Forum Post: Open Letter to that 53% Guy
Posted 12 years ago on May 11, 2012, 10:45 a.m. EST by XenuLives
(1645)
from Charlotte, NC
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/10/12/1025555/-Open-Letter-to-that-53-Guy
"I am a former Marine. I work two jobs. I don’t have health insurance. I worked 60-70 hours a week for 8 years to pay my way through college. I haven’t had 4 consecutive days off in over 4 years. But I don’t blame Wall Street. Suck it up you whiners. I am the 53%. God bless the USA!"
"I understand your pride in what you’ve accomplished, but I want to ask you something.
Do you really want the bar set this high? Do you really want to live in a society where just getting by requires a person to hold down two jobs and work 60 to 70 hours a week? Is that your idea of the American Dream?
Do you really want to spend the rest of your life working two jobs and 60 to 70 hours a week? Do you think you can? Because, let me tell you, kid, that’s not going to be as easy when you’re 50 as it was when you were 20.
And what happens if you get sick? You say you don’t have health insurance, but since you’re a veteran I assume you have some government-provided health care through the VA system. I know my father, a Vietnam-era veteran of the Air Force, still gets most of his medical needs met through the VA, but I don’t know what your situation is. But even if you have access to health care, it doesn’t mean disease or injury might not interfere with your ability to put in those 60- to 70-hour work weeks.
Do you plan to get married, have kids? Do you think your wife is going to be happy with you working those long hours year after year without a vacation? Is it going to be fair to her? Is it going to be fair to your kids? Is it going to be fair to you?"
That's the thing though. No one sets this bar.
There is no unseen hand doling out income levels like a poker game. The amount of labor (money) you can get from other people is dependent on the amount of labor you give them.
Suppose you want someone to powerwash your deck. In order to convince them to do this, you need to give them something that is the same value to them as the work required to wash your deck.
The 53% really do deserve some credit. They are carrying the other 47%. Maybe the ex-marine likes to work. Work is a noble pursuit. A lot of people work a lot harder playing than working. Why not divert some of that energy toward efforts that help other people?