BRM brought up a post from a congressional candidate here in Kentucky who worked through the Christmas season as a temporary worker at one of our area’s largest employers. Coincidentally, I happen to work at the same employer, and have for several years. BRM asked me for my comments, and after filling up a comment box over at his place, I decided to just put my thoughts down here.
First and foremost, I don’t speak for my employer, and everything here is my personal opinion. Just wanted to get that out of the way.
I’ve never met Mr. Leach, and since I don’t live in the 2nd Congressional District, his candidacy hasn’t crossed my field of vision news-wise. From what I can gather from his website, it appears that he’s spent his career in service to the country, and wishes to continue that service by becoming a Congressman. I don’t agree with some of his positions, but I can respect his desire to serve.Here are my thoughts on his post about working at or near the minimum wage:
- I too tip my hat to Mr. Leach for both his military service and his willingness to get into the trenches and get his hands dirty. Too many politicians on both sides of the aisle are afraid to do so.
- Mr. Leach failed to disclose how much of his paycheck was paid to the Teamsters Union, which he disparaged for not getting entry level employees bigger raises over the past few decades, in dues and/or initiation fees. He also failed to discuss how much of his paycheck was going to pay taxes to support those who refuse to work. Want to keep more of your paycheck? Then stop taking money out of it to feed unproductive mouths and to pay union bosses’ salaries. Welfare reform and right-to-work laws in Kentucky might make things a little better for those who have to watch every dollar.
- It’s an entry level position. It’s not meant to be your life-long vocation, and it’s certainly not meant to be your single source of income. Yes, you have to know skills to do it, but so does the kid at the gas station or the waitress at the Waffle House. More relevant skills usually means more pay. You will tend to get them as time goes by, assuming that you are willing to put forward the extra effort to make yourself more profitable to your employer, and hence worth the additional pay.
- Yes, the cost of living has gone up faster than the rate of income for people on the low end of the pay scale. That’s what I call a stimulus to do better. Get educated. Get skills. Get a better paying job. There are plenty of them in and around Louisville if you’re willing to work hard and learn.
- I’m sorry that some of his co-workers have degrees and are still loading planes for a living. When I got out of the Army, I had education and could speak four languages fluently. My education and language skills meant precisely diddly over squat in the job market and place I found myself. It was a blow to the gut to realize that the things I had worked so hard for were pretty much worthless. I adapted, I learned, and I got a good paying job. If your degree isn’t helping you get the job you want in Louisville, then move somewhere that it will, or write off the degree as a bad investment and do something else.
- Mr. Leach talked a lot about how his family wouldn’t have been able to make it without the income from his wife. So we’re supposed to be surprised that an hourly job that only has 5 or 6 hours a day isn’t enough to feed your family without both people working. No kidding. So I guess Mr. Leach found himself in the same position in which most American households find themselves. Irish Woman and I have never not worked, and that probably isn’t going to change. Not saying that it’s right or wrong, just saying that it’s the reality in the American economy, and probably will be for a very long time.
- Again, it’s an entry level job. If you can’t make it on just that amount of money, get another one. Heck, get two. There are “Help Wanted” signs up all over Louisville. There’s no shame in busting your ass to keep the lights on, if that’s necessary.
- I’m shocked that it costs so much to commute to and from your place of employment. Maybe if the cost of gas were a bit lower, it would help. I know, maybe if we built a big pipeline to bring more oil from Canada into the United States the supply would go up and the price might come down a tad. Heck, maybe some people might even get a job from the construction and maintenance of the pipeline. Or hey, maybe if we weren’t paying over 50 cents a gallon in taxes, which are ostensibly to pay for the wonderful roads we enjoy here in Kentucky, the price of a commute might be a little cheaper. My solution to the problem was to move closer to work and try to maximize fuel economy where I can. Your mileage may vary.
Like I said, I respect Mr. Leach’s commitment to trying to understand how people in his area make their living, but crying that entry level jobs don’t pay well isn’t going to cut it with me.
DaddyBear’s Den 
bikergranny2
/ January 13, 2014Welcome to the world the rest of us live in, Mr. Leech.
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Roy
/ January 15, 2014As I commented over at BRM’s site, The UPS airport facility is in Louisville and therefore outside of his district. I would have been more sympathetic to Mr. Leach had he taken a job somewhere within the 2nd district, say in Elizabethtown, or Bowling Green, or at one of the many distilleries in the region.
Peruse Mr Leach’s site and you find that he is a typical business-hating Democrat – especially if your business happens to be something like Walmart. (Never mind that Walmart is a primary employer in some of the counties within the area he hopes to represent.)
And then there’s his veteran status. Yeah, he lays that one on quite heavy. Well, I’m a veteran too, and while I agree with him that our government should support our veterans more – especially those that are disabled through service connected injuries. But what he fails to mention is the fact that it is *HIS* party that is at the forefront of screwing over veterans and retired military in order to shower benefits on illegal aliens.
I live in the second district, but I’ll not be voting for Mr. Leach. (Indeed, at this point, I would vote for a bent trash can before I would vote for *any* Democrat. At least a bent trash can will sit there and do nothing instead of working to make things worse.)
Sorry – but this one really pushed one of my buttons.
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daddybear71
/ January 15, 2014Good point. There are large companies that have operations in his district. It would be interesting if he’d tried to make it on a job there. Also, I forgot to wonder what standard of living he was trying to maintain with that level of pay.
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