Build Better

So, I read this post about a recruiter who offered what seemed to be a decent salary and decent benefits. And then surprised because lots of folks are not biting. In fact, one kid asked for 75K right out of college. Whoa… that’s what mid-levels are making! (according to the recruiter and I have no reason to doubt them re: their field)

And then a commenter goes (paraphrased): “Well, part of it is because the younger generation just doesn’t want to work. Bunch of free-spirited stupid dreamers.” (not their child, of course. THEIR precious bebe has a Work Ethic ™ )

People aren’t taking jobs because the logic of it has gone out the fucking window. How much is it worth to go to a job, work your ass off for not enough to live comfortably, AND get covid, or some other shitty disease / medical syndrome? Why is it worth it to walk down the “same path as your parents” when literally every authority figure from middle school on says (without irony) “well, the world is fucked; climate change is real. We’ve got our share. Hope you figure it out before you all die!”

How many people have to strike or die or get shot or get involved in a war over some fucking resource the next iPhone needs before some adults go “Jesus! We need to put the brakes on this thing and back the hell off.”

I can google what’s happening to my brothers- and sisters- in-arms across the world. I can see, definitively that the use of industrialization or the modern workplace or schooling is a recent experiment. Just a handful of centuries. And while a playstation might be fun, it’s not worth all the dolphins. Or the inhabitants of Uganda.

The kids are depressed. They are anxious. Society has done ridiculously little to help with that.So let’s get back to that college graduate. Why 75K?

Oh. That’s a marker for “if you want to live a satisfied life, you need to make this amount.”

They are asking for a living wage. And they don’t trust you any longer when you whine “Well… just work here a few years and we’ll make sure you get more.” Because they know that’s a lie. That’s a lie even when the person who is telling them truly believes it. Companies bought. Whole swaths of people axed for shareholder profits. Climate disasters destroy all assets. And that’s assuming people with good intentions.

You want kids to get to work?

Get off your old ass and build a fucking better world for them then.

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