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Oct. 14, 2007 I got a job, you got a job, but do we all have the job we want? And, for those that don't have the skills, do they have the hope? America is more and more becoming a service industry. As manufacturing goes overseas more and more, and with the scary repercussions of bad products coming into the United States, is it any wonder why we have a greater and greater divide between the wealthy and poor? Our ever-present desire for cheaper goods and services is a destructive recipe for disaster. While poor countries can produce cheap goods, we buy them in droves. But this isn't good for us. Where once a vast majority of products were designed, built and distributed in the U.S., we now import far more than we export. But with the modern times comes modern problems. Those of us that can't afford a house, a car or even children are being left behind. While some can carry a trade, the service industry doesn't pay enough to afford these basic desires. Sure, some of us are more fortunate. I, myself, work in the food service industry as a server in a restaurant. I also work in a good restaurant with higher prices and in an affluent location. But there are those that work in the same place that have to work multiple jobs to make what I make in half the time. Is this fair? Hardly but it is how the United States works now. So what can we do to help those less fortunate? The ones with little education, little skills and lots of problems? Where once someone could not even finish high school but could assemble goods for eight hours a day are now relegated to the counters of drug stores and big box retailers. And, in those worlds often it is made clear that you are only there until you misstep and fall behind. In my line of work, it is easy to make a bit extra money. Switch a lousy shift for a busy shift and it can mean an extra $100. Pick up an extra shift for the week and you make about $100 extra as well. But what about those that already work 40 hour weeks and make $7 an hour? What hope is there for them? Sure, one can go to school but it costs money and not everyone is qualified to go to school. Yes, there are those of us that are incapable of simple tasks, if they're available. So what if this all leads to the idea that we should become protectionists? After all, don't we all dream the dream of success? While we outsource our jobs in America, we do a disservice to our own people. We are all Americans and we all deserve the same basic services of any modern country. Maybe we should tax the heck out of or put into law rules that bar foreign import. Maybe we should fine big corporations for outsourcing jobs and not paying the tax on them. Maybe we should require a U.S. company to have a certain percent of their product be manufactured here. I don't really want this to happen but what is the solution? As long as our country is for sale to the highest bidder and corporations pay off our government we only have our patriotism to protect us and that won't last forever. America is being strip-mined for all it's worth. Those who have the money and power make the rules. In the past the people would eventually revolt only to go back to the same stuff, different day. I don't want us to revolt in violence or try to overthrow the government, but I think it is high time we turn this ship around. It's high time that Americans start giving a crap about how their country is run. It isn't just about voting, that's a popularity contest. No, this is about getting the right people in the right places so that we have a country to give a damn about. I just wish everyone cared. Then maybe we wouldn't be in this mess. Peace. ------------ About the author: Nicholas Olson is an aspiring playwright and former journalist. He spent parts of his high school, college and professional life as a journalist, serving as a military journalist from 2000-06. Mr. Olson is an avid writer and enjoys political opinion. His views are not that of any particular party or of the country he once served: They are his own. Email: nicholasjolson@yahoo.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
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