I know this was a hot topic a couple weeks ago with everything that's going on at Blizzard, however with that specifically set aside for a moment, this is about a more broader issue that has been a problem for a long time now. This idea that if you don't want to be in poverty you need to go to college to insure a better future which in my opinion is just an ancient and asinine way of thinking that is killing our country and future generations to come.
Every single person in the United States of America should be paid a living wage based on their location regardless of their job or status.
- A living wage is defined as the minimum income necessary for a worker to meet their basic needs.
I find it unsettling to say the least that blue collar workers who are the backbone of society and the ones who even make our economy run in the first place, shouldn't be paid more money because of the type of work they do. Workers who stock store shelves, drive trucks, deliver packages, work in warehouses, deal with rude costumers all day in restaurants and retail stores, the people who make it possible so you can take a shower every morning or deal with your human waste when you flush the toilet etc. Why do these people not deserve to be paid a wage that allows them to eat, pay their bills and save a little extra? Millions of Americans (and people all over the world really) are living paycheck to paycheck meanwhile greedy business owners are sitting on millions and billions without a care in the world.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying someone delivering groceries or working the cash register at your favorite restaurant deserves to be making 100k a year but at the same time shouldn't have to be begging for tips to barely pay their $1400/month rent on a minimum wage that hasn't been adjusted to meet the standards of inflation since 2009. Now for those who want a little extra to buy their Mercedes Benz then by all mean go to school and get into those fields with a lot higher paying salaries to meet the standard of the way you want to live. However this does not mean everyone else that we depend on should be starving.
Look at it this way. For everyone who wanted to be a software engineer or a doctor or a pilot etc...that's amazing but at the end of the day there still people NEEDED to do all those "meaningless" jobs no one else wants to do; you can't expect 14 and 15 year olds to run all those businesses which is an argument that I often see. What about our education system where teachers are paid the bare minimum on college degrees to help shape our future?
I think it's about time we come together and take a stance this.