Hey guys, I've been following the movement for some time. As a kid I had the suspicion that a large majority in this country foots the bill for a small minority. As I grew up I saw the daily stresses of adult life, and it confused me. Why did they have to do it? It's not what I was raised to expect. In TV, I see Baristas, fry-cooks and other employees driving respectable cars, living in respectable homes. In the family sitcom 'Married With Wives and Kids' the father was a shoe salesmen at a mall but afforded to live in a two story three bedroom house while his wife took care of the kids.
The majority of people are supposed to be able to afford the basics. Namely a house and family. Maybe that's why the birthing rate is dropping, and men are leaving the workforce. When I actually entered the workforce I was fresh out of highschool. Working for a family roofing company. To this day I work here, barely saving. Building credit. I figured I'd AT LEAST make a retirement. Living on ramen and ghetto for now.
I started off at minimum wage, 10 bucks an hour. Tearing off 3-layer roofs. Roofs that have been applied over one another. Sometimes, steep, three-story ones. I'd have a corded power saw in one hand that I'm trying not to tangle and trip over. And a 8-foot by 4ft sheet of OSB wood in the other. Trying not to drop it off the roof for it to only catch the wind and sail into someones BMW. Risked my life.
I have one philosophy in life really. Just so people understand it's not that I have unfairly HIGH expectations. That if you do something respectable, you deserve to live respectably. That if a human being spends 40 hours of their time contributing to the world, they should be afforded the right to live in dignity the other 80 hours. A person should not be called on to perform a task that would provide nothing less. I understand some people are incapable of providing for themselves, but that is also why we have a society. I'm not talking about them, most of us are perfectly well capable of providing for ourselves and THEN some. So why the poverty?
It's not coming from us, it has to be coming from somewhere. I fear that we may never know. If only the true perpetuator of that evil understood they were going against their own best interests as well.
Anyway, my plan is to become as self-sufficient as possible with escape plans at the ready. I train, physically apart from my difficult day job. Working out. Learning how to make it in nature, but also in societies structured more traditionally than ours is. Since when this one fails, it'll be the older ones we regress to. Make no mistake I'm not a doomer. I make more now, by the way, I'm up to 18$ an hour after 4 years. I don't tear-off as much at least…
I've been saving, got a handful of cash now. Building credit… The highest possible wage at this job is like 45 bucks, before I have to become my own boss. That's what the highest earning guy here makes that isn't the boss. And he puts on like 3 12k$ roofs on a week. So yeah I have to become my own contractor, but one of the other guys said he had to give up his license cause california made him pay like 10k a year for it. He's probably being a baby and just exaggerating, upset that a young guy wants to get out from under his boss. I know you gotta spend money to make money but that's a little ridiculous.
So yeah, I gotta save up enough for that. And a house someday. Barely making rent. Maybe I'll get my own license and make a easy living working 2-3 days a week charging less than my boss did on his work. That's the dream. Maybe expand and hire employees, pay commission. That's the dream really. Making it out for just me, that's survival. Getting through this bullshit and leaving this world a better place than when I got here is the dream.
What's your guys dream? The world as it should be