truck and the relevant business insurance policies and I was off to the races. Had my calendar completely booked out for weeks before I ever handed out a single business card. Gave myself an instant pay raise from $25/hour to $125/hour...lol. should have done it years ago.

[@Fanta....]

hell yes! now make sure you put half away and blow the other half to make up for lost time!

[@LibertarianRF]

Nice job not being a victim and solving your own problems

[@felinespirits]

Good for you!

[@erikrobles5727]

Not really cause that $125 has to pay for gas insurance tires so it’s not as good as it sounds people

[@imjustanotherguy2007]

@@erikrobles5727 if you don't price those things into your rates and operating costs you are doing something wrong.

[@kaylat63]

The worst part is the people working hardest are getting the least remuneration for their efforts and then shamed in the media for not taking more hours, more work despite the poverty wages. 40% of people in work need state support. That’s a reflection of greed not poor work ethics by working people. This is being done by design, by greed.

[@rougeur]

I agree with you and I believe that the secret to financial stability is having the right investment ideas to enable you earn more money, I don’t know who agrees with me but either way I recommend either real estate and stocks..

[@mnthunder]

I’ve been diligently working, saving and contributing towards early retirement and financial freedom, but since covid outbreak, the economy so far has caused my portfolio to underperform, do I keep contributing to my 401k or look at alternative sectors to meet my goals?

[@kaylat63]

Many people often underestimate the effectiveness of a financial adviser in planning for retirement. Over the past 5 years, my FA has consistently restructured and diversified my portfolio and expenses, resulting in over $1 million in gains. While it might not seem like a huge amount, retirement now feels within reach.

[@mnthunder]

How can one find a verifiable financial planner? I would not mind looking up the professional that helped you. I will be retiring in two years and I might need some management on my much larger portfolio. Don't want to take any chances.

[@kaylat63]

@@mnthunder *Mr Gary Mason Brooks* a highly respected figure in his field. I suggest delving deeper into his credentials, as he possesses extensive experience and serves as a valuable resource for individuals seeking guidance in navigating the financial market.

[@matthewholzner9526]

Exactly right. In 1950, my grandfather walked out of his HS graduation and walked down the street and got a job at a local radio repair shop. The pay after 5 years was enough to buy 2 houses, 2 cars, support a family of 4 and buy a building to start an auto parts business. That story cannot happen today.

[@seroni17]

It can happen if the employer actually pays someone what their work is worth.

[@OriginalWhiteDevil]

@@seroni17 No it can happen if consumers are willing to pay more for services and products.

[@seroni17]

@@OriginalWhiteDevil except we have seen time and again that consumers are motivated by price so it isn't reasonable to expect consumers to figure out who they should and shouldn't buy things from for every single product just so people aren't getting screwed over as employees.

[@Sons_of_Thoth]

@@OriginalWhiteDevil But most consumers working on the same net as everyone else, they got underpaid too, and where they will get more money to pay more for your sevices and products?

[@robertjensen1048]

Suck it up buttercup. Do what practically every generation in history has done: adapt.

[@timdumoulin2576]

We are tax and wage slaves these days. Living in unaffordable homes, rent, groceries. Alot of people working full-time are living in tents and vehicles because they still can't afford rent. Truly shameful.

[@LeonardTaylor-g3t]

That's God true,what you said we been there

[@UrbanDefenseSystems]

All by design.

[@qua7771]

They want us dead, or in "green" slave cities. Don't give them the satisfaction. Find a way.

[@gregoryvanikiotis3214]

You would probably be better in a socialist society. This phony capitalist economy hasn’t delivered for you.

[@Valkaneer]

Yep, I'm a machinist with 20 years in the trade and recently laid off. I keep seeing ads for "machinist wanted in a fast paced environment that can hit the ground running, needs to know blue prints, trig, at least 5 years experience, have fantastic work ethic, etc etc." for .... $15 -18 bucks and hour. I was appalled, these guys want a skilled machinist for less than $20??? You got to be kidding me, $20 is the lowest pay I'd accept unless it was being offered in my back yard. Burger flippers are looking at near $15 now and they want to play a experienced machinist the same pay? Wanting top notch workers for nothing is greedy and not worth even a second look.

[@sammartinez4244]

I worked over 50 years as a machinist. I served a apprenticeship in the 70's. Most of the teachers then said we were being ripped off compared to other trades. The last 20 years before retiring I worked as a Aerospace Machinist Supervisor. The machinist trade has changed from JM to just specialty operators. Hardly any machinist left that can take a print and make it, using all machines needed. I would not recommend the machinist trade to anyone.

[@cult_of_odin]

Sounds like every type of maintenance job, especially faculties. I need to know how to do electrical, pumping, HVAC, drywall, tile, carpentry etc but they want to offer $12 to $15.

[@alvaroquiroz3313]

Wow, i just discovered capitalism!

[@bigz5262]

Did you have to bring your own equipment or did they let you use theirs?

[@sammartinez4244]

@@bigz5262 In the machinist trade almost all companies require a JM to have his own tools. Military Contractors will provide tools. Very few small companies provide special tools.

[@davidjarman7150]

According to our friends at the World Economic Forum, the average person now has a choice to either work hard and own nothing, or not work and own nothing. Given those options it's not surprising that a lot of people are choosing not to work.

[@vex6559]

And the parasite wants to feed us parasites 😆 ...yeah...f the wef

[@johngalt6838]

Instant acceptance of communism

[@tsw9824]

@@johngalt6838 Actually, under communism we would benefit from our work since we would own the means of production. The benefits of our labor would directly impact us instead of being filtered through several hands and pockets on the way to me. Beats the HELL out of capitalism

[@johngalt6838]

@@tsw9824 Where has it been better?

[@tsw9824]

@@johngalt6838 everywhere the US hasn't worked to destroy it.

[@moerizk3753]

When the pigs took over the farm, Boxer, the hard working horse, never stopped working for the farm. He worked day and night until one rainy day as he was working he slipped and got himself hurt and was unable to work for the farm anymore. After years of loyalty and hard work and motivating the other farm animals, the pigs decided to turn Boxer in... to the glue factories. George Orwell - Animal Farm

[@1594simonsays]

we have a shitload of boxers in america

[@GeorgeDrippy]

I was going to post the same thing! LOL.

[@bloodybonescomic]

I read that book 40 years ago. Need to read it again.

[@AntiContradiction]

JorJorwell 1932

[@calypsohandjack9278]

@@1594simonsays And every single one of the Boxers are white males.

[@jordannorth5310]

I was born in 1996 and i was on the bandwagon of "my generation is lazy" when i was 18. My ideals changed when i reached the age of 25 (last year) and i realized that i had been working 60 plus hours a week beating my body up and having no time for friends and i was in almost the same spot financially even making $33.00/hr as i was when i was 18 making only $8.00/hr. Making $2000 a week but only getting to take home $1300 of it. I realized the rest of my generation wasnt lazy, they just woke up earlier than i did

[@loganMartinPreacher]

Ha, better late than never. I'm 26, and I learned it from the books in my channels About Page.

[@mateaukalua4426]

I am 29 dang near 30 and was working almost 72 hours a week before. Breaking down your body for a few more bucks isn't where it's at.

[@-Swamp_Donkey-]

Get to work! Israel needs more money!!!

[@thomasgardner5872]

It’s been the same way for many decades, don’t feel rained on… men can have plenty if they don’t get married and enter the matrix and family court system, with current laws that crush men for womens infidelity ,. Stay away from women and you can have money , property , low stress , that is the biggest money killer

[@seemeno1]

To be fair, I think some of it really is laziness. But the majority of it is just people realizing wage slavery isn’t the best life course

[@thomasrice1180]

I agree 100%. I am 35. My parents instilled a strong work ethic in us. One of my most formative memories was when my dad was fired in a layoff from the company he worked night shift for 20 years. Discarded like he didn’t matter. I saw a change in the way he viewed the world. After the initial depression wore off. He got a job with the local health department. Spent more time at home, more projects with me, umpired baseball games for extra cash. He was happier and retired a few months ago healthy and comfortable. I took that lesson to heart. I work hard when I am on the clock but I have decided to live a simple life. I am not interested In materialism and value my time at home and with my family above all else.

[@LoveLife-oo9cz]

Same with my dad. He never grinds working hard to me again after he got laid off without mercy. I have been living a comfortable life, making money to cover my expenses. If any company takes advantage of me, I'll quit without giving 2 weeks notice. Always have a backup plan.

[@jesusislord3321]

Great father! Happy for you as well. I'm doing the exact same thing.

[@BillClinton228]

I'm a programmer and I'm constantly reminded that I'm really well paid so working long hours or weekends for no extra pay is just expected. Meanwhile the people who profit from my work make 4x my salary and have normal 9 to 5 lives and yet somehow I'm the privilaged one that should not expect anymore than what I'm getting. I don't understand this arrogance and stinginess, especially when you're a millionaire many times over, why does it hurt you so much to give people extra for their time, I absolutely agree with what you're saying.

[@middleagebrotips3454]

Your father was just in time for the neoliberal elites outsourcing everyone in America. Sorry to hear.

[@d.dementedengineerc99isurf26]

No job security anymore. Where did it go? Globalism. My dad groaned about that in the mid 90's. So when was your pop laid off?

[@criteecgaming]

I worked a factory job for 17 years, lots of 12's, lots of holidays and weekends, and lots of nightshift. I took great pride in my work and was always the most dedicated in every department I worked in. After 16 years of loyal service, I started having major health issues and the doctors couldn't figure out why. I missed 7 days in a rolling calendar year and they walked me out with grins on their faces. When I first started working there it was a great job, but year after year they just kept adding to your responsibilities, but the pay wasn't even keeping up with inflation. It got to the point where every second you were there you were busy. Got to go to the bathroom, well now you're behind and probably have to skip another break. They literally looked at us like robots and the only reason they haven't replaced us with robots is because they break down alot and they cost tens of millions of dollars per robot for some jobs. I watched 3 people have heart attacks while on the job, all of them complaining of pains prior, but too afraid to take time off to go to the doctor because it would cost them an attendance point. I watched guys go down in confined space entries from co and the only difference between life and death was whether or not their lanyard got caught on something. I watched a guy get pinned down by boiling hot caustic water and die hours later trying to keep a boiler from reaching catastrophic failure. You could outrun your production goals everyday for the entire year and wouldn't get an extra penny for it. What's the point? It's all bs.

[@rights_are_god_given]

Wow!

[@thelastgearbender1158]

Sorry that happened to you.

[@jennic2251]

Bless you

[@n2bfw884]

That's tragic all around.

[@akbychoice]

CEO’s and share holders only care about the bottom dollar.

[@BashoStrikes]

I've a friend who's 50 and a few years ago he just gave up and purposely went homeless and started living in a cheap RV. He doesn't do drugs - he doesn't even drink. He makes crafts and travels at times to sell them at different shows and flea markets and otherwise just barely scrapes by. He says he's never been happier. If you haven't figured it out yet folks - most of us exist to make someone else wealthy. That's your real job and purpose in life.

[@TheAnnoyingBoss]

Listen man this great nation is a mismanaged. People who should work more. Some people who should work less. Theyre taxing us left and right left and right left and right. You buy a car taxed, food thats cooked taxed. You work like a slave and they take a real good chunk. Its not good.

[@lisabaltzer4190]

I wouldn’t call that homeless. He has a place to live, it just isn’t a house or apartment. Unlike many homeless, he chose living that way and he is not an addict. All the more power to him if it makes him happy.

[@zodglubby]

Many homeless are choosing it. That's something you can't say out loud

[@kimberlychodur3508]

That’s what my son said about the homeless in California. It’s not that the governor and state representatives aren’t trying to help but that some of them prefer it. A lot less stress in trying to afford a place to live and everything else. I asked him how they eat, and he said people in California are quite generous about feeding the homeless.

[@renerangel1635]

Agree

[@joemurchie]

My grandad worked as a laborer in a foundry for 30+ years. He raised 4 kids and they lived a comfortable middle class life. His wife stayed home, they bought new cars, they went on vacations. I looked up salaries for local foundry laborers recently and that job pays $17/hr in the same city where grandad raised his family. Inflation goes up and salaries do not.

[@TheAnnoyingBoss]

Ask yourself what causes inflation and stop blaming it on inflation. Theres many things that are root causes of the tenticles of death that is increase in cost without adequate reasoning. The snap on parts bin washer sure wasnt cheap but chinas tools rust in the desert my guy. It may have very worthy upgrades to justify the price. A dollar was a lot of money in the past because everyone was poor. Even if you had a dollar you couldnt easily invest it. Now homeless methheads are youtubin on free wifi my guy. The cheapest phone at best buy is 250 and itll last 3 years. With no data plan thats less than 30 cents a day. Thay gives you access to knowledge and a free roof over your head at the taxpayer expense during the daytime. You can sleep in a tent nearly anywhere. You dont even need a tent ask the marines. Inflation isnt always bad, it depends what youre going for. A lot of it is caused by really dumb stuff like biden standing in the way of energy sectors and maybe all that really weird stuff about gender studies in afghanistan might have something to do with it. The good thing is an abe lincoln buys over a gallon of gas and if all you got is a good used sedan itll probably get you a good 27 miles and in my area that gets to to anywhere you would need to go and back. If youvd got a motorcycle if it gets 40+ mpg you can really get around. I saw a honda rebel for sale for 1900 and it was nice. I looked at insurance and for me it was 88 dollars per year. So listen bro thats an extremely low cost and around me that little bike gets you anywhere and it gets like 80 or 90 mpg or something crazy. Even the new rebels are already getting cheaper. So you can live in the wild west where everything costs a buck if you want bro. Buy a bike where if you only pump in a buck its like 35 miles of range and where im at its maybe 16 to the hosptial at the end of the other town and all the good businesses and what not are inbetween. Elon musk doesnt sell any dollar products but at my local grocery store an abe lincoln can snag a number of things. You can get bread. I buy a giant 8 dollar sandwhich thats huge, i wish it was bigger and only 5, i cut it in half and then i eat one half of the half per day. So the cost is 4 per day. So my food costs more than my phone. You can get transportation that costs less than food. I can eat cheaper but i like to have a nice sandwhich with the various well thought out selections of seeds on the quality bread fof carbs with the good quality select cold cut mest protein and sometimes they throw in mustard and mayonaise. So its good eating for a poor fella and you csn ration it oht to one samdwhich per day amd get down to 2 dollars per day. So if you budget like a g you can legit survive on 10 dollars per day easy, with excess savings but only if you have a place to sleep or if you dont you find a spot. Which is easy enough depending where youre at. Where im at there is blm land in a short walks distance, you csn even pick a sweet spot with a view. Hotdogs are cheap bro. You can live cheap. You can camp 24/7. 365. Esspecially with these new inventions. Where if youre wealthy man you buy an ac unit rsn off dolar for your insulated tent. You could pick a new spot to watch the sunset every day and have no job and any extra money you have you can save, you can invest it because a 250 dollar phone for 3 yesrs cost per day less than 30 cents give you access to the information and capabilities. You csn tale photos record video for evidence. Thats a lot of power for a poor man. Harness the power, budget the finances. 100 dollars is a lot of money when your monthly phone bill with no data all free library wifi is 9 bucks. The same as your monthly fuel bill if you ride an old 250 cc around. You can get it all under 10 bucks per month. I wore the same shoes for years i bought for 12 bucks. I walked into payless like a top g and I grabbed the first pair of brand name i saw and they fit perfectly, I bought them, wore them until they were toast and someone gifted me another pair of shoes. So I havent paid for a single pair of shoes in 6 years. So you csn live cheap bro. Its possible. Where i live they dont tax uncooked food so 2 days worth of sandwhich without rationing to 3 or 4 costs about the same as 1 meals worth of chicken nuggets right next door. And i could live cheaper. I coukd buy the cheap sliced bread and the cheaper cold cuts and save even more but to me my diet matters because I have ibs pray for me. You can live cheap cheap bro.

[@crsy3]

The first thing that needs to happen, is there needs to be a major divorce and, separation between the corporate/global elites and the politicians.

[@vincezetti7216]

u are exactly right. real wages havent increased in about 50 years. the value of a dollar hasnt kept up with inflation.

[@Jake-mi3bj]

Inflation is fake propaganda. There is no such thing as inflation what it really is, is the cancer of capitalism that breeds corporate price gouging and scalping your goods.

[@exothermal.sprocket]

@@TheAnnoyingBoss It's simple: you print a ton of currency and flood the system, the same system where the total amount of goods and services (due to a hundred varied reasons) is not also increasing. DEVALUATION. Simple economics.

[@Dominency]

I started a warehouse & factory job right out of high school. The majority of the staff were older folks. Many of them retirement age and barely able to move. Once the pandemic happened our company decided to do a voluntary lay off. And a lot of the retirement age employees decided to take their retirement early. Which meant we had less than half the staff. Being a young fool that I was my boss convinced me to be the line lead. My task was basically running an assembly belt and being the sole person in charge of getting millions of dollars of product out the door. I thought it would be an opportunity to move up the company ladder. That was an absolute mistake. I was doing the super visors job while they sat in the office. I doubled the shipments and cut the process in half by splitting the workload between the belt and the floor. I made that company 50 million dollars in the estimated time I held that position. I never got a day off I was putting in 70-hour work weeks. And got nothing in return for it. No pay raise, no chance at company growth. But you bet your bottom dollar they would get on you if you stayed in the break room to clean up crumbs ten seconds after the bell rang. The companies and banks rule the United States. I will leave this quote here from one of our founding fathers. “I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property - until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.” - Thomas Jefferson

[@sadhu7191]

Yeah. We have 2 grocerie stores from 2 main companies in sc. 9ne for rich one for poor people. Farm land has been bought up can even start a family farm

[@westernwinchester70]

Abolish the Federal Reserve.

[@guaporeturns9472]

It’s called unregulated capitalism. That’s what happens.

[@DubhghlasMacDubhghlas]

@@guaporeturns9472 except US has ton of regulations on their free market. And it is not the banks keeping the wages low either.

[@attackcatt]

Read The Creature from Jekyll Island. It answers everything.

[@Canthus13]

It's not lazy. A lot of people are realizing that they don't need to buy the latest everything and consume like crazy, so they're happy without climbing that ladder, without a gigantic house, without a brand new car. I dropped everything after a fire where I lost everything but my guitar, laptop, and cat and moved into a van. I work full time doing something I love for less than I'm worth, but it's low stress, I enjoy my job, and I can do it anywhere. I have healthcare, sick time, vacation days, and I work remotely. I don't need ambition to live a happy, full life. It's not that nobody wants to work.. It's that we don't want to kill ourselves for a lazy rich dude's piggy bank.

[@AEB-sy7fu]

That's what I am talking about, choices. 99% of us are sitting where we are, doing what were doing because of our choices and if we don't like it we can make a new choice. I know it can be scary, I am not a risk taker by nature myself but sometimes the choice is to wallow in it or get up and move on.

[@HansensUniverseT-A]

Right on, i adopted a really simple and frugal life, no children, no partner, no loans, no car, i started fishing vintage bikes out of dumpsters and fixing them up for nothing, great way to commute and tour, i hardly need money at this point, i do a few side hustles that generate some income, i even managed to make some good investments for the future.

[@nunyabidness3075]

Yeah, I don’t believe that’s true for most people. Most people now take for granted a lot of the things they get and have. They want to produce very little, and still get very much. They’ve bought a bunch of lies, and are misinterpreting what’s really the problems.

[@dingfeldersmurfalot4560]

@@nunyabidness3075 Actually most people don't have that much. And they won't get that much either.

[@nunyabidness3075]

@@dingfeldersmurfalot4560 Not sure who you mean by most people. If you mean Americans, you are quite mistaken. I know everyone thinks things could be so much better, and there’s a lot of people showing off a lot of wealth these days which breeds a lot of resentment. Still, the way we lived when I was a child is affordable by most anyone willing to accept it. My parents both worked before I was born, and my dad worked his way into management. He was doing quite well. We were in a a fairly desirable neighborhood. The house was about 1400 square feet with window units in some rooms in Houston. It could not maintain what people today find a comfortable temperature. There was one very basic bathroom and a basic kitchen. One TV. No computers or internet. Washer and dryer in the garage. We had insurance. Those who did not mostly depended on charity hospitals for serious care. We, as did many neighbors, grew some of our own food. The cars broke even one year out of the factory often causing loss of half a day to get fixed. Now, we were outwardly well off for the day. Compare that to my friend who was a veterinarian in Mexico until a recession there destroyed his wealth and his practice. He came here with his wife, and worked as a veterinary assistant and raised two great kids. A decade ago, his wife divorced him. He was broke again. He is old, in poor health, has cognitive problems, and had to change jobs. For the past few years, he’s been in what is essentially an entry retail level job where he works as an assistant manager. He has zero money skills, and lives hand to mouth. His standard of living is very close to the way I lived when I was young. He would not be better off back in Mexico. The problem we have in the USA is people wanting what others here have. I’m happy to agree there’s a lot of unnecessary obstacles to a secure financial situation, but I see most of those having been caused by government while all I hear is it’s caused by capitalism and demanding more government. What people need is opportunity and self responsibility, not more hate, greed, resentment, and social justice nonsense.

[@rw0037]

Happens even in white collar employment. I was a public accountant at one of the largest firms in the world. We were required to work significant amounts of overtime, but were exempt from additional overtime pay because we were salaried employees. Working 2500 hours a year, my effective pay was about $26/hr, while my employer billed clients $350+/hr for my work. During the pandemic, I was living in a cheap apartment, driving an old, cheap car, struggling to save for my future, while my employer was posting record profits. When billable hours and profits were at an all time high and my morale was at an all time low, they had the gall to turn around and tell me they could only afford to give me a 4% raise. It was an absolute spit in the face, especially to someone who they know understands numbers. That's why I left last year.

[@Rick-the-Swift]

They should have appreciated you more. That's why I never worked the same job for more than 6 months, and I'm glad quitting was never a big decision for me. I learned plenty of trades that way, and now am able to accomplish most of what I want, as well as meet all of my needs. At the same time, I work harder (not always smarter) than most folks I know, often doing the work that illegal immigrants really don't even want any part of, but hey, I eat what I when I want, and nobody ever breaths down my neck, or gripes if I spend an hour on the toilet. Life is good. Hope your efforts pay off for you, friend! 🍻

[@jeffh6960]

What's crazy is most jobs that everyone telworked from saved companies a few $100k annually due to less leasing and utilities costs.

[@jameshill8493]

How are you doing now?

[@dougl8248]

I'm salaried and I work exactly the number of hours that I am paid for. Not a second more.

[@donniedonnie639]

So you're in paradise now and have a wonderful future?

[@21kjoshua]

I'm a 3rd generation plumber, and a welder. I learned real quick that companies aren't loyal to you. Your time is valuable, do not work for peanuts.

[@TOCC50]

Medieval serfs only had to pay 25% in taxes

[@HAXMAN]

I wrecked my back working for a concrete company over twenty years ago. When the foreman and the mixer quit I was promoted to foreman/mixer. I doubled the daily production with two fewer men and my reward was $2 more an hour. The foreman I replaced made twice what I made. My gift to my employer was an extra $100k or more in profit. It’s a popular method used by employers.

[@BroosDager]

Take pride you did a good job, and it taught you a lesson to ask for a raise when you deserve one. My company still makes a lot of money off my work, and I hope they keep on making more off my hard work. The same arrangement then when I first started 28 years ago. Work hard, learn your lessons the easy way or the hard way, and keep working hard. Your work is SO MUCH more important than your compensation. Money is nice, but being a good man is so much more important.

[@Chickenlegs41]

@@BroosDager Hmmm. Do you think the owners of these companies, many of whom are millionaires, think that being a good man is more important than money? I believe that is the lie that the "haves" tell the "have nots." All the while they are laughing all the way to the bank.

[@BroosDager]

@@Chickenlegs41 I don't let others define me. I'm not a victim and I don't care. They told me how much they'd pay me before I started for goodness sake. Complaining and blaming others is counter productive. And socialism is for morons.

[@bretrides]

@@BroosDager working hard for someone thats taking advantage of you does not make you a good man. You sound like one of those type of employers that takes advantage of a good employee. people are starting to see thru that bullshit.

[@BroosDager]

@@bretrides The original poster didn't complain, and I didn't say anything bad about him. You guys thought it was your opportunity to be one more poor victim today. We don't need more victims. All you poor babies being taken advantage of. Work all day pissed that someone is doing better then yourself, because they're paying you exactly what they told you they'd pay you when you took the job. You boys gonna have a hard time being so oppressed lol!

[@LunarDeity]

I"m 51 and when I look back at my 20's, 30's & 40's all I remember was working. I always worked overtime, or worked 2 jobs or worked full time and went to school. It really just paid the bills. I never got ahead. Those years are gone and I can't get them back.

[@AverageAngel]

that's straight up frightening to hear as a twenty something

[@KarlsLabReport]

I hear you there - I am in the same boat.

[@Canis2024]

53... same experience

[@drewmarquez1443]

I was gravedigger/caretaker for about 5 years. Made $32,500 a year. Someone slipped up and mentioned that almost a million dollars had been made by all the work me and my digging partner had done in a year. We did it all, dug, set stones, facility maintenance, equipment repairs, ground maintenance. I loved the job, but I had to eventually leave. I could not justify the amount of work for the pay.

[@alexandru5369]

That's crazy

[@Jason-im3pz]

So you got more than 150k, assuming your partner was paid the same the wages alone takes up a third of that million. Factoring in purchasing materials/equipment, your share of the million actually seems fair enough

[@donaldkasper8346]

@@Jason-im3pz If you cannot make at least $300k from an employee's labor, and that was 30 years ago, you would not remain in business. Business is buried in fees, taxes, regulations (more taxes), from city, county, state, and fed, all with their hands out.

[@LynxStarAuto]

@@Jason-im3pzhm your math is wrong. He got paid 32k *a year* to do the bulk of the work, and the company made *over a million* in income *in the same year.* That's not 1/3, that's less than 4% of the profits split between two minions. That's not how capitalism is supposed to work. As a business owner myself respectfully.

[@questioneverything594]

Without education or an in demand skill this is what happens

[@Doc-Holliday1851]

As a person who’s abandoned corporate America along with my wife and brother I’ll tell you. Working for yourself may be stressful but working for someone else is soul crushing. I’ve worked at 3 companies over the course of 10 years, the following is true for each job. - my opinions were never taken seriously regardless of my expertise . I was once hired explicitly for my level of expertise in my given field and 100% of my ideas were then shot down by management despite management telling me they didn’t know how to fix the problem themselves. - I was asked to do menial or odd tasks that lay outside the purview of my job, sometimes to such a degree that the “extra work” took more time and energy than what I was actually being payed for - people did things without concern for how their actions effected others and I would be left cleaning up their mess - the expectations of management were often wild and disconnected from the work that I was actually doing to the point that it was clear they actually had no idea what their employees did - the work environment wasn’t conducive to good productivity. No attempt was made to make the work environment better. In fact steps were often taken seemingly to make it worse on purpose - success was measured against an unknown and impossible standard - management lied constantly and often worked against its employees

[@dadams1437]

Couldn't agree more. We've all seen and heard the stories of employees that spent 29 years working for a company only to be unceremoniously terminated to avoid paying that employee their upcoming pension. It's dispicable.

[@DustinDonald-cz9ot]

Had that happen to a friend of mines mother.

[@jonboatmorava9115]

In my current experience once a person gets about 10 years in they boot ya out. Has happened twice to me personally. I'm currently restarting for my third time and I can smell it happening again

[@zodglubby]

How do you deny a pension after 29 years? After a certain number you become vested, if you even have a pension. I worked 7.5 years for a town and get one. 401ks also go with you

[@tradeprosper5002]

@@zodglubby Private isn't as generous as the public sector when it comes to pensions.

[@Jake-mi3bj]

That's what you call capitalism and it's cancer. America is anti employee flat out

[@RagingRabbit90]

My father worked about 90 hour work weeks, as a tri-trade ( electrician, machinist, gas fitter with ammonia cert.) He would come home Friday night at 8pm ( started at 4 with an hour commute) and would leave Friday night to drive truck all weekend long. I missed out on having him in life because he wanted to Give me everything he never had. Truth is I would have rather just had my father around. And when I finally was old enough to start building an adult relationship he passed away. It broke me for a long time. And now I just couldn't do that to my kids. Regardless of the money

[@thispersonrighthere9024]

i'm so happy to see someone here who gets this!

[@aloeisthestuff9622]

My father has never held any thing more dear than a Buck. I don't even know if he's still alive.

[@jxk7712]

Celebrate your father, I’m a proud father of five living in southeastern Massachusetts surrounded by one and two children households. Thankfully my area is mostly Catholic and have larger clans. I digress, worked more than ninety for thirty five as a one-upper and consider myself lucky for doing so. God and Country provided me the opportunity to work hard, harder and longer than the guy next to me. That reality coupled with a faithful wife handling the books we all got ahead. I’m in the process of generating generational wealth, no one is going to steal it. This information is counterintuitive and offensive to Sean. God bless

[@rejectionistmanifesto8836]

Sadly too many men just have children when they're not in a financial situation good enough to where they can work enough hours with time for their children. Society has suffered for this while we glorified this lifestyle as hardworking and the Amrrican way while the Globalista took over. People were so busy they didnt pay attention to their society to fight against bad changes, just kept their heads down working hard as if that was all that was required to be part of a functioning society. Young men I say to you, do not start a family if you do not have a job which allows enough time to be a strong influence on your child unless you want the state and media brainwashing them to become the type of zombies rioting and electing senile fools into office.

[@thewatcherofstuff]

This is it. This is the lesson every father struggles to learn in time. Some never do.

[@Artisanwoodworks73]

As a 49 yr old GenX, I worked so hard cause I needed to. 35+ years as a carpenter as well as everything else that was needed. I’m broken. Many of us are.

[@Beijingbiden]

20 years oilfield I am broken brother

[@Xirrious]

Broken like, how exactly? Physically?

[@Artisanwoodworks73]

@@Xirrious Yes physically. Severe nerve damage from repetitive stress injuries as well as falls from failing equipment etc. I'm broken.

[@Xirrious]

@@Artisanwoodworks73 man, I'm working as an electrician and I've just started really in the last couple years, worked other trades as well. Am 33 now but my elbow is already giving me problems. Repeated squeezing to cut and strip wires I think...

[@thegeniusofthecrowd354]

@@Artisanwoodworks73 Me too pal, 50, A&E nurse, knees fucked and dislocated shoulder that needs a dangerous operation I refuse to have. Going offgrid and getting on the Hunter S. Thompson retirement plan.

[@Grombrindal91]

It's not just blue collar. I worked as an engineer for a NASA contractor. One day I was able to piece together a few documents and discovered they charged NASA on the low end, $200/hr per engineer working hour. But it was likely closer to $300/hr plus they fudge the hours a bit. They paid us maybe $45/hr on average and were constantly bitching how they had a tight budget and can't afford decent raises. I stopped caring after that and left shortly later. Even now I find myself not pushing myself all that hard-and seriously considering just starting my own business.

[@jbsimmons54]

Yep, just because we are white collar, degreed, and salaried, mgmnt likes to work us at 60-70 hour weeks while bitching and moaning that there's no money in the budget for raises, yet mgmnt keeps raking in these performance bonuses. The higher they are, the more insane money they get for a lot of stupid decisions they aren't qualified to make! Japan has it right for mgmnt. They don't get paid like US elites do. They pay their employees well. The downside of that is employees are married to the company and work hours are endless.

[@favoriteswubby]

I was born in 1957. When I grew up, a lot of people dug basements and covered them with the first floor and rolled roofing. Each week, after getting paid, they would purchase however many materials they could afford. Little by little they would build their house. In about 5 years the house would be ready to move into and they would have no debt. Then in the late 60s to early 70s every place started making it illegal to live in a partially finished house. By the late 70s the 30 year mortgage was introduced. Today many people may think that they are home owners, but very few people actually are.

[@lizamali1619]

Too many laws. We should reset them to freedom.

[@tomevans4402]

Well said

[@de14jabs]

Property tax makes it clear you never own it. *Wake up*

[@makeitpay8241]

@@lizamali1619 correct!

[@Cmill0588]

Agreed! You continue to rent your land from the government!

[@ForObviousReason]

I'm a tree climber. work mostly 45 hour weeks. absolutely brutal hard work. Probably the most strenuous trade. I made $20/hr and my boss charges $150/hr for me. The dude has 3 personal trucks that are individually worth more than my entire net. The nature of the relationship between workers and bosses these days is Vampirism.

[@rustyshackleford4801]

There’s a name for it, it’s called capitalism.

[@ForObviousReason]

​@@rustyshackleford4801 The relationship between gen pop and the "central authority" would be characterized by what? puppies and utopia?

[@martinladley]

@@rustyshackleford4801 How ignorant can you be ? Capitalism bad, nah nah nah nah. Capitalism can obviously lead to vampiric greed, but to claim this is inherent to Capitalism is incorrect.

[@stevenhenry5267]

I'm a custodian and I make more than you. You deserve more. And EMT's really deserve more

[@STEVE-lk2ft]

So can’t you understand how you could be making 159$ an hour?

[@negativesc0pz689]

My high school welding teacher Mr. Bachinski had been welding for over 40 years, and teaching for 30. The one thing he always told us is to never be a slave to a paycheck. Go and do something that actually gives you fulfillment. He was a wise, and very funny man lmao

[@RunninUpThatHillh]

You ever hear that Simple Man song by Skynyrd? Great tune.

[@donniedonnie639]

I understand where you are coming from but, a $30 an hour employee cost the employer more like $45. Supply additional benefits like health insurance, paid time off/vacation time and a company vehicle to drive and this becomes much, much more. Maintain a building, a tool/parts inventory plus various licenses and insurance you will probably decide that employer wasn't charging enough for you. Besides, if you weren't working and had more down time, you are not preserving your vitality for the future but probably being detrimental to your health. It's why the government likes to keep people paid that don't work, they know they won't be around long anyway. I enjoy watching this channel, but I have to disagree. If you are not working to pay your own way you are either scamming the government or your parents or someone else. Of course, there are valid reasons and justified exceptions, but most all do not fall into that category. It's not completely the people's fault, maybe not at all because it seems designed or at least condoned by our leaders.

[@Dj.MODÆO]

@@donniedonnie639 there is a massive difference between labor overhead and cost per hour and employee exploitation. Charging the customer 20x what your paying the people doing the work is absolute exploitation. They aren’t exactly welding in outer space or at the bottom of the ocean. It does not cost $200-$250 an hour to employee a welder who makes $20 an hour, even if you include workers comp, unemployment, insurance etc,. Even if it cost $120 an hour to employ a welder it does not justify charging $250 an hour for his services and only paying him 10% of that. What defines Greed is that someone demands or wants more than is fair and more than necessary to accomplish something when it could work out better for everyone and yet remain profitable. But what makes Greed so damn dangerous is that there will always be justifications for it and make practical sense on the face of it, that can lure in even most well intentioned and generous person if they don’t start digging into the details.

[@gregjones3660]

@Donnie Donnie- it’s like you don’t comprehend. They ask the work from you of 2-3 people. Please don’t die doing the work of 2-3 people Donnie Donnie. If that happened to you and in the last few moments of your life you’d say. I understand now. They expected so much because they had business expenses… If it’s that bad then they are adhering to a terrible business model. If the business isn’t that bad then what Wranglerstar said was true… don’t be a fool Donnie Donnie…

[@donniedonnie639]

@@Dj.MODÆO None of that is accurate. Suppliers, manufacturers and everyone else knows the going rate for every industry/business and cost to be in business is adjusted accordingly. There are companies with thousands of employees that generate high levels of profit, but the benefit is they provide thousands of needed jobs. Not so far in the past man had to struggle against the elements for food, shelter and safety for themselves and their family, life spans were much shorter. With the population we have today, that lifestyle is impossible, so we trade our time for the things we want and need to survive. That time will be spent somewhere anyway and is no more dangerous than the previous. If you are not trading your time to make your way, you are a burden to someone. The government, your family, your spouse or someone is maintaining you. Most of this big company, big money view is jealously and people feeling entitled to what they have. We see it everywhere at even lower levels. If you have a home, car and lousy job you hate... believe me, someone out there wants that and sees you the same way you look at the big companies. Excess money almost always causes more damage than good to most people's lives. They see it as things and not a tool as it should be viewed, these things appear important but there's always a price to pay beyond purchasing. I'm self-employed, work as hard as anyone and know firsthand how things appear, and the heavy cost that everyone seems to overlook. On the bright side if governments around the world (especially here in the US) continue the path they seem hell-bent in pursuing, all of us citizens will be sharing nothing or a minimal amount to keep going, why the government has and controls it all (in the name of fairness for the people of course) and the "not getting my fair share" or "start at the top attitude" is helping them attain their goal. So, will you be happy then?

[@pughconsulting]

My dad was the same way. He now is mid-60s and can barely walk, is in pain every day, has had one back surgery, severe arthritis, etc. He's been in a wheelchair prior to the back surgery. He can barely drive. He falls pretty frequently. Hard work ends up destroying you. He's given his body to work. He's even literally given his blood.. well over 20 gallons of it. His dad is still alive, uses a walker, had two experimental back surgeries, can't drive, barely moves around. Same story. Well drilling, building houses, septic tanks, plumbing, etc. To those who received their services, you're welcome. It came at a bigger cost than the check you paid with.

[@lpdoc3369]

Hope you can escape the cycle, I climb under houses for a living and I’m 25. My back is so stiff when I wake up I have to stretch before I do any work and even after stretching a pain free work day isn’t promised.

[@3243_]

To both of you, and to the first poster's father and grandfather, I'm sorry. May all of you be healed and comforted.

[@PleakeCrions]

It’s so refreshing seeing someone of the older generation actually understanding what these younger generations are thinking and why we’re trying to rebel against the corporatocracy that our country has been reduced to

[@bobbyc.1111]

Well I think the jobs are good but the hrs are bad. So weeks should be 30 hrs a week 6 hours a day and instead of money going to Ukraine everyone should have houses but when gov does that they want to stick you in projects instead of just all homes paid for just pick one because how does gov own land or water or air? HOusing and insurance should be covered like it is for politicians people argue about paying for the mases yet they don't about the politicians? and give money to countries if you are going ot give it give it to us since we are the ones working for it anyway. Its a farce, you used to be abole to buy a honme witho ne income no you need two. nope they set it that way. we need to pull back if a woman ends up single give her the a home too and provide food. they set it up to make it look it has to be done a certain way but it doesn't

[@darkopz]

I wrote a huge reply. I realized it would be completely ignored. The moment you are no longer supported by a family member or the government with money, is the moment you’ll change your mind.

[@chrishooge3442]

I've seen far too many posts with the attitude that "people don't want to work." It's horse hockey. During the pandemic lots of folks found out they either couldn't get food service hours or they could work from anywhere. It didn't hurt that 3 million baby boomers decided to move up their retirement. Now employers can't take their workers for granted. In fact, the bigger employers are the ones pushing up wages and luring employees away and pricing out the little guys. Finally the millennials are catch a break.

[@papaix4387]

For thousands of years raising enough of food to stay alive making enough of clothing to be covered and having water to drink consumed 100% of the time and they died young. This idea that we can have all kinds of free time and be pursuing our goals is built on an oil economy. If you start taking that away we’re going to go back to what it has been for thousands of years before modern life started. I’m not saying ancient life was bad or terrible but The Talk here is not balanced in the light of thousands of years.

[@orangemanonsteroids8569]

I'm 57 went to Germany back in the 80s lived there on and off for a total of 18 years. worked in Thier system and ours. I been saying what he's been saying since 1990

[@wobbles7915]

His name was Gregory Starner He was an overworked UPS driver in Wasilla, Alaska. He either had a heart attack or killed himself. They found him in his truck in uniform on the side of the road. Thats your reward for 12-16 hours a day for 20+ years.

[@jesusislord3321]

Dang!

[@endorphinrider1633]

Many more will follow. It appears we're in the middle of an economic and societal collapse.

[@andybrown6981]

We had a bus driver take a bathroom break yet she never came back out from the toilet cubicle. Age was around 53.

[@datguy4104]

In death wage slave has a name. His name was Gregory Starner. His name was Gregory Starner. His name was Gregory Starner. But on a serious note RIP. Always take care of yourself over a corporation brothers.

[@map3384]

And your wife divorcing you because she’s unhappy.

[@free_at_last8141]

I overheard this kind of conversation at the Barber once. A Man was blown away that none of the local fast food joints could find employees even when offering "up to $15/hour." He remembered being paid just $3.00/hour as a dish washer in 1971. Plugging that into an inflation calculator returns a modern value of $21.95/hour.

[@robertjensen1048]

Guess what , he was wayyyyy overpaid as a dishwasher in 1971. That wage should have more like $2 per hour for that then.

[@davidpkm]

Minimum wage in 1971 was $1.60. So he was making almost twice the minimum wage.

[@robertjensen1048]

@@davidpkm Thanks for checking. So, he was like the highest paid dishwasher in the state LOL.

[@free_at_last8141]

@@davidpkm $1.60/hour was the minimum wage in 1971. Using the same inflation calculator, that is a modern value of $11.70/hour. The current Federal minimum wage is $7.25/hour. The payroll taxes in 1971 were 5.2%, while today they're 7.65%. The point is that earlier generations were payed more and taxed less.

[@jjones503]

I have 3 job postings starting at $25 an hour, haven't gotten one contact in 3 months.

[@kimayaknight7180]

It should be "people don't want to be slaves anymore! " Instead of "people don't want to work anymore" Many people, particularly the younger generation, use a range of unconventional methods of earning a living these days. I worked in the retail for over 10 years, so l'm quite happy that this is taking place. For too long, retail bullied me and a lot of my employees/colleagues saying things like "if you don't like it,go; another like you is waiting to get into your position " since the COVID, I found a job that helps me grow, pays me more and Values Me Social media cleared the way for a rapidly expanding market, and it taught us a lot. 2020 was my turning point, and investment helped alot!

[@phillawson5785]

You're very right. There's almost nothing interesting or motivating about 9-5 anymore

[@antoniolucas2965]

The majority of this new generation loves working remotely and prefers to be their own boss!

[@kimayaknight7180]

Yeah the 2020 pandemic gave everyone a big rethink! I tried a lot of things I realized I shouldn't just let my savings sit around in the bank, try side hustles. It paid

[@antoniolucas2965]

Speaking about investing, what worthwhile Investments are you making? And how do you do it ? I can learn and put my savings into good use

[@kimayaknight7180]

There's various profitable ways to invest. Starting out you need to work with experienced hands to walk you through. As a rookie I dabbled in and made mistakes till I got a mentor to put me on the right track. You can search one too, read books and do your own research

[@cwilli8937]

The "Anti-work" movement has not been so well described on KZbin in my experience. Proves you learned it first hand. Its not about not doing a job, its not even about not doing a hard or dangerous job. The Anti-work movement is a product of the seeing our parents not get the respect they deserved for the sacrifices they made to an effort that only mattered to a class of people who used those resources generated to abuse our generation, our political system, our environment and our loved ones.

[@UncleKennysPlace]

It starts far earlier than that. The high achievers in school were looked down upon, when it was the slackers that should have been pounded.

[@aethulwulfvonstopphen8013]

Exactly, I saw the turmoil my father endured (which came down the line to me of course) trying to afford a family of 4 kids (which isn’t that many) and keep us out of the failing and crime ridden city that’s being colonized by foreigners without going bankrupt. I saw that as a kid and said I’m never doing that. I’m never taking a slave job and I’m never taking on personal debt.

[@outdoors-fun]

Wow..Nailed it man, well said.

[@tophat2002]

The system will push out nonconformist. Onto food stamps and commods, section 8 housing.

[@andymorgan6644]

Exactly. We working class put our bodies and souls on the line whether you work on an oil rig or work in a supermarket. These companies have no loyalty to you and will happily fire you so they can rehire you on worse pay and conditions just so they can show a 1% profit increase to their shareholders. And then you see that the toil you put in every day rewarded by the profits of others. Others who will happily spend the excess they make from creaming off your wages or cutting corners with safety. Spending it to pay for a helicopter to skip over the traffic that you are stuck in, burning your gas, getting to the job that earns enough to pay for your rent. My father often comments on why I don't do the dangerous things he did when he worked my job even though he now has arthritis at 60 from the cumulative broken bones and used alcohol to numb the pain. Well retiring at 60 is way beyond the means of many of my peers. At 40 I can see at least another 30 years of grind that I have to keep my body working for. Additionally, we are not grinding now to: fight a war, build a nation or aspire to a happy fulfilled retirement. We are now doing it so that the landlords we rent from can accrue more capital to snatch more property from us and of course... To pad the pockets of the new Holy Class, the shareholders. As a philosopher once said, its like slavery but with more steps.

[@ENIGMAXII2112]

As my Father said several times, it just does not pay to work anymore. Especially for someone else.. He was one of the hardest working Man I have ever known. Who survived the Great Depression by working in child labour to help the family out. Not a lazy Man by any means. But things have changed oh so much, and MANY eyes are being open to the down right abuse of being maliciously USED...

[@LIVdaBrand]

⚠️‼️

[@snigie1]

You yanks are learning why they're letting illegals in! Otherwise eventually they'd need to pay more!

[@Johnsnow2r7v83f]

People are starting to wake up, employers have no loyalty but expect employees to.

[@MrRlwillis1977]

Nailed it as usual. I'm 46 and have already had a heart attack. I'm a mechanic and carpenter by trade. I made peanuts while the bossman made a fortune from MY knowledge, MY work, and MY investment in tools. It boiled down to someone else living quite well off what I had invested MY life in.

[@stronginthestorm1781]

Absolutely spot on. Im in the same boat and the same truth has hit me

[@notsure7874]

Mechanic is possibly the worst skilled trade in terms of employee / employer dynamic. The tool expenses are insane. For what y'all get paid, the shop should provide literally everything down to the last socket and screwdriver. I'm not even sure it's legal to deduct tools on your taxes as an employee.

[@shanefowler3504]

@@notsure7874 I'm pretty sure that in my state of New Hampshire anyways if you provide your own tools to do a job then you are considered a subcontractor you could call the Department of Labor in your state

[@shanefowler3504]

@@notsure7874 You can deduct the cost of the tools as an unreimbursed employee expense on Schedule A if both of these apply: You work for an employer, rather than being self-employed. You're required to have the tools for your trade.

[@juswolf22]

Mr R you should probably be looking at what you putting into your body

[@benjaminturner3869]

Your ability to step back from your own bias and understand what the younger generations are experiencing is profound. As a father and uncle to many who are now lost in this sea of uncertainty I applaud you. There is no justification for the CEO of a major corporation to be a multi-millionaire or a billionaire when his employees qualify for federal assistance. We inherited a lie. A lie that kept generations of people under the thumb of the wealthy.

[@devonturney4840]

I'm 35 now, and I've worked in construction, trucking, and equipment operation for my entire life and all I have now to show for all that work today is the pain. The way I've been treated by my employers after my injuries is disgusting. Paying people the bare minimum that you can get away with is more than just cheap. It's morally wrong. I'm happy to see so many of these companies hurting for help. I hope they go bankrupt. I'll never lift a finger for any of them again.

[@jesusislord3321]

I understand. Many of them will reap what they have sown (Karma) because of greed, unfair work practices. Many, I believe, are struggling, can't find workers, some businesses have had to close because of how they mistreated people.

[@technicaltreasures7297]

Amen

[@techserve4453]

As a Bank Manager I was told the reason why Tellers were paid so little. At that time the pay was around $10 - $11 dollars per hour and less than 35 hrs per week. The Bank pays so little in order to keep the employee struggling so they won't leave.

[@marcomoreno6748]

Yet there are libertarians running around saying we should abolish minimum wage. Some business owners would chain you to the workshop if they knew they wouldn't face consequences.

[@techserve4453]

@@marcomoreno6748 yeah! Isn’t that the truth. So focused on greed they loose site of fairness and a livable life.

[@LoveLife-oo9cz]

How can you pay someone so little and expects them not to leave? They can find other jobs at anytime. Maybe the workload is not that hard, and during weekdays, most people go to work so hardly any drive-through.

[@stevenhenry5267]

Libertarians are a blight on humanity.

[@kolerick]

and... it prove my comment: slavery with extra step if you don't make much but your living costs are high... and management is on your back for imaginary faults all the time, your sense of worth is lost, you have no time nor means to improve yourself and move on... you are living your whole life walking the tight rope and everything vital (rent, healthcare, studies) is overpriced to drive you to work to pay for it... why do they want you to make a lot of children? well, there is a cost for them... big costs... America: live to work Europa: work to live

[@hidden-treasures]

Glad you woke up. I'm a Boomer pushing 70, and entered "retirement" through the ICU. I learned what you learned to late, but it could have been worse for me. Now, I have to take a lot of prescriptions to hold myself together, but I am fully functional otherwise, thank God. He spared my vision. My job as an Engineering Manager exposed me to all aspects of the operation, from the grunts in the trenches to the directors at the top. All the work was done by the grunts, but upper management kept squeezing us middle managers to cut salaries at the bottom. Of course, the bonuses only went up, up, and up at the top. Before I left, the Director gave her "why I hate Engineers" talk just before Christmas. I'd had enough, and saved enough to pull out. I thank God for the illness. It forced me to make the move I needed to make before I died in that job.

[@akven0m]

He just described my life. I'm 59 years old and have done physical labor my whole life. I feel like I'm just about used up, with no hope of retirement. It's most likely that I'll die with my boots on, if I don't end up in a nursing home first.

[@mtc4560]

You are not alone, friend. I've felt like this for 15 years, at only 54.

[@shea5542]

❤

[@katiez688]

Exactly. I am 41 and every year that goes by it feels more and more like most Americans are treated like farm animals that are owned by a tiny ruling class. They have even figured out how to 100% drain most of us of any savings we have with for-profit assisted living facilities.

[@styracosaurusqvt4841]

And rents that rise far faster than wages do, and faster even than general inflation.

[@christopherallen9580]

nothing new

[@bonniebon7335]

@@christopherallen9580 at least theyre waking up. We've been hard rasped financially direct by govt (illegally) and can't help ourselves with broken spines much less anyone else.

[@ibealion1]

Who is this "they"? Anyone with more money than you? All business owners? Some group colluding to hold you down?

[@HealingLifeKwikly]

@@ibealion1 "Who is this "they"? Anyone with more money than you? All business owners? Some group colluding to hold you down?" Over the last 40 years, giant corporations and many among the 1% have rigged the economy (and government policies) so as to siphon more and more wealth and power from average citizens/workers and funnel it to giant corporations and the 1%.

[@BaChewieChewieChomp]

I worked hard for years in healthcare, took pride in my work and saved lives. It destroyed my body, mental and emotional state, and when the day came when I needed help after making absolutely MILLIONS of dollars, a hospital blamed me for something I didn't do and I lost my license. Hard work used to be a guarantee, but employers are squeezing people for everything and giving nothing, property and cost of living is skyrocketing, and all the promises our generation were given are becoming undone. Very well said, anyone who has a problem with this video hasn't listened and learned enough from the people around them.

[@scoodler]

My father was a carpenter. He passed away at 58 due to complications he got from the laser treatment he received during his battle against lung cancer. He got the cancer from working inside a building that contained dust that got into his lungs. To my memory, he was coughing within a month of doing this job. He couldn't have been the only one to have adverse effects from this environment, but they kept them working in this toxic place till the project was completed. That's how much this company cared about their employees. He was a strong and healthy person up to that point and liked his job. My mother should have sued the company, but she didn't have the mental or emotional strength to handle something like that after he died. If you are out there doing something physically challenging and sense something is threatening your safety or well being in any way, speak up about it. If that's not allowed, quit. It's not worth the risk. I miss him every day and wish he was still here.

[@jesusislord3321]

😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢 Dang, so sorry to hear about your dad. I wish your mom would have sued also. That company's owners who knew about the dangers of working in that environment will know what karma is about, for sure.

[@bioliv1]

I too. I quit at 50 y.o. It was a family company though. Luckily my brother was a narcissist and kicked me out, he never worked, while I destroyed my health. The inland climate here is too dry for my lounges. But I try to be careful and hope to recover some day. Just photograph now, as I bought an a7iii in a 50 years anniversary to myself, and got hocked. Photography saved my mental health. I just got 55 y.o., and have two wonderful daughters. It's our national day today, but we don't celebrate, our country is destroyed. I just photograph the remnants.

[@scoodler]

@@jesusislord3321 thanks for your kind reply. I appreciate it.

[@scoodler]

@@bioliv1 Good for you. Keep on photographing. Never let anyone talk you out of it. Your creative work and your daughters will be your legacy.

[@TheAnnoyingBoss]

He definetly probably was involve din something like an old asbestos building tear down. Which, theres ways to do it wothout getting cancer i think.

[@WobblyRon120]

Your story about your father brought tears to my eyes. I watched my father do the same here in the UK. My father died a young man. He spent his final years in a wheelchair which I think caused him to give up in the end. He detested being dependent.

[@Patrick-ln8qr]

As the sole provider for my family, I feel this video. I'm an office worker, and for almost 2.5 years now I've been working from home. My kids are almost all grown, and I'm seeing them every day now. I cannot help but think about the fact that when I worked in the corporate office and my kids were growing up, I left home at 6 a.m. and wouldn't get home until 6 p.m. at the earliest. I missed their childhoods. So many memories were made that I missed. My employers didn't pay me enough to miss those moments, but I'm just realizing that now. It's sad. If the younger generation has figured this out already, then more power to them, they are leaps and bounds ahead of where I was at their age.

[@JamesCrackethCorn]

Ditto. Going back to the office a few days a week now really highlights this issue. I now see very clearly what I have missed the last 20 years. And it's killing me.

[@danielromerosol4158]

Powerful post! 👍

[@longinus58]

They have figured it out and are now rebelling by not participating. Problem is we will lose another generation in this as they will be financially behind by the time anything changes. And these companies and individuals arent going to let go of their power easily.

[@joshuamason1867]

You need to figure in your drive time too. Any time you spend driving to or from are essentially givin to your employer. They are hours you can't really use on your home life or to further yourself outside of listening to a podcast or two. When I was in the office daily, I was giving my employer at minimum, 10 hours every single day. I even used to answer texts and emails after hours. All those after hours given to my employer and not advancing on the ladder or earning higher wages... I will never give them more value than they are paying for again. I did this for years before realizing I was just spinning my tires.

[@Xero_Cars]

this is pretty much on point with how me and my buddies developed our opinions on working. i started working again a month ago and ive barely been able to enjoy my time with my family and its just very disheartening when you dont even get paid much while not getting to enjoy our lives at all. And yes i know thats a part of the way of life, but it isnt a way im gonna let my life go. Because seeing my family and enjoying my moments with them is what matters most to me

[@timothyperniciaro8100]

I watched my dad work 12 to 16 hour days 5 to 7 days a week. He owned his own business and was able to provide a nice life for us and the whole family. He always said he would relax and enjoy the his retirement because he was working so hard. Cancer took him a few years ago. He never retired. He never enjoyed the wealth that he built up. If you don't have your health you have nothing. Mental health included. Watching him go through everything changed me. Why should any of us work ourselves to death? For someone else or for some dream that we may never see. It's better to enjoy life when you can. I was born in 1988 and I have arthritis all over my body from working myself to the bone. No more.

[@empirecycleman355]

See a rheumatologist.

[@Bucky1836]

Born in 88 as well dad worked me hard since 13 .....had 14 surgeries in my 20s so i literally know your pain 🤗 tumeric helps with inflammation

[@samuelalley7331]

The same reason Jesus did. Worked Himself to death to save a people that think that sacrifice means nothing.

[@xxdragan]

Carnivore diet will be your best friend

[@scottbarnett3566]

@@empirecycleman355 missing the point i think!

[@saitekina_og9271]

It’s refreshing to see the realization is hitting people. When I told my father who has worked 7 days a week with no rest for about 30 years has his own business aside from his job and spends his “free time” building and maintaining his home that I was going to get a second job as a contractor for a different company he very firmly told me that if I did that he would be extremely angry and upset with me which stopped me in my tracks and I told him I want to do what you do and he said I would rather you have one job and spend time with us and your family and take care of your health than spend your life away from Your family for these companies that don’t care about you.

[@arentol7]

If minimum wage had tracked from the 1960s to today in the USA in terms of real cost of living, it would be about $24 an hour right now. American workers have been taking a pay cut every year for the last 50 years, and no surprise we have massive income disparity issues, and we have moved from being able to support a small household on one workers wages to the brink of needing more than 2 workers for the same size household.

[@alexpearson8481]

Agree. I’ve always calculated my income into asset prices over the years. It’s the only way to know the value you are getting. I see asset inflation is much worst then the already dismal ‘core’ inflation. (Core inflation term is basically a way of lying to us). With your math, what metric did you use for inflation? Just curious.

[@alexpearson8481]

Hey Andrew. The system has always been bad, the whole system is designed by the elites for the elites at the sacrifice of the middle class. The middle class is the target because they hold the only other wealth that exists outside wealthy people. Poor don’t represent much. This isn’t the worlds first rodeo. There’s been numerous financial empires over thousands of years. The rise and fall of those financial systems are all very similar. Our advantage is that we can research these and learn from history. Rome for example. In terms of the inflation metric; the elites give us various metrics to use which for the most part are BS and lies. Core inflation? Really. BS. The only real way to measure inflation, is to divide your income in the asset price. Calculate how many hours in 1960, at minimum wage, it would’ve taken to earn 1 ounce of gold at 1960’s gold price. Now, measure minimum wage today and divide that into the price per ounce today. Whatever the variance, represents payroll loss for a minimum wage income earner over the decades. That’s how the wealthy steal middle class income. Inflation. Inflation is designed, it’s not some random phenomenon that happens naturally. The best thing anyone can do is cut the wealthy off, keep your taxes as legally low as possible, and for goodness sake‘s whatever people do don’t buy frivolous material items. Sorry if it sounds like a lecture. I’ve had years of critical thinking on the subject and my conclusions aren’t taught by anybody. My two cents Pal.

[@visual7150]

That's completely untrue, the equivalent of 1960 minimum wage ($1) adjusted for inflation would be just over $10 today (10.01) specifically.

[@nunyabizness6662]

If you don’t like the pay, start your own business. You will quickly find out all the ownership of the business will fall on you, and you will be shocked how many shitty employees are out there.

[@thodan467]

What did your unions do ?

[@madmachanicest9955]

Working hard gets you nothing. This lesson as literally been beaten into my generation

[@joy4118]

From experience, a person can work hard for over 30 years making low wages and one day your employer can get rid of you for not wearing a mask.

[@wread1982]

@@joy4118 😂

[@jillsalkin7389]

Wow, that is so sad ---- and scary.

[@erics4768]

@@joy4118 Or you just slowed and aged.

[@daviddickey9832]

Correction: working hard gets you exploited if you're working for someone else

[@AshtonCoolman]

I turned 41 last week. I realized that I've used up a lot of my good years in life working so hard that I neglected friends, family, and myself. I've gotten ahead a bit, but definitely don't have enough to show for it at this point in my life. I'm going to reverse this trend in my 40s and re-focus on myself and my loved ones to live a healthier, happier life.

[@j.l.salayao8055]

I'm rooting for you, Johnny! I'm turning 41 years young this year and about same situation as yours. Thankfully, we caught it earlier and life made more since now to make changes rather than to realize it when we are on our 70's or 80's.

[@johnmitchell2269]

Seems like a good idea. Work life balance is key.

[@pureblood3127]

YES SIR , that's exactly why we are NOT supposed to flip burgers or live with mommy until we are 35 and then realize oh no I have no retirement LOL .

[@jesusislord3321]

You are a wise young man. There's more to life than just money, things. As you get older, you realize you'll need your family and friends, to be there for you, as they will need you to be there for them.

[@bk2no]

I'm 43 and I just assumed that working is a part of life. When I take a two week vacation, I'm ready to go back to work around day 10. I really don't understand all the complaining these days.

[@redpilledpureblood7585]

General Patton Was Correct When He Said " We Fought The Wrong Enemy"

[@oliverreno4734]

Should have fought the 'Js' and not the 'Ns'.

[@deejayimm]

I am so glad someone with a voice spoke this. We are not lazy, we are tired of being cash cows. In 2000, the big factory in my rural area paid 9.80 an hour, OF COURSE as a temp (evil companies that have no right to exist). 14 years later, I moved back to where I grew up and the same job started at 10.70 an hour. The cost of living doubled or quadrupled, and the pay went up 90 cents. They have since increased their wages to near 13, but my god the world has become even MORE expensive. The death of America started with the creation and subsequent worshiping of the term PROFIT MARGIN. Your employees are your greatest asset. If you do not realize this, you deserve to go out of businesses because "people are lazy". It is an unfortunate dichotomy that "nothing is made in America anymore", and the fact that factory workers are considered "unskilled laborers". These elites will sell the whole country out, so that 8 year olds in China will do the work that increases their profit margin.

[@tomkeppler1717]

And your guilty of buying all those child labor made products and not paying attention to what that's doing to our country until it's to late

[@deejayimm]

@@tomkeppler1717 only when I have no choice. You seriously think this is consumer-driven? Companies outsource to increase profits. That's why there were 66 billionaires in the US in 1990, and there are 735-937 in the US today. It's not the fault of the people. People buy what's on the shelf.

[@u2bemark]

I think employers forgot the other meaning of people of who work for them... that is, those people are doing work you cannot do.. they are literally doing work FOR the owners. They are doing work that the owners cannot do for themselves. Secondly, re: buying things made in China and elsewhere by, essentially, slave labor... the polticians let us all down allowing that to happen.. and then you have teh talking heads like the New York Times' Tom Friedman who told us all "The World is Flat".. and that that was a good thing. Globalists.

[@deejayimm]

@@u2bemark I think yt deleted your comment.

[@rogersmith7396]

The only reason that pay has gone up at all is because no one will work for what they are offering. I am in a rural area where minimum wage has been the norm. They have had to go up to $15.00 or more not because they should but because their workplaces are empty. Pay or go broke. There is only upper class housing. The Republican city government is talking of building worker housing to keep their little elite Nirvana from closing down. The gas station has closed all but two pumps because they won't pay workers. The Sonic has closed most of their kiosks because they don't want to pay workers. How stupid is it to cut your income by half rather than pay an extra buck or two an hour for workers. American elites are sick and they are killing this country. As they pay no taxes only the workers pay and there are fewer and fewer of them.

[@williamodom2580]

I’m a baby boomer, I’ve worked had all my life, for many years I worked 2 jobs, I was a firefighter/paramedic and worked construction with my dad, your so right it takes a toll on your body. I’m 77 I’ve had a heart attack, cancer,total knee replacement on both knees, rotator cuffs repaired,hernia operation and you what I have finally realized that I just can’t do everything I was able to do when I was younger but I still try to do it, but takes twice as long as it used to. But you know what both my kids have the same work ethic and I’m proud of them, but I have told them many times life is too short to work all the time, my daughter lives in a huge 4 bedroom house by herself and 3 dogs WHY, when she could get by with a place half the size or less. It’s just not worth working yourself to death and crippling yourself

[@EKEACRES]

I am 51 and have done hard physical labor all of my life. I grew up in Poverty with a single parent, quit school when I was 15 and went right to work. My last job was a Professional Landscaper for 12 years. I RUINED my health digging tree holes, foundations, raised beds, running wheelbarrows, etc, all day in full sun & 90 degree heat. I am now on Disability because I have a laundry list of health problems, including Dupuytren's Contracture Disease of both hands, which cause them to close up into a fist permanently!. I have NOTHING to show for ALL my hard work over the decades, but bills and bad health problems. There is NO American Dream,..it's more of a Nightmare!.

[@colettemitchell3412]

I'm so sorry.

[@horsemumbler1]

There's an American dream, it's just not for fools and idiots who waste their health on thankless work and don't even think to save: people like that shouldn't reproce anyway. The hard side of the American dream is that if you're too big a fool and don't actually build the dream yourself, you'll end up nowhere and with nothing, because nobody's gonna give it to you just because you were a good boy and mindlessy did what you were told for years for someone else's scraps.

[@readein]

@@horsemumbler1 Way to write a whole paragraph that essentially says nothing. Us Americans are told from day one that as long as we go to college/trade school and become skilled at our trade that we will eventually make it. Decades ago when the economy was better honest hard working americans busted their asses and gave their bodies just to build a family and provide and even some of those people get shafted in the end. You know the same people that are the backbone of america that builds/maintains infrastructure. However now the economy has gotten to the point where the same work simply doesn't provide the same. So is you're answer for everyone to start their own business and hope to become rich? That's not how it works.

[@marcburns508]

I did landscapping for 3 seasons... then I got a real job that payed better after my boss let me go. The reason? I wanted a whole week, 5 days off... he gave me 4... i took it off anyway. Probably the best worker this guy ever had. No complaints, maintained the truck n machines. Nothin but oil changes, blade sharpening, and the occasional bent blade. He called me up out the blue the next season begging for me back, but by then I had started in the trades and I made way more than he could pay. Every job I ever lost, I found a better higher paying one. Dont ever be afraid to walk out on these fools... if they think your stuck they will use you up, and discard you like trash.

[@EKEACRES]

@@marcburns508 Everyone knows working for yourself is better than working for an employer. It's called cutting out the middle man.

[@jcol341]

Divorce rates, taxation rates, wage stagnation, lack of stable families, modern dating realm being what it is. Tell me how the younger guys are merely "lazy". At least one older guy seems to genuinely understand the exponential effort needed to do what was so much easier before.

[@hopperstreams4487]

Personally I've given up. I'm gonna get a job that pays me well enough but at 25 I've never so much as kissed a girl, man -_- so I'm guessing a family isn't in the cards for me

[@woodyfpv5331]

​@@hopperstreams4487first of all, 25 is not old. It is definitely not too old to have a family. In fact, the most successful relationships tend to happen in people's 30s. Second, if you go around defining your worth by the number of kisses you've been a part of, you're gonna have a bad time.

[@madscientistmikhail]

I worked as an HVAC technician and eventually in engineer. In Seattle for 7 years. I made it to 75k a year salary. It got to the point where I worked 60+ hours a week and could never make anymore money. While I worked three 8 hour shifts in a row while my boss was in Africa "hunting". We charged 180 and hour and when calculated, I was paid 25 an hour... Both my father and my wifes father are only in their 40's and can't work anymore because they destroyed their bodies. I refuse to give the best of my life to an employer anymore.

[@drizzt3252]

Taxes are insane. Property taxes mean you never own property, you only rent it. The tax system is out of control.

[@RajaRickin]

property taxes are ruinous.

[@joy4118]

And the money system itself is fraudulent. ALL money is created as interest-bearing debt owed to bankers. Layers and layers of thievery cause most people to be poor and desperate.

[@RajaRickin]

@joy4118 well that is a whole other layer of the onion. in the end fiat systems rob society and enrich those who are closest to the bankers

[@mdfalse]

Wait until you realize that nearly all excess tax dollars just get handed out to the elite/large companies that woefully underpay their employees/laborers in the form of subsidized/contract for research, construction, defense, and anything else they can weakly tie to enrichment in the form of a blank check. Sadly, Wranglerstars idea of seeing where the money goes; it's nearly all to privatized fat cats. The workers need to wake up and realize the leaches are deeply embedded in the skin; much deeper than the government.

[@stephanieestrada6956]

What is the point of property taxes? Is it to cover the pipes that transport water and the electric cables to the house??

[@brookekathryn1980]

I left my $43 hr, 70 hrs a week job two years ago. Could not be happier! Started my own company. I and my eight employees work 20 hrs ish a week! Full benefits and matching 401k contribution. I've tripled my income and my employees all make over six figures. Don't tell me billion dollar corporations can't afford to do the same!

[@Vid_Master]

Yep, each person's labor is so much more efficient now than it was back in 1960, so why are we struggling to afford basic needs?

[@brookekathryn1980]

@@Vid_Master Bingo!

[@scottbarnett3566]

Where can I apply? 😅

[@suspicious2delicious]

What kind of business do you run?

[@brookekathryn1980]

@@suspicious2delicious Construction logistics.

[@TheRedneckGamer1979]

As someone who spent 20 years welding and is now basically crippled in their mid 40s, yea it ain't worth it. The company I worked for made millions, and when the works had ground me down to the point that I just couldn't do it anymore, coupled with the severe hearing loss and a pair of autoimmune diseases (not related to work on the lattermost) they just kicked me to the curb. That's the American work space now. If I had the time back I would have pursued my own passions and been poor and fulfilled rather than making it ok and then being left broken.

[@shea5542]

❤

[@shea5542]

🫂

[@travismitchell210]

I feel this... started out digging ditches and shoveling snow for 8 bucks an hour. Kept grinding, kept learning, worked weekends to pay for certifications and liscences, put in overtime every day of my life for over a decade. Didn't matter one little bit. Rent has went from 800 for a house to 2400 for a house. Can't qualify for a mortgage at 70k a year in my area, I have broken bones, scars, bad hands, and I'm only 32 years old. My last company fired me after years of dedication because I dealt with some health issues. And don't get me started on the direction of the country. I'm completely checked out. I have a few side hustles going, I'm gaming the system where i can, and I'm going back to school so I can work remotely, I'm just completely done.

[@Boc3phu5]

Good luck to you brother. Just pass on your message to the next generation.

[@witteegameapps7031]

If you like computers, try IT. Get a Comptia A+ certificate. Then you can work remotely. Heck, double dip if you can.

[@marksommers6089]

Haveing a house is a " Boat Anchor" , It'll Drag you Down - You can NEVER Own your House - Now , MANY , If they have the Means, Buy a Motor home, Or Camper to live in, And Avoid Rent -

[@witteegameapps7031]

@@marksommers6089 Agree. In southern California, to me, the houses are still worth $300k at most, not $1 million. They still are the 30+ year old houses made from cheap drywall and wood. I think the housing prices flating is manufactured by the government and the greedy rich. Higher home values equal higher property taxes to be collected. I actually looked into mobile homes and was shocked that despite the mobile home costing $80j, the land owner charges $2,000+ per month. Now, I'm just saving money and developing games on the side to generate a side income that will lead my family into a better retirement experience.

[@livewithmeterandnomeasureb1679]

As someone in really bad health i get this. My story is similar but ive been sick since i was born. I worked and went to school till i couldnt. Hope one day to go back to school to be a concilor if i can. Even if i cant do it as a job i love the subject of psychology (and ethics anyway.)

[@royalboo9554]

I shared a similar story with the welder. I was working 12 hour days for 17 bucks an hour less than 10 years ago. My boss was contracting me out for 125. I was struggling to pay my bills while my boss was building a million dollar lakefront house. I was working in aspestos filled crawl spaces and interstitials for 4 years before I wised up and realized it wasn't worth my future.

[@kaufmanat1]

What did you end up doing?

[@dmo848]

Sounds exactly like me. But this was for almost 10yrs. I learned this out a few years before I left. It ate me away

[@paultennis9414]

Sounds like there might be an opportunity to go out on your own. Take your contacts with you, then undercut the s**t out of your old company.

[@tikitavi7120]

Yep, I worked for a greedy creep just like your boss for thirty years. I finally quit out of the blue, and he had become so reliant on me that in two years his business folded.

[@scruffmcgruffthecrimedawg5661]

That's because you boss took all the financial risk. His company goes under and he takes all the heat and bankruptcy. You just go find a new job.

[@mondavou9408]

When you destroy the middle class, you destroy dreams. When you destroy dreams, you destroy hope. When you destroy hope you destroy the human spirt. Whether by design or accident, doesn't matter.

[@DaOldSchoolRapLova96]

Yeah the middle class is key. I miss community like how it was in the mid 2000s and below. Never saw how it was before then. I’m 26 and the future is definitely not looking good. If every job paid 10$ more an hr, things would be better

[@mondavou9408]

@@DaOldSchoolRapLova96 If every job paid $10 more, then everything would just cost more and we would be right back where we are right now. Its about having layers so folks can work up into (if they want to) more skill, more responsibly, more pay.

[@kimpersing318]

It's by design. When you kill hope you get control over a person's life.

[@mondavou9408]

@@kimpersing318 You're not wrong. Some folks have an unending well of hope. I love those people.

[@matthewrobinson6091]

The middle class doesn't exist. You noob it's just the owner class and the working class. There's no middle class and in all honesty, there never has been that's part of their system to manipulate you.

[@jennyray4698]

my first job was at age 11 (yup before child labor laws affected farm work.).I picked berries and beans and hoed weeds in the mint fields all in Oregon. Then in hay fields when I was old enough to run heavy equipment 13 + then waitress, went to school got my hairdressing licence. The owned my own shop and helped hubby with his remodel construction business, then worked in casinos for a few years...I'm 72 and worked my whole life and my body is shot! I now get $878 a month social security because my wages were so low, or contract labor that could not afford to pay self employment tax, or cash under the table to please some farmer...yup...this old lady is bitter and would encourage any young person to find another way because this nation just uses you up and tosses you out like trash!!

[@mnesmith9873]

Basically this. As a younger person I work a ton of hours for decent pay, but the likelihood of me being able to afford a home and start a family in any traditional sense just isn't a reality. Housing and healthcare seem so broken in this country for anyone that doesn't come from a family that already owns something.

[@tubeetogoo]

if it helps you i am blessed to have be born into a family where my parents built a house and we bought the remaining other half of the house of my grandparents. My parents are both retired already (mum worked 35+ yeras in IT for Siemens and Dad run a leading position in school department). They are both around 70 now and i am 25. The houses are 30 and 60 years old and as you can imagine this is the time where you need to rennovate a lot. My parents are very disabled. My mom has chronic arthritis in her hands and her feet hurt a lot so she cant walk. My Dad is morbidly obese like 200 kg and has destroyed knees, had heart attack already. What i see is that they worked so much and raised two kids and the didnt took enough care of their own body. Now they are literaly crippled and cant really enjoy their retirement. I want to study and make my way but i am mostly a janitor/nanny and torn apart. I often was a bit jealous about fellow students who didnt had such a burden. Could move to another city, receive state support and follow their own journey. additionaly i dont know how i could handle this property in the future all by myself. most likely i will need to sell it which isnt a big deal but it breaks my heart because i now my parents and grandparents put all their life enrgy into it. but i am the last one of my family that remains

[@Freight_Train]

You may have to move. I moved to a place where housing is less expensive. I also bought a mobile home on a semi-rural piece of land. It was a fixer upper and it was cheap but I've made it into a home for my family. Keep looking and praying. You may find an unexpected answer. Good luck!

[@yartsyarts]

This is what BASED looks like. Gone are the days where simply going to work was enough to provide for a family.

[@maxlown363]

I just changed 10 tires on a semi truck this morning. THe company I work for charged the customer $600. I got paid $20

[@ronnestman4696]

I’m in my mid fifties and one thing that most people don’t understand is that young people don’t want to work with assholes. They will work and take on any challenges but they don’t want anyone my age constantly telling them that they’re soft and stupid. It’s our responsibility to bring them along and teach them values and the principles for success. Don’t preach to them and don’t dump your frustrations out on them. Give them a break!

[@bendover5001]

This. If I’m working a tough job with hard men, I will put my best foot forward and be respectful. If I’m just going to get called a reject for every single mistake I make while learning, then I’ll quit on the spot if noone respects me enough to tell me what I did wrong.

[@shea5542]

Young people now days have a better sense of intrinsic value, I believe. The internet has allowed people to work through their problems more and see that they should be treated well and not just accept what comes.

[@CF.]

I’m 44 and I remember getting treated badly at work by the older employees 20 years ago. I vowed to never be that way to the new employees when I got older. Getting screamed at for no reason never gets results.

[@chunkafunk81]

Amen

[@Grinlathak]

Glad you are touching ground on this. I'm getting sick of hearing "People just don't want to work". If a job don't cover the bills then it is not a real job. One thing that really matters as well as your physical health is your mental health. Those long hours are also denying you time spent with your kids and also your parents. Kids grow older and parents eventually die. Once that happens you can't get that time back.

[@sitdowndogbreath]

Amen!! Tell it bro

[@brensway]

The pencil pushers produce nothing yet the first to complain.

[@sitdowndogbreath]

@@brensway that they are!

[@scifirealism5943]

I make $10.50 an hour as a cashier at a supermarket, and I'm kept part-time to avoid being eligible for benefits. I make $60 a week as an intern.

[@Scurvy_Soso]

If a job only covers your bill (basic housing/basic food/electricity), it's basically slavery that you have some decision power over...

[@jkbeaudoin]

As a commercial helicopter pilot, I get really frustrated when I work extra hours or days, and nearly 50% of the extra money I earn goes to taxes. It's almost not worth the effort. I just received a $5k retention bonus due to a pilot shortage, but I only received $3100. What did the government do to earn the $1900 they took from me? They make my job even more difficult and charge me for it.

[@alternatemusicaddict5226]

Goes torwards your boss wrote off for his c8 corvette

[@thelazarous]

@@alternatemusicaddict5226 More realistically it'd be his 3500HD Denali full cab that costs 85k, just heavy enough to get the extra tax write off for being a heavy commercial vehicle. The company I work for gets barebone 2500hd's for 7k more than a 1500 that'd do the same job but save so much money by getting the 2500HD.

[@Northwoods208]

I'm a timber faller, and I feel your pain

[@eyesofthewolf101]

They took your money and gave it away in the form of 'welfare'

[@thelazarous]

@@eyesofthewolf101 And don't forget all the missiles

[@vince8520]

Even though I'm in IT and make a good living I can relate to your point. I just quit a job because I was tired of dealing with external consultant that make 200$/h not delivering anything. and then you finds out that the so called consultant is actually a friend of your boss and they went skiing the weekend prior. Then when you ask for a raise they tell you they don't have the budget ... There is so much corruption in the corporate culture these days that to me loyalty to employers is completely out the window

[@johngoldsworthy7135]

I’m in IT too and the nepotism is insane. I have absolutely zero loyalty to my employer because they will drop you in a sec for any reason whatsoever

[@Snowburnt]

My employer had to raise our hourly rate by $5 an hour. The turnover rate was too high. (They stated this.) Nothing with work has changed but the pay. No production increase, or price hikes. Makes you wonder if they could have afforded the raise earlier.

[@severalwolves]

dude, they can afford it; McDonald’s is RICH

[@thadoc5186]

@@severalwolves I guess you don't understand profit margin.

[@raulhogland7309]

They could but didnt have too. You were still there. It’s not till they have to will they pay more. You would do the same. You never pay more than necessary on anything do you?

[@Snowburnt]

I don't work for McDonald's by the way. Just in case this was thought. I work for a "state".

[@hungryowl1559]

My previous employer gave me a big raise as well vecause of the turn over on the other crew. I was insulted. All that means is he could have afforded to pay more more this entire time! I quit

[@AngelofHogwarts]

I'm a 27-year-old female and I work as a Systems Engineer (100% remote), flexible hours, laid back work, and great benefits and PTO. I'm very grateful to be in this position and even though I know my pay is a little under market value, I don't really care because I'm not being forced to commute and show up on-site 8 hours a day only to return home exhausted. I recently gave up a 17-20k pay increase from another employer because that employer required on-site work. I think our generation has just prioritized other things over climbing the corporate ladder and being a wage slave chained to the office cubicle. If I can go to the beach on a Wednesday afternoon at 2pm and put off completing some work to 7pm or a Saturday morning then why would I NOT choose that option? If I can get fast-tracked for my therapy application because I'm able to make it to the session at odd hours of the day then why would I NOT choose that option? And because I'm saving on commute time and energy, I'm able to commit to volunteer work for a Christian organization and low-income families for 3-4 hours a week.

[@Natibe_]

I’m at the same point you are, a guy with a WFH job. No girlfriend or anything so I just take home the money, and to be honest, I don’t think I’ll ever take another in-office job for any even slightly realistic pay amount unless something big changes. 150k? 250k? Nah. I’ve got everything I could ever need in a super lax job and my retirement fund is already going strong at 25. I can live most places and go most places pretty easily with a bit of budgeting, and I never have to deal with gas prices, never have to handle office police bosses, never have to wear a suit or ‘look busy for the manager’, hell I even get to finish chores in between work or meetings so I don’t have to spend my time off work doing those things. How much money is your time worth? Your sanity? For me, it’s priceless. I can get more money. I can’t get more life.

[@rex-z1q]

@@Natibe_ "I can get more money. I can’t get more life." Well stated.

[@5-minute-witness356]

"If I can get fast-tracked for my therapy application"

[@emco9527]

@@Natibe_ that truly sounds like the life my friend, just turned 20 today and honestly I’m pretty afraid I’m going to get dragged into the abyss of throwing my youth away working. What In the world is it that you do

[@daoyang223]

can also just hang out with friends and family too. I've been prioritizing my sleep and passion over work. Whenever they ask me to do overtime, I just say no now. I rather be hanging out with friends, family, and work on my projects I have at home. Sorry but my business is more important than your business.

[@brianh9358]

I have a son that is in his 20s. Up through college he used to work a part time job and go to school and manage to pass his classes. He had hope for the future and goals for himself. During Covid he lost his job and the last year he hasn't gone back. But honestly, it wasn't Covid that did in his hope. These days he is suffering from depression and that depression has all to do with the current situation in this country. We are going to tear this country apart unless we turn back from our current path. It isn't just him. Among his group of friends they are all despondent - because the "adults" in this country are acting like children. Sorry, to inject this here but that is a BIG part of what is going on for at least the younger generation.

[@Job.Well.Done_01]

Agreed.

[@Industrialitis]

This is all really vague.

[@garyh6486]

Good points. I very much suspect you are right on your assessment.

[@jimmygrant424]

You are so very correct!! These parents I see taking their toddlers to see drag shows and THEY CLAIM TO BE CHRISTIAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@rodbelding9523]

Honestly you're spot on. I'm in my twenties, lost my job during covid, and the way the country is nowadays I'm extremely unmotivated to work again. Nowadays the cost of just being alive is so ridiculous that it seems pointless to even try.

[@arnoldpuodenas8221]

Want to open a shop? Good luck competing with Walmart. Want to open a restaurant? Good luck competing with McDonald’s. Coffee shop? Yeah there are 5 Starbucks in the local area. Corporations have totally squeezed a lot of the chances for opening a small business these days.

[@Mr_Mistah]

Plenty of family owned businesses compete perfectly fine with Walmart, Target, Home Depot, etc

[@unbrokenground5694]

I really needed to hear this Cody. I'm a 27 year old farm boy and have never had a problem working 12-16 hour days on the farm until I could barely walk because being able to do such things was worn as a badge of honor in the rural community. I see how much it has destroyed farmers in their 50's and 60's, including my father and his father before him. The sad part is, he is 65 already and wont get to see nearly as much of his grandchildren's lives as most grandparents do. I've been actively forcing myself to slow it down and take it all in along the way instead of plowing straight through to the end. Its about the journey, not the destination. I've been documenting my progress on my wife and my farmstead on my channel and plan to continue it through the years, so reliving that journey and still being able to do the things I want to do at age 60, 70, and 80 are what will make it all worth it for me.

[@bobcostas9716]

Brother, I'm country too and I tell you what, you couldn't pay me to farm for a living. I've got so many friends that grew up farming and some that still do it. No vacation ever, no benefits, money is controlled by corporations and/or politicians, and if you want to bring your taxes down enough to afford to farm you have to tie up your land so that you can never make any money if you do sell it. My friend Tim runs a dairy farm and married the prom queen; great guy hard worker. I worked for his family in high school. His dad got the farm from his father, and so on back into history. Tim's dad was a crippled up old man by the time he was 60 and hardly ever touched a drink or smoke, let alone drugs in his life. Getting up to milk in all weather, pitching hay, mucking out, cleaning tanks, fixing trucks and tractors on the ground in the mud, getting kicked by cows, and everything else that goes with it just flat ruint him. There's no shame in it, and he can be proud of raising a good kid and keeping his family fed, but Tim's dad is just a done old man. You probably seen the type: about 150 lbs of bone and sinew with big forearms and veins, and no quit in him. Tough man, good worker, but it's all he can do now to get up the porch stairs, or into the excavator. I saw that and I GTFO. Tim never did and he looks more and more like his old man every time I see him. Do it if you want to, but don't let it eat you up. I just keep animals I can fit in the freezer these days.

[@rolandtitrentaquattro3109]

I am working in live concerts as scaffholder and stagehand, also the up to 12 hours is something very usual. But when i have the luck to start working for netflix series when they shoot in italy i try the 8/10 hours a day, 1250 a week (in my country is the pay of a senior surgeon) and it is hard to come back to the dirty work.

[@clmu]

This video damn near broke me because it sums up my exact feelings for the past 7 years. Our lives are being stolen from us in labor that is just barely enough to scrape by.

[@unbrokenground5694]

@@clmu Time to start your own business! I started a handyman side gig and on most jobs, I make $75-$150 an hour. It takes a LOT of research and skill, but start with what you know. Pressure washing is a GREAT way to make fast income to expand. I probably had 3 or 4 days where I made $1000 net before noon just pressure washing drieways.

[@kingscairn]

Work smart - not hard

[@onestopfunstop317]

I just started my own business. They Laid me off then called me 2 days later and offered me my same job back, but on a 1099 for 1/2 the pay and I had to supply all the equipment and software myself out of 50% less pay, with zero benefits and no retirement. No Health Insurance, nothing. It's been a few years now, and I'm doing better than I ever have before. My mood and outlook have improved 100x. I was so miserable, but still worked so hard for them. Now, I work hard for myself and my family, instead of buying fancy cars and homes for other people and their ungrateful relatives who never contributed anything to the success of the business they were sucking off of.

[@linuxstuff73]

We're being farmed is exactly what is going on. Great way to phrase it. I felt this way many years back. That we are being taken advantage of by people who don't work but are extremely privileged and entitled. I say this as a generation X. It's not even close to equitable when someone makes more the 6x than you do off of your hard work and dedication to your craft. This fact has a way of taking the wind out of people's sails and the employer can't seem to figure this out, because they're so blinded by their own greed. And on top of that, that's not even enough for them. They want your entire life now and expect you put on big smiles in the process. All the while suffering their abuse and personality disorders when you just want to show up, do the work, and get compensated. It's hard to get around the fact that you're being exploited, especially by people that pretend they care about exploitation who actually don't, but are a source of it. And then they have the audacity sit up on their high horses at every opportunity. And for toppers, they throw you away like trash at the first of trouble of their own making for their lack of financial responsibility. It is about time people started waking up and seeing them for who they really are. If anything, this attitude of the Millennials and younger of not playing the game, made me gain a lot of respect for them for standing up for themselves, because most of my peers didn't, and if we had, we could have averted this vicious cycle and potentially aided in providing them a better future.

[@dingfeldersmurfalot4560]

Your observations mirror my own, especially about the regular abusiveness and emotional exploitation employers indulge in, all along without the compensation to make it reasonably bearable. Instead we have shorter lifespans than our parents and rising rates of drug addiction and alcoholism as the result of "self medication" to try to get our heads straight and our hearts back open after a miserable day at work and coming home to an unnecessarily limited existence. I do hope the younger generations find a way to stand up for themselves before they get crushed like so many generations before them, including me in mine. Last year I worked so hard I wound up in an ambulance, and it could happen any day again, and again, until I'm just done.

[@ANunes06]

The worst is that those Non-Workers are the ones beating us over the head with "The Moral Value of Work" and "Work Ethic" and all that. Unless you call what Tucker Carlson does "work", how can you not bust a gut whenever he brings up people not wanting to work anymore? It's hilarious. Hardest thing that guy does is avoid soiling himself for the hour or so he is on camera each day.

[@FibonacciK]

Stopping ALL immigration would go a long way to raising wages. Unskilled, skilled laborers, and professionals are seeing their wages undercut by immigrants.

[@orangekilla3374]

We should deport every last one that is here to

[@Mr_Mistah]

Raising wages doesn't matter if there's high inflation. The value of the American dollar has been reduced significantly. It's not the fault of immigrants. They work the jobs YOU won't

[@FibonacciK]

You don’t know what you are talking about. You ever wonder who the unskilled laborers were prior to the 60’s? The job still got done; they were just paid more. Unskilled laborers are undercut by illegal immigrants, skilled laborers are undercut by legal immigrants, and professionals are undercut by H1B holders. I have seen this in each stage of my career. This is the perspective of a professional who has worked all types of jobs and has empathy for actual American workers.

[@royalbiscuits8442]

@@Mr_Mistah If people don't want to do jobs and they still need to be done, then employers have to start paying more to attract people. I worked in a company that bought in loads of migrants. They were constantly trying to undercut the local workers. They would send their money home as it was worth more. I saw photos of a Asian guy who built a massive chicken farm with the money he earned from that job. I could barely get by.

[@timothym9398]

One of the things I've noticed... My grandfathers generation and older worked damn hard, and expected their children to work hard, but there was always another expectation. To "pay it forward". You worked hard, paid taxes, and society tried to improve so your kids could have an easier go of it than you had. Somewhere in the "boomer" generation that "pay it forward" mentality seemed to die, and turn in to a "cash it out" attitude. Personally I think it was the cultural embrace of "trickle down" economics as a society. We stopped trying to find ways to have life's necessities affordable and instead prioritized ways to make life's petty luxuries as affordable as possible. Sure education, housing, and good food got more expensive, but TVs, fast food, and vacations got way cheaper, so if you already had housing and education covered, that transitional generation got to have the best of both worlds. Problem is... that really screwed us later generations when the downstream effects of those choices finally started to take effect. Now we're at a point where a lot of us millenials want to start a society where we "pay it forward" again, but having to start the ball rolling from a standstill, instead of maintaining existing momentum.

[@earlyriser8998]

It can't be a Boomer issue as I am a Boomer and all of my peers worked hard to get ahead. But the helicopter parents they became took incentives away. I was working at 13 and have had numerous blue collar and white collar jobs. But then tell you children not to work and give them a big allowance, buy them a car, buy them a phone, pay for their phone plan, even give them debit cards to stores. Hard for the next generation to do the 'dirty jobs' as they define them. When they get a job they expect to be managers, and VP's, and have big expense accounts without working their way up through the organization. I have supervised these kids and they do not expect to work weekends 'on call' and are disappointed when they don't get promoted each year. I tell the kids today that they should go after the blue collar jobs and avoid college unless you will be a real professional. HVAC or Plumber or Electrician or Welder make really good money when qualified. So get qualified and then you have freedom demand what you are worth.

[@brandoncowan9029]

@@earlyriser8998 Literally just not reading the man's beautifully articulated comment. Like absolutely zero reading comprehension. Demonstrating the exact mentality he is saying is the problem.

[@realityshotgun]

That's literally exactly what he said the problem is. Instead of expecting your kids to work hard and enjoying that life, you taught your kids they deserved literally everything for no work, and incentivized luxuries to run the economy via bullshit jobs. This made everything that mattered get more and more expensive. Should have taught them how to build, not to expect the world to make them ceo and shower them with toys and comforts. Supply and demand. You demanded the comforts of the world for your children, and your grandchildren are paying the price for it under the foot of the system you enriched. Boomers will do anything but look inward. It's always those softer young generation's fault, and not the ones who raised them that way. What the younger generations needed wasn't college and video games, it was skills and trades.

[@honeybadgerisme]

agreed

[@pm5206]

@Leona Capitalism works. Hyper regulation and bad politics and culture killing socialism is why we are not doing good societally.

[@Marshcreekmini]

Learning about billed rate for employees is a real eye opener. I started on my current career path after the Army and made 15-17 bucks an hour. I was being billed out to our clients at 90 bucks an hour. I totally understand my employer needing to make money in order to keep me in work, but if they are charging 4-5x your salary, you're being screwed. Don't kill yourself for people who will give you a pizza party for your efforts.

[@igitahimsa5871]

@Rich Brungard Yes.

[@greghackney8437]

Employers have huge expenses to provide jobs to the community. Billing vs pay rate is not what the employer is making for the deal.

[@JeepCherokeeful]

Yeah, I’ve ALWAYS found giving employees pizza parties a slap in the face!

[@Rick-the-Swift]

​@@greghackney8437 I always have to roll my eyes when people complain about their employers charging 4-5x the amount they are making per hour. Their employers often spend much of their life learning a trade first hand, scraping by for years while they learn from their mistakes, and building their business from the ground up. Then they teach some lucky dolt their trade in a matter of weeks, what it took them years to learn the hard way. They supply them with tools, and a truck, which their employees often abuse or misuse- meanwhile being the ones who are still ultimately responsible for the job being done correctly and professionally. And all too often they still have to fold their business, because the personnel they hoped they could depend on, become disgruntled that they aren't making the big bucks, and they end up quitting- often stealing customers out from under their employer who taught them their skills.

[@Marshcreekmini]

@@Rick-the-Swift Tell me you don't work for or own a large corporation without telling me. Look, I'm on your side here. Small business owners are the most important part of our economy, but if you have spent any time inside of an organization of 10-30k plus employees, you wouldn't be defending them. If you would, you've been gaslit.

[@origin2211]

I hear old people complain that something like 7 million men aren't working in this country but theres simply nothing worth working that hard for for a young man anymore. You wont be able to buy a house and having a family is incredibly difficult because the courts are weaponized against you and women have been raised to believe you're an oppressor. There's no real reward for your work anymore

[@trige000]

I was thinking South America because it's cheap.

[@patrickriley507]

Right on the money. My brother

[@zaofactor]

I went into Tech, and I still had to learn to not be "grateful" for my situation. In America at least they take that as a weakness, and take advantage of you. I'm now honest in my goal to do the least amount of work for the most amount of money, because I spent over 15 years doing hard jobs for pay that wasn't worth the effort I put in.

[@andrewbrenton8092]

Even though I'm in my 30s I still had the illusion that working hard would lead to rewards, that is until I got out of the Navy. I was a mechanic in the Navy and after I got out I became a machine operator/maintenance guy. This is when I learned that companies no longer have any loyalty towards their employees anymore, but constantly cry online about how employees are no longer loyal to their companies. I would work 12 hour days, sometimes six days a week, and was just tossed aside like trash by the company I worked for, and I felt like a fool because I had nothing to show for it. You see every single boomer out there driving around in giant sized luxury pickup trucks going to their nice houses, and I feel like this is something that is out of reach for me.

[@kalackninja]

why were you fired?

[@VeteranVandal]

Companies never had any loyalty. They weren't globally consolidated, so they couldn't outsource or had technology or capacity to do it. And they were smaller, so they couldn't afford to lose an employee because they were returning significant profit for them. Now, companies are very big and can always find a guy in more misery than you somewhere. So the solution is to eliminate big companies and socialize profits. Late stage capitalism/neofeudalism is coming to basically ensure your second class citizenship is a certainty. You can accept it or give'em a piece of your mind.

[@kalackninja]

@@VeteranVandal no i do not support killing people or stealing their property

[@VeteranVandal]

@@kalackninja capitalism kills people too. This video is about that. They are just distracting you into thinking those deaths aren't to blame on it. It's just some corporations, but we can fix them! (It's like any abusive relationship really) It's not the system that is entirely engineered to maximize profit and surplus exploitation nah, it's just some people that are bad. Or "the government". Or taxes (which are generally smaller than the surplus you generated to the company, but you don't get that number in your paycheck, so you get pissed at the smaller number that you see). As long as nothing effective has to change. If things stay the same or small reforms are made, that's perfect! They can keep things largely as they are. And if you think companies don't steal from workers, they already fooled you into believing the world will end before capitalism will, which was a great trick. That's what they want: to steal your salary by exploiting you via paying you less for the surplus you generate (aka their profit, that'll go into some talentless CEO at the end of the year as compensation, while they will only increase your pay below accumulated inflation... Next year), by making you pay rent while they own your housing (which might be a bigger expense than your taxes, btw, but you aren't pissed with that, because they aren't stealing property, right? But... Landlords aren't working to get your money, hmmm... Funny how that works), and by making you think capitalism isn't about stealing and making you defend their interests instead of your own with a propaganda point they paid somebody (handsomely, probably, but less than what this idea generated in profits, as always) to come up with. And they make you tell me their exploitation of your work is fair, because you agreed to it when you agreed to be employed. So, it's voluntary, just like masochism, but they actually are really hurting you instead of relieving your kink. Meanwhile, they want to abolish your property from existing as a concept effectively. Softwares by subscription work like that. Monthly pay stops, the program doesn't need to keep working. A few electronic devices (like tractors, until very recently) already work like that. You don't pay, they update your property to the settings that turns your property off until you resume payment. If things break you can't fix. If the software expires, you have a useless piece of plastic and metal in your hands. They can do that to your car if they can fool you into signing to it. You'll own nothing and you'll pay for it. That's the future they want for you. And you are telling me about stealing property. Hahahaha. That's exactly the next step in neocapitalism, that their plan. And in the meantime, they just need to keep paying people to constantly push the notion that changing the system is what will actually make that happen, while they make it happen. That's the beauty of constantly lying: some people will defend the lie as truth eventually because they heard it so much that repetition legitimises.

[@hammer1134]

Totally agree that’s the story of my life

[@michelle-b1v3b]

I am to my knowledge one of the few female industrial electricians in the US. I began the trade at 23 and am 46. It did not take me long to realize the actual cost in human sacrifice it requires to maintain this insane system. The older guys were a mess. One good ear, one good eye. Bad knees, rotator cuff carpal tunnel, diabetes, high blood pressure, seizures, strokes, etc... Alcoholism, drug addiction, mental health issues, anger issues, depression ,anxiety. Tyrannical behavior, manipulation, threats, etc.. the list goes on. These men were counting the days to retirement when they could finally live and enjoy the life they constructed. However many were lonely with failed or no relationships. Their bodies were useless. Every so often they economy hiccups, they lose their 6 percent 401k match, and go figure can't retire. These kids are smart. Great video thank you for shahring

[@silversilk8438]

Are you concerned that staying in that industry you'll feel that human sacrifice? Also, is it that they are pushing themselves too hard at the work (whether or not they are forced to) or that the work itself is incurably hostile? (Like... you can lose hearing, or if you wear hearing protection, won't that be enough to spare you? Are bad work conditions to blame?)

[@clarekramer411]

At some point I realized I had put my boss's children through college, yet I never went to college.

[@jesusislord3321]

Wow.....never thought about it that way. I will now.

[@NF40375]

You also worked and paid for them to take whole summers and winters off to spend together as a family while you were away from yours

[@raymondlin8728]

And their kids are making more money than you. Living in a better home than you. Thank you for all your hard work

[@St.CrispinsDayGLORY]

Rubbish. Any whomean can get into college. Only gotta be a drug addict and hate men!

[@bradley6386]

Mind blown

[@combatdan77]

I've worked in manufacturing/ production for the last 15 years. I've listened to countless people tell me they won't be back tomorrow because they can't handle the narcissistic, alcoholic, lifer with anger management issues freak out one more time. I've left places for the same reason. Forced to work 2nd/3rd shift, 10-12 hours a day, weekends, holidays, for barely enough to afford housing and basic needs, never seeing your family, eventually your wife leaves you, your social life doesnt exist anymore, and you've made no progress. Your efforts have been rewarded with more responsibility without an increase in pay. Eventually, you just give up. Whats the point? And the younger generation hears and sees what it did to you and they dont want anything to do with it. Id call that good reasoning skills, others call it laziness...

[@Distanc3]

I was a cabinet maker who later joined the Air Force, and I’m blown away at how much more time and physical health construction took from me than the military has.

[@hieug.rection1920]

Well, it’s called the chair force for a reason. I went the Marines route and got a very different result. People think I look 45 and I’m only in my early 30’s. I work construction now and find it much less demanding. Still too much work for too little pay for me though. I’m looking for a way out. I shoulda followed my buddies to be a mercenary in the South Pacific, but I’ve got kids that I want to be around.

[@alexglanowski695]

Depends on what you're doing. I was working the flightline in the Air Force, now my back is shot, so are my knees, my shoulders, etc...

[@downbytheriver501]

@@hieug.rection1920 I had an SF operator buddy of mine help me when I reroofed a house. 2 days in he basically said “yeah I’m not gonna do this” and quit. The heights, the dangers, the heat, etc. Not all trades are equal, LOL. That being said i hung up my roofing nailer for less demanding trades. F that work. Some of the crappiest and hardest work in the trades.

[@SH19922x]

@@downbytheriver501 That's because roofing in all forms is a punishment sent from God to humanity, become a welder it's not as hard work lol

[@DamnAllSoulsDeparted]

Well. You did join the air force. If you wanted to work for a living there were three other branches that actually do work.

[@markgigiel2722]

EXACTLY! I'm retired and 63 and worked in an oil refinery 36 years. The first half of those years was hard, dangerous, back breaking work. I have ALL the money I would need and a nice house and 3 grown kids, but now I'm broken and can't do all the stuff I looked forward to. I takes a couple of days to recover from mowing the lawn.

[@MrMcCoy-vs6ss]

You forgot to mention that you were drunk every night after work, didn't eat right and smoked for 42 years. That's why you are broken. That and poor genetics and bad choices. You made yourself cupcake.

[@Bill-dj4sj]

Thank you for your service. I wouldn’t want to go the same route though. Just seems crazy that you’ll do all that and then at the end you’re completely broken. Stay away from opioid based painkillers, doctors seem to be handing them out like candy and people get hooked and lose everything. All those teachers saying they have ‘thankless jobs’. Lol. It’s men like you that do the hard work and receive no thanks, not even thought of.

[@Twobirdsbreakingfree]

Your story reminds me of Thoreau - spending the best part of one's life earning money to enjoy a questionable liberty during the least valuable part of it.

[@markgigiel2722]

@@Twobirdsbreakingfree I still go to the woods though.

[@robertclark9]

Same here. 65, retired, 40+ years of heavy construction, and comfortable financially. Problem is it’s difficult to enjoy the fruits of all those years of labor, with an anatomy that won’t cooperate. Can’t ride my Harley any more than maybe 100mi with the back problems. Can’t hike into the good fishing spots, camp, cut firewood, or lift anything. I have to bring someone to do all the work. Which I hate! Takes a lot more than it gives in the end.

[@damienalexander3450]

I live in a city that is huge on age discrimination. I got aged out of work and ended up going back to school at the age of 50. 2 herniated discs, 3 bulging discs and an arthritic hip later, I'm an EMT working 12hr shifts and sleeping in my car. In Ohio.

[@jasong-m2u]

😢

[@brianalbee4153]

EMTs ought to get paid more than they do

[@damienalexander3450]

It's the hours. Clocking in for a 10hr shift and walking in the door 40hrs later...nope. That inhales profusely 😶

[@dsimon33871]

😢Indeed... that is horrible. It is particularly shameful considering what you do... I hope things take a turn for the better with your situation.

[@joe1071]

The American dream

[@friskecrisps8038]

The thing nowadays is that the younger generation is realizing just how little most companies care about their workers and that a “work hard” attitude is basically just the higher ups dangling the the carrot of higher pay and promotions to get more work out of you for free. This is just my opinion but I think there’s so much criticism from older generations on the younger is because they don’t want to admit a lot of them were probably taken advantage of. That them working all those extra hours didn’t amount to squat

[@kam2057]

Amen! We work 12 to 15 hours a day. $33 an hour. I put pipe in the ground. Then they want you to work Saturdays. I'm 51, always loved being the guy in the trench, but now my body has taken such a beating I don't know how I'm gonna make it to retirement age.

[@Scott-by9ks]

51 years old? Why haven't you been promoted to supervisor, foreman, or a manager? Have you considered doing construction consulting?

[@Rhaspun]

Yes. Don't keep beating up your body before you retire. You don't want a lot of aches and pains when you retire.

[@kam2057]

I don't want to be a supervisor or foreman. Nah, then they think they own you. I just want to do my job and go home.

[@kam2057]

I already got the aches and pains and I still out work the young bucks. Nobody wants to work hard anymore.

[@Scott-by9ks]

@@kam2057 unfortunately our bodies have a wear out date on them and a physical career accelerates that date. I learned quick in the Army. The Army is a young man's game I played too long. I ended up being med boarded. I get disability but it's not enough to live off of in Northern Virginia. I am fortunate I have a hard working, loving and understanding wife who makes a good living. Now I'm fighting with the VA to get my disability increased. I learned that taking care of your health is paramount, building your skills so that one day you have something else to make a living on and the importance of a social support system. Since I got out I'm learning there are so many ways to make money, not just physical labor. Have you considered teaching your skills to a new generation? It doesn't have yo be in a classroom environment either. KZbin is a great platform and it has helped me in ways I couldn't imagine 10 years ago. I hope this helps. Good luck and God Bless

[@kevman5]

I worked on a framing crew for 18 an hour for a year. I got up to 20$ an hour and worked another year and was then let go. I built 3 massive vacation houses in Oregon for rich Californians. By the end I was so disenchanted by the entire process of wasting my money driving to a job site where I'm barely making enough to support driving to that job site. Working full time and having no extra money while destroying your body everyday is soul crushing. I will never go back to working full time.

[@Boc3phu5]

I quit from my first 9 to 5. And I don't know how I feel about it exactly. It's not what life is meant for. There has got to be something more

[@colinchampollion4420]

​. You are exactly right!

[@petedoug]

Just to show how ridiculous $18 or $20 /hr is…I made $25 in 1980 doing a similar work. I think it’s all according to plan. It all changed back then with new regulations allowed construction companies that had been unionized to create non-union subsidiaries and bid on the same jobs. The wages dropped to $8. And they wonder why they’re short on trades?

[@C1K450]

@@toddthreess9624 own the company, or be in a family full of tradesmen that runs a family owned company, that’s where the best and humble skilled tradesmen are at imo and experience.

[@dannydaw59]

Demand has been so high for framers/carpenters so why don't they have leverage over the contractors? I see high demand but low pay for a low supply. Is it really easy to get a framer job?

[@gabrielfraser2109]

From a young age, I would see my stepdad come home tired, bruised, and aching. He was a diesel mechanic for a logging company, and he had to do all sorts of strenuous work for not much money. It instilled the idea into me, that a man's role is simply to destroy his body for his family. And I just kinda accepted it. I think a lot of people have.

[@roberthines4882]

MY STEP DAD TOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!HE WAS THE BEST DAD IN THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!!

[@roberthines4882]

HE BILT LOGHOG LOADERS FOR LOGGING IN MIDEN LA!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@yearginclarke]

I've worked in logging for 15 years total, and I can relate. But I was dumb and didn't quite realize the destroying your body part early on...I knew it would come eventually, but didn't think I would start seeing problems in my 30's. I'm now 37 and have 3 different slight repetitive strain issues that have popped up. They aren't horrible, but continuing working with them isn't going to help matters. That combined with the long commute times and lack of home time has got me wanting to get into some else, where I can at least be home more.

[@yearginclarke]

​@IT'S PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME! I agree.

[@mindlightwave]

Life is work, you're not here to relax and enjoy yourselves but to grow spiritually. Changing the world is irrelevant, you're here to change and refine the immortal mind. "i have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able"

[@vladimirnedeljkovic4692]

I am an engineer by trade and worked in large companies and had at some points 20 technicians as subordinates. I had massive respect for those guys and fought with management of my previous company to increase their wages - they were massively less paid than any engineer or god forbid any middle or high managment guys. And the work they did could not be done by anyone else without years od learning. Sad to say, my efforts are in vain. I remember when COVID started and a lot of the guys from the company were sent on “home office” and essentially 5 of us engineers and half of technicians were left to work we were notified about it on a 400 person teams meeting. Since technicians would have their pay cut to 70% during that time (those that did not work) and that engineers were not affected i suggested we take each 5% pay cut and distribute it among technicians because it would help them survive literally and would show how great team we are etc. Some people even laughed at the idea. I left that company soon after, I was disgusted.

[@Greyshadow_17]

My dad was a welder and he eventually had to get both his knees and shoulders replaced and even suffered breathing and lung issues. What you’re saying is spot on

[@TheAnnoyingBoss]

He orobably welded a lot without good ventilation whats nice is when you can weld and all the air around the weld is sucked out and away. When you work in the feild it might not be the case and it may be an enclosed enviorment or stuff lingers in the air etc. I like welding but i perfer PPE and ventilation is part of that to me. Makes welding jobs hard. Why weld for other people if i csm get my own welder and weld for myself you know? I would then be abke to mamage ventilation and thus after 30 years of welding i wont get cancer

[@C1K450]

I was fooled by the “American dream”. Wanting a big house, new car, new phone, all the fancy stuff by being a workaholic. Draining myself physically and mentally for stuff that I can’t take with me in the after life. I bought a new car, and it made me happy, only temporarily. As I grow older and experience how unpleasant life really works, the materialistic aspects of life began to wore off me quickly. Everything is new with debt, you work so much that family sees you as unrecognizable. Your health deteriorates. I am happy taking a $35K 9-5 job than a $80K 5-6 day week, on call and rotating weekend jobs as long as I can spend quality time with the ones who I love and support me. Now I’ve learned to live minimal and below my means, almost debt free, saved a lot of money in my savings and stocks. Not planning to spend on anything materialized except for exploring the world with my loved ones.

[@lepotdefleur9906]

So, what is the point of saving if you can t use it after your dead? Yeah, i know you need to manage your money but always piling and leaving it behind is not much better then wasting it all away as you make it. Unless you can leave a better life for your kid(s) then i can go with that. I have been piling for a while, about to get my own home at 54 , not really the time to start a family so , yeah , i will leave behind stuff for my niece, she 5 so , it should be good for her later if she s stay on my good side haha.

[@TheAnnoyingBoss]

Youre wealthy by my standards

[@cbrochu22]

I started to feel this way and I’m only 25. I’ve already realized, there is no job that makes most people truly happy. There’s really no point is having very expensive items all the time. It just forces you to be a slave. It makes more sense to work for yourself or in lower stress more flexible jobs where you can enjoy your family and friends and hobbies. No doubt you should push for more money all the time so you can become more independent, but not at the cost of your happiness

[@robertanna9964]

I'm an RN with 30 years experience and worked the covid crisis in NYC, saw more death in those months than in the previous 30 years. The upside is that I made enough to payoff all of my debt, including my mortgage. I live very frugally and only work when I'm offered top rates. 13 weeks and then the rest of the year off. Being debt free has been the most liberating experience of my entire life and I'll never borrow another nickel for the rest of my life.

[@colinchampollion4420]

You are sooo correct you reached a level spiritual awakening of the true meaning of life😂

[@genxx2724]

How did you stay safe during the crisis? Some people claim that the people who died were elderly, obese, or had other health conditions. What did you observe? Thank you.

[@robertanna9964]

@@genxx2724 I stayed safe by very rigorous adherence to wearing an N-95 at all times and constant hand washing. The deaths we're almost always seen with co-morbids-Obesity, diabetes, hypertension, respiratory disease, heart disease. Race was also a factor. More melanin=poorer outcome.

[@colinchampollion4420]

@@genxx2724 I have passive income and planned my investments many years before that now are very popular and payout very well and I have Zero Debt. During the Covid crisis I didn't have to work at all and stayed reclusive as I am use to that lifestyle for pretty much my whole life-time. I really do not enjoy being close to people much! I have a large self-contained property which I reside city close but still very country . So I have best of both worlds 🤓😤!

[@dannydaw59]

Thanks for your help during covid.

[@microplasticsfarmer]

Completely agree. I'm 45, and spent my 20s and 30s working 60-80 hours a week for tech companies that literally made millions off my work, while I've hovered around the median salary (key word: SALARY) for what I do. My kids noticed the disparity between time/pay long before I did, and a few years ago I started cutting my hours back and keeping them within the 40-45 hour range. What happened? Bad performance reviews because I wasn't "pulling my weight" with everyone else doing unpaid OT! My team and I started discussing this, and over half of us left the company between 2-3 years ago. They have yet to backfill our positions because of the low wages, but recently they *did* give everyone who stayed a 10% increase. Did they cut their hours back? Not at all -- they're all still working massive amounts of unpaid OT. I should note that all of us that left also got ~10% increases at our new jobs when we started, too. But we got our lives back. I could rant for hours about what the job and housing market looks like for my kids now that they're almost college age, but I have the feeling that everyone here knows exactly what I'd say.

[@jhomrich89]

they need us more then we need them trust me I have figured that out and luckily I am in my 30s and glad I did now, wish I did sooner but I'm at least young enough to change course. I don't get paid enough to show up for overtime or weekends.

[@jhoughjr1]

Yep unpaid OT is rampant in IT. its insane

[@jwh1776]

@@jhomrich89 some folks have just asked, "Who is John Galt" and left the rat race....

[@jibcot8541]

Becoming a self employed IT contractor seems to be the way to go earning $900 a day and only having to work for 1/2 the year to earn a decent living is the dream that I want to follow.

[@richglaser4566]

Great video, food for thought, I think it’s very important that you do something you love or at-least like

[@jmfa57]

I earned an engineering degree in 1980. I went to a state university that had, and maintains, a great reputation for engineering. Dad paid my tuition out of pocket, it wasn't exorbitant. College these days is a rip-off. Way to expensive, and way too many nonsense degrees being granted, way too many students taking on debt they'll never be able to pay back, way too many "administrators" earning $200k+ a year, freezing out talented teachers who won't toe the party line... if I was a young person today wanting to earn a decent living in a job that can't be outsourced, I'd look to getting into a skilled trade. The American dream isn't dead, but I think it has been hijacked. Great video!

[@scifirealism5943]

Trades pay a lot due to unions, which corporations oppose.

[@chizorama]

@@scifirealism5943 I moved down south where the unions do not have much influence, & the wages reflect that. A dammed if you do & dammed if you don't type situ.

[@scifirealism5943]

@@chizorama yes. It's messed up.

[@scifirealism5943]

@@chizorama I could be a trade worker for $45/hr. But I'm not sacrificing my health or school time to do it.

[@glyndwr15]

If you can't outsource it, you can hold wages down with mass immigration.