Minimum-wage Jobs Are Physically Demanding, Have Unpredictable Schedules, And Pay So Meagerly That Workers

Paying for College: Then and Now

So baby boomers were born between 1946 and 1964

This means that they entered college between 1964 and 1982

The total average cost to go to Public College including tuition room and board ranged from $950 in 1964 to $2945 in 1982

While they were on college they could count on making at least $1.25 an hour in 1964 to $3.35 an hour in 1982

This means that spending the 18 weeks during summer working full time at minimum wage they would make $900 dollar in 1964 and $2412 in 1982

That means someone going to school 1964 would only have to work 40 hours during the school year to completely pay for all of their expenses.

Someone going to school in 1982 had it a little worse, they had to work for less than 160 hours during the school year to completely cover their expenses.

To put this in perspective in 2006 (the most recent year that the Dept of Edu reports) a public college education cost $11,034

The minimum wage was $5.15 in 2006

That means to pay for school in 2006 at minimum wage you would have to work just over 2142 1/2 hours to pay for school.

Working full time year around, without any time off, is only 2080 hours

I'm in love.

I don't shop at Wal-Mart at all, and I don't shop on "Black Friday"--I'm just not into consumerism and corporatization.  I encourage everyone to enjoy a day off work (if you get one) and spend time (on your family, your friends, or yourself) instead of money this Thanksgiving weekend.  

I NEVER shop here anyway, but still, you shouldn’t either…

Primer for those who still don’t understand in the wake of the arrest of, incarceration of, and likely murder of Sandra Bland in TX: 1. Asking a cop why they are stopping you/ticketing you is your right. They do not have the right to arrest you for asking, beat you for asking or in any way mistreat you for asking that question. 2. You have the right to say whatever you wish to a cop in response to being stopped. ANYTHING at all, so long as it does not constitute a threat of harm. You can cuss a cop, yell at a cop, and call a cop a fascist pig or a racist if you like. I do not recommend it, you shouldn’t do it (because sadly cops don’t care about the Constitution in far too many cases, and thus, might beat or kill you), and it’s not very nice I suppose (even when deserved), but it is NOT illegal to do so. 3. Refusing to put out a cigarette when asked by a cop is not a criminal offense either. The cop has no lawful right to arrest you for smoking or “disobeying” an order to stop smoking. Only if you are already being arrested for an actual crime and putting out the cigarette is necessary to affect the arrest, can such a request be considered lawful and can failure to do so constitute “resisting arrest.” But refusing to put the cigarette out, in and of itself, does not constitute a crime. 4. If you do any of the above, the cop still does not have the right to beat you or arrest you. And if you end up beaten or killed, it is not your fault. It is entirely and only the cop’s fault. They should be arrested, tried, convicted and jailed. Your “arrogance” or “attitude” is not grounds for brutality, ever. 5. None of the above is made any less true by the fact that “cops have a hard job and put their lives on the line.” That is entirely irrelevant and has no bearing on the rights of the people or the limitations on police power. 6. Any cop who disagrees with the previous points is not qualified to be a cop and should be summarily dismissed from their jobs. Any cop who can’t handle being challenged as to their authority, or who in any way disregards the rights of the people is not qualified to be a cop and should be summarily dismissed from their jobs. 7. Anyone at all who disagrees with these previous points has contempt for the Constitution and would clearly be more comfortable in a police state. Yet these are the same people who think “government regulation” of industry is tyranny, or that the IRS is equivalent to the Nazi SS or that Obamacare is totalitarianism. So they don’t mind actual authoritarian actions (so long as they are worked out mostly on the bodies of black folks and/or the poor), but God forbid government try and ensure health care, or collect taxes from the rich or try and limit pollution. THEN they scream about big brother and how awful the state is…

Tim Wise (via la-lobalita)

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