A political post. Deal.

[kellinator]

I haven't made many political posts in the months since the election for various reasons I'm not going to get into here, but I couldn't pass this one up. Thanks to tick_wonderdog for the story.

BUSH: HOLDING THREE JOBS 'UNIQUELY AMERICAN'
Tues Feb 8 2005 9:27:01 ET

Last Friday when promoting social security reform with 'regular' citizens in Omaha, Nebraska, President Bush walked into an awkward unscripted moment in which he stated that carrying three jobs at a time is 'uniquely American.'

While talking with audience participants, the president met Mary Mornin, a woman in her late fifties who told the president she was a divorced mother of three, including a 'mentally challenged' son.

The President comforted Mornin on the security of social security stating that 'the promises made will be kept by the government.'

But without prompting Mornin began to elaborate on her life circumstances.

Begin transcript:

MS. MORNIN: That's good, because I work three jobs and I feel like I contribute.

THE PRESIDENT: You work three jobs?

MS. MORNIN: Three jobs, yes.

THE PRESIDENT: Uniquely American, isn't it? I mean, that is fantastic that you're doing that. (Applause.) Get any sleep? (Laughter.)

Yeah, that's really funny from someone who has never had to worry about how to pay the bills and doesn't cut his vacation short for little things like tsunamis.

Something I've been thinking about a lot recently, even before Time's cover article on "twixters" and why my generation refuses to grow up (sorry, I couldn't find a link) is the declining standard of living in the United States. When our parents were our age, if you didn't want to go to college, you could still get a decent job and have a house and a family. Now one of the reasons I'm so ambivalent about the question of children is because I have serious doubts that I'll ever be able to afford the things I think a child should have -- specifically a good education like the one I got. (Not that a college degree, or where it's from, really means much anymore. My brother's degree is from a vo-tech community college; mine is from a Top-20 university. He made nearly twice what I did last year. Which is my fault for not being interested in the fields that pay well. But I digress.)

We can't leave these issues to the politicians of any party. They're all rich and greedy anyway. If we want to deal with this, we have to do it ourselves -- and unfortunately, I have no clue of how to do that.

Comments

[zorathenne.livejournal.com]

oh god.. it's like he just.. didn't.. get it.. or meant to seem that clueless..

uniquely american?? my mother not only taught, but she also was in school working to get as close to her phd as possible. i barely saw much of her growing up as it was. and she did her damndest to be as much a part of my life as she could ever be as a single parent. i shudder to think how my childhood could have been if she had to hold down 3 jobs just to get us by. i saw more of my babysitters at one point in my childhood than of her!

one shouldn't have to work 3 jobs, doesn't he understand that? or does he plain and simply not care? i'm beginning to suspect that may have been a dumb question for me to ask.

[sujata.livejournal.com]

one shouldn't have to work 3 jobs, doesn't he understand that? or does he plain and simply not care? i'm beginning to suspect that may have been a dumb question for me to ask.

Or how about, "he doesn't care to understand"?

Totally unrelated: I met you at Margarita Friday back in December, when ga_sunshine and john666 and I made the trip together. I thought you seemed rather nifty, and I've also seen you around in several of my friends' journals. We'd probably make good friends, ourselves. May I add you? :-)

[zorathenne.livejournal.com]

Hee hihi! =) I remember you *wiggle*. Sure, add away if you want. Gah.. SOrry took a bit to answer, I was at Margarita Friday tonight and now I'm with oraqle getting stuff ready to tomorrow's Cheezy Movie Night. You are more than welcome to come (and of course so are ga_sunshine and john666!) If you are able to, the info needed is in the locked post I made a few minutes ago. And if you can't make this one, don't worry, we tend to have them once a month or so!

Nice to meet ya (again! *giggle*)

[katyakoshka.livejournal.com]

I guess he thinks jobs are places you go where they pay you to look like you care while goofing off and twiddling your thumbs. I mean, they're not real to him. It's like dragons or unicorns, you know?

Working three jobs our of necessity -- sad commentary on the state of the economy.

Can I get a "Fuck Wal-Mart"?

[teague.livejournal.com]

Fuck Wal-mart

[sujata.livejournal.com]

With a glad heart:

Fuck Wal-Mart!!!!!!

[kobrin.livejournal.com]

THE PRESIDENT: Uniquely American, isn't it? I mean, that is fantastic that you're doing that. (Applause.) Get any sleep? (Laughter.)

Ouch. That's not something I'd be bragging about if I were a politician. :S

The minimum wage in the US is set by the government or the unions?

Down here in Australia different unions govern different types of work (eg metalworkers, retail, teachers, etc), and each type of work has certain "award rates" which are a minimum rate for that classification of work, and generally increase every one to two years during the course of employment or with age (and previous experience is included when changing to a new job so you don't have to start at the bottom of the pay scale again). Any job which operates on a wage (rather than a salary) uses this (unless the current government passes through some of the legislation they're discussing, in which case it may change from an "across the board" system to an individually assigned list of rates of pay varying from employer to employer... which naturally is going to be as low as they can get away with).

Sadly, they've been attempting to redefine Medicare down here as well, although they may be revamping unemployment benefits. We'll wait and see what happens there. *shrugs*

On another note... I also found it ironic that vocational training seems to be the "flavour of the month" down here. I've known people with fairly recent degrees in business administration or education who have had to attend a lesser level course in order to be certified/qualified for their work or for new employment.

[stevietee.livejournal.com]

Minimum wage is set by the government in the U.S.

[weaktwos.livejournal.com]

God, that pisses me off.

[raptorgirl.livejournal.com]

I've said it before, I'll say it again: what a schmuck.

Not like he ever had to worry about making ends meet...

[leezechka.livejournal.com]

I heard the clip on Air America this morning, he was actually giggling when he said it, you could tell he had absolutely no notion that it was a bad thing. Like he thought she was working three jobs as some patriotic, work ethic kinda thing, not because she couldn't pay the bills.

[grunion.livejournal.com]

The statement bothers me for slightly different reasons...

It IS almost unique to the US to work that much. In some countries, it's not legally permitted. The sad part is that at LEAST one of those jobs is used soley to cover her tax burden.

Personally, I don't want to work 3 jobs, I've got plenty to deal with as it is. I sure am glad that Ms Mornin is welcome to work those 3 jobs if she feels the need or desire to (and let's face it, it's probably NOT desire).

Rage on, Kellinator

[spikepage.livejournal.com]

It pisses me off beyond pistivity that myself and millions of others work in foodservice and bust ass every day only to be looked down upon as second-class citizens .. only to add insult to injury by being told that because we work 40 hours a week in a second-class job, we OUGHT NOT earn even a minimal living. I'm not saying that a person who flips burgers should expect to be able to afford a brand-new car and three room house, but he or she ought to at least be able to pay rent and live independently without having to either take two extra part-time jobs or board with five room-mates.

Which brings me to this charming littel anecdote starring one of the local elitist milltown-princesses.

I was working two jobs two summers ago, one fulltime foodservice, and the other part-time retail. I was in K-mart (my part time job) but it was my day off and I was just doing some shopping. I was in checkouts talking to the cashier, and she asked me how on earth I worked two jobs, and almost before I could answer, the CUNT behind me had to interject that "if you had an education, you wouldn't have to work two jobs."

I fucking saw red. First of all, an education is no foolproof gauge by which we can measure anybody's determination or work-ethic. Secondly, she had alot of goddam nerve to assume that just because I was wearing a fast-food uniform that I was some kind of dropout loser.

My husband has an education.. a danm good one, and he works in foodservice..and we get by...but we work goddam hard to get what we have.

Who the hell says that working three jobs OUGHT TO BE expected. We just as well throw our hands up in the air and accept that high crime, poverty, teen preganancy and drug addiction are UNIQUELY AMERICAN as well and just fucking accept it.... FUCK THAT!

Okay..rant over. We now return you to your normally scheduled li'l nice girl.

[whorlwind.livejournal.com]

I hear it's easy to get a job in india with a comparative standard of living of around 100k a year.
Everything costs way too much in america.

[captain-bob.livejournal.com]

Bush II is the dumbest president we've had in a long time. The declining standard of living is due to a LOT of reasons on the part of the gov't (both sides of the aisle).

[xforge.livejournal.com]

He's not just dumb though, he's a f*cking prick. I mean, what kind of thoughtless a-hole MAKES comments like that? This guy truly redefines the term "dickhead."

[ardentdelirium.livejournal.com]

even before Time's cover article on "twixters" and why my generation refuses to grow up (sorry, I couldn't find a link)

what did you think of that article?

I might still have it around in hard copy. I intend to scan it (at the very least) if I can find it.

[kellinator.livejournal.com]

I thought it was a fascinating and frightening article. You?

[ardentdelirium.livejournal.com]

being one of the people they were talking about (don't know what I want to do with my life, living at home, et al) I identified and was glad the gist of the article wasn't the "get a job with a company you hate, money is the only important thing!" which is my parent's mantra. I brought it home for them to read and they seem to think it says exactly that, so I'm a little confused. either they or I misread something....

[lux-aurumque.livejournal.com]

We can't leave these issues to the politicians of any party. They're all rich and greedy anyway. If we want to deal with this, we have to do it ourselves -- and unfortunately, I have no clue of how to do that.

This is the part that most interested me. It's one thing to bitch and moan about idiot politicians (I mean, c'mon, Bush is the same man who asked Brazilian president Fernando Cardoso "Do you have blacks, too?" and told the press corps "First let me make it very clear, poor people aren't necessarily killers. Just because you happen to be not rich doesn't mean you're willing to kill.") It is something entirely different to do something about it.

Since technically we control the people who control the government we need to get them out of office. That of course is the simple answer.

Take money away from causes you don't support by selectively shopping institutions that don't contribute funds to said causes (buyblue.org). Volunteer time if not money to lobbiest groups and local grassroots campaigns you support. Be a squeaky wheel and write your reps and anyone else you want in Washington again and again until you are heard (I'm currently working through all the senators who approved that war criminal Gonzales as Attorney General). And most importantly, mobilize your friends and your friends' friends into a voting bloc and start getting people into place who actually, I dunno, represent your views?

I'm heartened to see that Dean has wrapped up the DNC chairmanship. Let's see if he can implement some of those strategies into the party at large as he did in Vermont.

Oh yeah, and fuck Karl Rove.

I'm done.

[deza.livejournal.com]

One reason I want to work for a university is to make sure my kids will have their college paid for. Yeah, it would suck having to go to the school where their mom works, but on a librarian's salary I don't think there is any other way I'll be able to afford their higher education. I seriously doubt that 12 years from now they'll be able to work their way through--it's just going to be too expensive.

[chicating.livejournal.com]

Die, you bastard, die.(Laura is too narcotized to throw him down the stairs, though, more's the pity. I guess I can't leave the Homicide refs out of my comments to you, Kell.)
He owes every worker in America an apology.(don't hold your breaths, though.)
And I do believe that is a brave strong woman.
No thanks to him.

[chicating.livejournal.com]

"Crime makes you stupid."
That's how he can say that.

[xforge.livejournal.com]

What a great fucking comment from a guy who's never had a goddamn job. Think about it, he's never had to apply for a job and never had to work for anyone.

Jesus God Almighty I hate that man. More than anything I've ever hated in my life.

[sujata.livejournal.com]

Although I'm sure you're correct in saying that W's never had to apply for a job, you're incorrect about him never having a job. He's a former businessman.

A failed businessman. Personally responsible for running at least two companies into the ground.

Which is only one of my many recurring questions/complaints: The man couldn't even run a company, so why on earth did a majority of voters entrust him with running a country?

I'm with you on the hate thing, by the way. I think I may even hate W more than I hate the people who murdered my first love. That's an awful lot of hate.

[notgruntled.livejournal.com]

During the Reagan years, when manufacturing jobs were being replaced by service sector jobs, a popular joke went something like this:

Republican: But we've created two million new jobs!

Laid-off factory worker: I know. I have three of them.

Now we have a president who thinks that's just nifty. Satire is dead.

Your post made me wonder about the claim that home ownership is at an all-time high. Could those statistics be skewed by the fact that more young adults, folks who used to be renters, are living with their parents instead? Census statistics are based on heads of households. If more people delay heading their own household, that would change the landscape.

That said, I'm not so sure about the declining standard of living. We spend a lot of money on non-essentials. When I was a kid, air conditioning and color TV were luxuries, and we had neither. Now, you'd be hard-pressed to find an apartment in a housing project that doesn't have both.

It used to be that paying for information meant buying a TV, paying for a phone line and subscribing to a newspaper. Now, I have a landline phone, a cell phone, three computers on wired or wireless DSL, cable wired to three TVs, and a Salon subscription.

It used to be the normal course of events that kids lived with their parents until they married. Which they used to do a lot earlier in life. In the early postwar era, youngsters went from their parents' house to a dorm, and thence to a home with a spouse.

Our generation is spending more years in school and marrying later. That confuses the Baby Boomers, who assume that the way they were brought up is the way it always was. Ain't so. Look at any Laura Ingalls Wilder book -- every family has grown offspring hanging around.

As far as giving your kids an education as good as yours, you'll find a way. My great-grandmother put five kids through college while working as a public school principal in appalachia during the Depression. My mom got her degree as a single mother raising two kids, then sent both of us to top-20 schools. Me once, my sister twice (BA, MA).

Retirement is another generational change. We assume that at fifty- or sixty-something, we'll be able to kick back for the rest of our lives. A couple of generations ago, it was assumed that you'd work until you died, or until you got so infirm that someone would have to care for you. Which was academic for the majority of the population, who never made it to fifty- or sixty-something.

It's difficult -- no, I'd say, impossible -- to gauge where we are relative to past generations. We can compare our yard line to theirs, but the goal posts have shifted, the rules have changed, and there's a parking lot where the old stadium used to be. Comparing our stats to theirs is like comparing rushing yards to on-base percentage during a power play behind the three-point line.

[mschristine.livejournal.com]

Kelly,

If your state has a livable wage iniative, that's a good start. We do in VT and I am on the executive committee. Or if you have a worker's rights cooalition. Otherwise, just be a squeaky wheel. Contact your representative, write a letter to the editor and if people talk abotu how much they love Wal Mart, educate them on thier shitty policies. Worker's rights is clearly not a Republican issue but there are LOTS of people who care about it!

[lux-aurumque.livejournal.com]

Well, it'll be difficult to do much of anything on the worker's rights front because GA is a fire-at-will state.

It goes a long way in keeping bidness's costs low. Worker complains about wages? Fire 'em. Worker wants to unionize? Fire 'em. Worker demands better benefit compensation? Fire 'em.*

*also applies to:
Worker is gay?
Worker is a minority?
Worker is female?
Worker is old?
Worker is too well educated?
Worker looks at you cross-eyed?
etc.etc.etc.

[sujata.livejournal.com]

Well, it'll be difficult to do much of anything on the worker's rights front because GA is a fire-at-will state.

The problem is that too many Georgia residents accept that as "just the way it is." If enough of us demanded worker's rights, we'd get them.

A big damn part of the problem..

[spikepage.livejournal.com]

..is the companies themselves and their "bottom line" they have to meet. The reason so many people have so many jobs is that a company can hire two part-timers rather than one full-timer and save on one shitload of benefits.. not to mention being able to split up their combined hours and cover more shifts or peak business hours.

But the blame doesn't lie completely with thc companies. The cost of those benefits is fucking outrageous, especially considering that most of us will never reap a sincle dollar we thwor into those programs (We all know SS is going straight to hell)

The second problem is that yes we ARE being taxed to death. Some of the absolute utter BULLSHIT that our tax dollars get spent on is a crying fucking shame. (Believe me, I live in Georgia, home of high taxes and shitty public schools)

Oh...and while I'm ranting, can we get the cost of our INSURANCE lowered a bit. I HAVE to have insurance by court-order, and it costs a fucking fortune, even though I never get sick.

[flewellyn.livejournal.com]

Why that...motherf*BEEEEEEEEEEEEEP*! *BEEP BEEP* his *BEEP*ing *BEEP* with a *BEEP*ing backhoe until he *BEEP*ing *BEEP*s!

[sallerina.livejournal.com]

#1. Now one of the reasons I'm so ambivalent about the question of children is because I have serious doubts that I'll ever be able to afford the things I think a child should have -- specifically a good education like the one I got.

i think there are lots of very sound and true financial reasons for thinking good and hard about having children and their affordability factor in your life, but i don't think worries about their educational costs are necessarily that realistic or should be barriers to any plans you'd have to procreate on their own. my parents are self-employed and over the last two decades have had collective take-home incomes of between $30K and $45K. now that's less than my roommate and i make between the two of us if you figure my loan allotment and her hourly wage. plus my parents' means of self-employment is inventory-heavy, and therefore constantly cash-light, so those wages of theirs are real. my parents still instilled in me from birth high values, personal ethics and morality, a voracity for learning, integrity and a practically endless desire to and love of work, bottomless academic curiosity, and an appreciation of the privilege that my education gives that far trumps any socioeconomic enjoyment i've lacked my entire life. i still complain, but i'd bet you if my parents made two or three times what they did and do (which would be putting them solidly in the middle class and i think in the salary range of a two-worker household you're imagining would be traditionally able to send kids to college), all of those qualities that are ingrained in me would've been a harder sell. my parents waited ten years after they were married to feel financially solvent and able to have kids before i was born and you know what? i bet my parents will NEVER be financially solvent. because they do what they want and love for a living and don't have a bottom-line kind of life (this is different from post-college floundering whiny "but i'm waiting for EXACTLY the job i want" kind of bullshit that many of my friends are doing and that whole twixters scenario does involve, by which, i'm sorry, i just can't and won't abide). and from a very young age i knew that would affect me and my economically-determined realities forever... so i busted my ass, worked hard in high school, started looking for scholarships my sophomore year, and got a full ride to my very respectable and academically-sound state school, where i continued, for free, to work as hard as i possibly could, take every educational opportunity that looked at me sideways, and dumped my life into learning all i could and giving myself a good education that i refuse to squander by waiting for some imaginary great thing to come along while living in my junior high bedroom and eating easy mac and sleeping until 1 pm, but also don't see as a source of entitlement to some fabulous, vaulted, perfect-jobbed existence. so i don't think the lack of economic soundness on the part of the parent bars the child's possibility for a great education. if anything, properly used, it can foster those opportunities.

#2. When our parents were our age, if you didn't want to go to college, you could still get a decent job and have a house and a family. ... Not that a college degree, or where it's from, really means much anymore.

yeah, it means a lot: because you have to have it to get a $10/hr job. however, what it is in or where it is from or what kind of grades you got or what kind of things you did there are all 1000000% meaningless for anything but self-puffery in interviews and referential use in high-faluting conversations with peers and friends. i probably say this particularly because i am in a non-first tier law school, the great equalizer if there ever was one, where i sit there with my triple major with distinction and honors from a public university with a girl from yale on my left and a girl from a six-year plan at a community college and then a CSU school on my right. it's all arbitrary, but if you want to direct calls on an eight-line phone for 40 hours a week like my roommate does, and you don't know anyone, a BA sure is the basement requirement.