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I read the linked article on Slate magazine today. I think it's well written, interesting, and it contains information on several different topics pertinent to the American economy.
The article is called I Was a Super Bowl Concession Worker and the subtitle is "What it's like making less than $13 an hour to serve $13 beers at one of the biggest games on earth." The author is Gabriel Thompson, a freelance writer who takes part-time jobs to supplement an income not adequate to comfortable living in the very expensive Bay Area.
Mr. Thompson discusses how he came to be a concession worker at Levi's Stadium in San Jose, CA — our nation's newest arena designed to hold more than 70,000 viewers for sports and other events — and what it's like to do a variety of $10-15 an hour performing service jobs to accommodate the people with tickets having a FACE VALUE of $850 to $1,800 dollars. (Which means many people paid far more, including the rental of luxury boxes which are supposed to go for $60,000 per event, but for the Super Bowl cost some renters more than half a million dollars.)
The article also discusses the larger issues of people who, in spite of an improving economy, are still working as many as three part-time jobs to make ends meet. He addresses the topic of how people can live on $11 an hour when the median monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment in San Jose is $2,210 (answer is, not well at all). He even provides good statistical information on the topic of how arenas like Levi's Stadium are financed to the detriment of taxpayers and the benefit of NFL team owners.
Definitely worth the time to read for those interested in economic topics.
What should be the hourly rate for a job requiring nothing more than sticking your arm out holding a beer cup or a hot dog then grabbing some money and making change? Hell at $13 it's already overpaid
Free lance work is notoriously uneven, and it's difficult to make a real living at it even in low COL areas. I'm not going to shed many tears over this guy because it's his choice to be a free-lance writer in San Fran. This is much like the thread over on the Retirement forum called "Too Poor to Retire and too young to die" which started with an article about three people who "retired" and are working part-time gigs to support their RV travel life-styles. Again, it's their choices to live that way.
I'll save my sympathy for the truly poor not the poor by choice folks.
Free lance work is notoriously uneven, and it's difficult to make a real living at it even in low COL areas. I'm not going to shed many tears over this guy because it's his choice to be a free-lance writer in San Fran. This is much like the thread over on the Retirement forum called "Too Poor to Retire and too young to die" which started with an article about three people who "retired" and are working part-time gigs to support their RV travel life-styles. Again, it's their choices to live that way.
I'll save my sympathy for the truly poor not the poor by choice folks.
You took the words right out of my mouth.
If you have to work three jobs just to live in a notoriously high cost of living area, don't complain to me. If I lived in the Bay Area I might have to work at a concession stand too - so I don't live there.
If you have to work three jobs just to live in a notoriously high cost of living area, don't complain to me. If I lived in the Bay Area I might have to work at a concession stand too - so I don't live there.
This is what I don't get about those who deride the 'class envy' crowd.
If you have a BMW, that doesn't stop me from having a 1989 base model Hyundai Excel. (One step up from a Yugo.) If you have a premium widget, that doesn't stop me from having an economy widget.
But when you come to town and bid up the price of housing, that does restrict what housing I have, thereby also restricting the opportunities available to me.
There are a number of jobs available in my field in the Bay Area right now. They would technically be a move-up my career ladder, although in CoL adjusted terms, about a 20% pay cut despite almost double my current salary.
Podunk areas have podunk jobs. They pay accordingly.
While the Bay Area is an extreme case, all over C-D you see the same complaints - rising housing costs, stagnant or even lower wages when inflation is factored in. There is a thread in the Dallas-Fort Worth forum about it: //www.city-data.com/forum/dalla...-gets-bad.html
And that's Texas, my homestate, which is supposed to be a low housing, good job paradise according to its propagandists and politicians.
Speaking for my personal situation, while either myself OR my wife have been able to find decent jobs at any given time, we've have not yet had success at both finding good jobs in the same area at the same time. This is especially a problem in podunk towns, the likes of which we currently live.
Last edited by redguard57; 02-13-2016 at 12:08 PM..
There are a number of jobs available in my field in the Bay Area right now. They would technically be a move-up my career ladder, although in CoL adjusted terms, about a 20% pay cut despite almost double my current salary.
Podunk areas have podunk jobs. They pay accordingly.
While the Bay Area is an extreme case, all over C-D you see the same complaints - rising housing costs, stagnant or even lower wages when inflation is factored in. There is a thread in the Dallas-Fort Worth forum about it: //www.city-data.com/forum/dalla...-gets-bad.html
And that's Texas, my homestate, which is supposed to be a low housing, good job paradise according to its propagandists and politicians.
The problem is that the writer of the article in the OP is a free-lance writer, a very precarious occupation. He's not working a full-time job as a copy editor or something and can't make ends meet. He's not looking for a job in his field and can't find one. He's chosen to strike out on his own rather than work for somebody else. He's also chosen to live in San Fran when his choice of careers could be easily done from a much less costly area of California or the country.
I read the linked article on Slate magazine today. I think it's well written, interesting, and it contains information on several different topics pertinent to the American economy.
The article is called I Was a Super Bowl Concession Worker and the subtitle is "What it's like making less than $13 an hour to serve $13 beers at one of the biggest games on earth." The author is Gabriel Thompson, a freelance writer who takes part-time jobs to supplement an income not adequate to comfortable living in the very expensive Bay Area.
Mr. Thompson discusses how he came to be a concession worker at Levi's Stadium in San Jose, CA — our nation's newest arena designed to hold more than 70,000 viewers for sports and other events — and what it's like to do a variety of $10-15 an hour performing service jobs to accommodate the people with tickets having a FACE VALUE of $850 to $1,800 dollars. (Which means many people paid far more, including the rental of luxury boxes which are supposed to go for $60,000 per event, but for the Super Bowl cost some renters more than half a million dollars.)
The article also discusses the larger issues of people who, in spite of an improving economy, are still working as many as three part-time jobs to make ends meet. He addresses the topic of how people can live on $11 an hour when the median monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment in San Jose is $2,210 (answer is, not well at all). He even provides good statistical information on the topic of how arenas like Levi's Stadium are financed to the detriment of taxpayers and the benefit of NFL team owners.
Definitely worth the time to read for those interested in economic topics.
The core problem here in Silicon Valley, which I've been saying FOREVER, is that they DO NOT BUILD ENDOUGH HOUSING thanks to NIMBY-ism under the guise of environmentalism. Therefore, we are chronically undersupplied with housing and the lowest earners are priced out of even modest apartments. You can't fix this problem simply by jacking up the minimum wage. You have to increase the supply of housing or the lowest earners will always be outbid for it.
Google recently tried to push through a state of the art housing development in Mountain View but the Mountain View City Council voted it down citing the fact that they didn't want to be a "company town". If it isn't one BS excuse, it's another.
This is what I don't get about those who deride the 'class envy' crowd.
If you have a BMW, that doesn't stop me from having a 1989 base model Hyundai Excel. (One step up from a Yugo.) If you have a premium widget, that doesn't stop me from having an economy widget.
But when you come to town and bid up the price of housing, that does restrict what housing I have, thereby also restricting the opportunities available to me.
It doesn't restrict your housing at all. Just like the car and the widget, it's determined by how much you can afford. The fact that you have caviar taste on a McDonalds budget when it comes to housing isn't anyone's fault but your own.
I enjoyed the Super Bowl, though I couldn't dream of attending it live. I watched from home and the beer I drank cost about that much per case. Interesting there were unpaid volunteers as well. I volunteer for a local agency, but couldn't see doing it for a multimillion dollar sports league. The lesson I think we can all learn is that sports stadia are not the economic engine they are touted to be. And Santa Clara is in the heart of Silicon Valley, which is already so expensive that many commute from places several hours away. Right wingers may not care about those working low wage jobs, but they usually get upset over even small amounts of wasted taxpayer money. The stadium is a good example of this.
Last edited by pvande55; 02-13-2016 at 12:30 PM..
Reason: Add volunteer note
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