I make $2.35 an hour in coal country. I dont want handouts. I want a living wage.

[portlander23]

I make $2.35 an hour in coal country. I don’t want handouts. I want a living wage.
Nic Smith
Washington Post

Close to 30 years later, coal country isn’t what it used to be. Corporate greed, mechanization and the rise of fracking have forced people in Dickenson County into lower-paying, less stable work. Now 25 percent of people in Dickenson live under the poverty line, and the average income is under $20,000 a year. There are not enough jobs to go around, and the jobs we can get pay next to nothing. Corporations are emboldened to cut wages and benefits with no regard for the working people who drive companies’ profits. Mineworker families have been forced to accept pennies because we don’t have another choice. My family was on welfare when I was a kid, and I’ve seen schools shut down and people lose their homes. I’ve seen neighbors lose their jobs and scrape by struggling to pick up work. Some people I know fell victim to addiction, others turned to selling drugs to survive. Meth and OxyContin have ravaged towns across the coalfields.

The good wages that my father and grandfather fought to win are gone. I’m 20 years old, and I’m working at Waffle House, getting paid $2.35 an hour and relying on tips to reach the federal minimum wage of $7.25.

Our reality goes unmentioned but for every four years, when politicians start knocking on our doors and stumping outside old, shuttered mines and factories. But we don’t need empty promises about bringing back coal jobs. We need the jobs that actually exist in our towns to pay us wages high enough for us to afford basics we can live on.

In the run-up to the election and its aftermath, politicians, analysts, pollsters and pundits tried to divide the working class along the lines of race. Growing up in Dickenson County, in a community that is 98 percent white, all I knew was the struggle white working-class families faced. But when I joined the Fight for $15, I met people who work in restaurants in other parts of this state and learned how jobs that pay this little are taking a toll on working people in bigger cities, too. And many families in those larger cities face additional threats, like police violence and the risk of deportation.

White, black, brown — we’re all in this together — fighting for a better life for our families.

[global1]

1. Why Don't Other Industries......

open up companies in coal country that could employ people that are hurting for jobs. They can pay them a living wage. These companies would know that they will have highly motivate, enthusiastic and loyal people to fill jobs.

Surely there are companies and industries - every day - that are either relocating, expanding or being created. Instead of relocating or locating their companies in areas where people are currently employed or are not as disadvantaged as the people are in coal country - they should think of locating or relocating in coal country.

Why can't there be Federal and State tax incentives for companies to set up in this area of the country and employ out of work miners?

[crazycatlady]

5. Industry tends to want an educated workforce

Go to any low wage place in a big city and chances are the employee has a college degree. I can remember going to one coffee shop and the barista had an electrical engineering degree from Duke and he was making coffee for a living.


The people in the area who do get an education tend to leave for school and not come back.

Also since the population is shrinking in these rural areas, not much competition for the employers.

[TonyPDX]

33. Industry actually prefers an automated workforce, which is definitely on the horizon.

That's a fact.

[NightWatcher]

6. Maybe they could build solar panels on the flattened mountain spots in WV

They could retrain and pay a little less in exchange for saving the community.

[bravenak]

31. Who are they going to sell to out there if nobody has money?

Jobs tend to be located where the money is.

[ileus]

37. Low skill, no skill and huge shipping costs.

[Johnathan146]

43. Economics

Often there is a skills gap. Out of work miners don't always have the skills necessary for a new company.

Its difficult to recruit highly talented people in a lot of really small towns.

Also, if the area is economically depressed, who is going to buy my product?

[global1]

52. I Guess I'm Not Talking About Jobs That Require College Degrees Or....

sophisticated computer skills, or jobs that require highly talented people.

Maybe something that required some repetitive manipulation skills - like assembly of parts or components. And I'm not talking about product that only would remain in and be sold in that general area. I'm suggesting products that have wide market appeal and could be sold in markets across the country.

I see that somebody mentioned shipping from the area might be deficient. Surely - you can teach an out of work miner - to drive a truck; to load a truck; to unload a truck; to package items; to assemble components, etc. It ain't that difficult.

If you have shipping deficiencies in the area - you build into the area shipping locations. These locations would provide even more jobs for the people of the area.

The only way you are going to lift such an area out of being economically depressed is if you are able to give the people that live in this area a job with a livable income. Come on - there's got to be industries or companies with products that can provide such jobs.

Packaging, assembly - could be anything - foods, liquids, medical kits, etc. If we can put a man on the moon - surely we can come up with something that would fit this situation.

Again - if you have out of work miners that are in need of a job - they would be highly motivated and enthusiastic - and willing to learn and keep learning to better their skills.

If we all come to the understanding that large numbers of mining jobs are not going to be coming back due to switching to alternate energy sources, EPA regulations, lack of market for the product - then we need to think out of the box to bring other industries, companies, jobs to the area.

Again - federal and state tax incentives could attract such industries to the area.

Maybe alternate energy sources could be the answer. Building solar panels. A battery plant. How about windmill building.

Not everyone has to work at a Waffle House for less than minimum wage and tips.

We need to be creative. It can be done. We should be able to come up with ways to make this happen.

Think out of the box people.

And once the people of the area have jobs and a steady income - they will start feeling better about themselves and maybe spend some of that money they'd be making and create demand for more businesses in the area, more restaurants in the area, more recreational activities in the area; etc - and actually create more jobs.

Aren't there computer games that teach this stuff - where one builds a civilization and sees it grow both physically and economically? Let's take what we learn from those games and apply it to real life for a change.

[Johnathan146]

59. With enough incentives, sure, they would figure something out

But with no incentives, its not worth it. They don't have the infrastructure, they are likely not close to my supplies, shipping is slower compared to a larger city.

I would rather be on the outskirts of a major city. If I need a part I want it now. I worked for a major manufacturer. We were located right next to UPS. We would get customers that needed things in an emergency, and we would put it on a pallet, and have a UPS truck at our dock in 15 minutes. Does everybody need this. No, but downtime is expensive, if I'm in the middle of nowhere it might take an extra day when I need something, and my customer needs something.

Roanoke is in the mountains. How difficult would it be to get turbines out of that city. Can the roads handle the trucks and the turning radius. Even if I make solar panels, are the people there qualified. And I still need lots of highly skilled people. Are they interested in going to a very small town. If not, recruitment of top talent is more difficult. I just think there are too many hurdles, that at least without some kickbacks its not even really worth considering.

It would be a lot easier to move to where the jobs are than to convince jobs to move to where the people are.

[meadowlander]

65. No tax incentives

are going to make up for the fact that you can pay 12 year olds .25 cents an hour to do the same job in India and not be subject to environmental and health and safety regulation. Or that you can buy a machine to do the same job and run it 24/7 with no coffee or meal breaks.

The problem is that industry globalised and modernised and unions didn't.

And with all of the productivity increases of the past forty years, we simply don't need so many people working 40 hour weeks. There isn't enough work to go around. And there are significant environmental cost to growth for growth's sake. We need to recognise that we have reached a level of technological advancement where we can easily provide for all of our needs with most people working what we would now consider part time. The reasons we don't are political and ideological.

So either we reduce the work week to 30 hours a week with no loss in pay or we accept 10-15% unemployment as the new normal and build a social safety net that lets the unlucky people live with dignity.

It's not an "unemployment" problem. It's a "the 1% are sucking up all of the productivity gains while forcing the poor to compete with each other for a dwindling supply of meaningful work" problem.

[phylny]

49. The terrain alone makes it almost impossible for companies to relocate there.

Lots of narrow, mountainous roads and switchbacks make trucking impossible.

When my husband's jobs changed, we moved - New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, Virginia, New York, and back to Virginia. I went back to school for a second Bachelor's and Master's degree when the kids were young to start a second career - speech-language pathology - that would ensure I could get a job no matter where we moved.

[global1]

55. So Maybe Some Jobs Could Be Created To Alter The Terrain And Build Roads.....

to facilitate trucking in these areas. You can put more people to work from the area by getting them to build roads and work on the infrastructure of the area.

Not everyone can afford to move from an area or wants to move.

Hell - back in depression days FDR with the CCC's put boys from all over the U.S. to work planting forests, building state and national parks, working on irrigation in arid areas and yes - even built roads. The Civilian Conservation Corps put people to work, taught them skills and provided them with self respect to make it in this world.

We are in a better position to do such things today than we were back in those days.

We just need to make the commitment and make it happen.

[phylny]

58. I think that sounds like a good idea :) n/t

[RonniePudding]

72. im not sure how you could make that terrain ideal for trucks

Outside of bulldozing thousands of square miles of mountains and hills. That would create a lot of jobs, but would be an environmental catastrophe.

Fact is, sometimes you have to move. I've had dozens of childhood and adult friends and neighbors who I've met, and lost, depending on the cycles in the fossil fuel industry even though that's not my trade.

During the dust bowl thousands of people packed up and moved.

True. Not possible for everyone. But if I were someone in my 30's or 40's living in WVA and hoping to work in a well paying job in the coal or manufacturing industry I'd be seriously evaluating my future as a resident of the state in the long term. The prospects are dismal and that's unlikely to change.

[mercuryblues]

2. One

candidate pushed for a higher minimum wage and the other promised to deregulate the coal industry to bring the jobs back. They voted for the one who promised them their jobs back. Which will never happen.

[frazzled]

12. Exactly

I was going to write--"so why did so many in this situation vote for Donald Trump?" I felt it was kind of mean, so I didn't. But it's true, nonetheless.

I also wanted to add (but didn't) that many people around the country make these paltry wages, and yes, something needs to be done about it. I was thinking especially of the group of extremely dedicated women I've met over the past year and a half who work as home health care aids for senior citizens. The are mostly single mothers, African American women working way too many shifts taking care of others (with grace and efficiency) even as they try to bring up their own kids with values and love and the help of extended family. They are barely getting by, and yet they are not on opioids. I'm pretty sure they did not vote for Donald Trump (though I did not ask them even if they voted at all).

I cannot explain why the one group would vote for the person who could not possibly help them.

[zippythepinhead]

69. Maybe they knew that no one would help them

and they just committed political suicide because of their rage against the machine.

Misery loves company. They knew that trump would bring the rest of the country to their level of poverty to the working man.

[Xolodno]

14. Right there.

The only see this as a difference of having a job and not having a job. The concept of not having a job and moving on to somewhere that will employ them will improve their lives is foreign to them.

[TonyPDX]

25. Sad, but true.

[Silver Gaia]

42. I was thinking last night about what people in my family did during

hard economic times... what they did NOT do was sit around expecting someone to come along and fix it for them. During the Depression, my Dad's entire family moved to California to work in the fields picking fruit and vegetables, and then, they worked in the canneries that processed those fruits and veggies. They eventually returned home, although many other families who did this stayed. On my Mom's side of the family, there were families in which one parent (the father) went "up north" to the cities to find work. Most ended up around Detroit where they worked in the auto industry and sent money home to their families. They returned to their families eventually.

I realize that times are different, and that these same solutions wouldn't work today, but it's the spirit of this that's important. Today, people in these same places seem to have no such "can do/by the bootstraps" spirit. They seem to be afraid of moving, especially to a big city, to find work. I also realize that making such moves is more difficult today, but I just see so little effort being put forth to actively pursue solutions to their plight on their own. I keep seeing people who expect someone else (that government they profess to hate?) to come along and wave a magic wand (Trump promises?) to fix their lives.

Now, kudoes to this young man for getting involved in the fight to raise minimum wage, but he is only 20 years old. What else could he try? Where else might he go, even just temporarily? There have to be some ways to work at solving their problems that don't involve magic wands. Then again, maybe I'm just delusional to expect people who would vote for someone like Trump to be self-responsible.

[AngryAmish]

48. My parents left socialist Ireland for a land with toilets in every house.

[Xolodno]

51. Which is the ultimate irony.

These are the people who say "pull yourself up by your bootstraps"....but when push comes to shove, are the ones most afraid to do so.

I've only been laid off once and it happened shortly before I graduated with my degree. I didn't jump on unemployment as I knew I could hit a temp agency and make enough that was close to what I was before and would work with my schedule. Plus it was professional temp agency so it allowed me to network a bit for a full time salaried position, ultimately, another company offered more. But I did keep all options open.

Granted they are miners, but I'm sure they could easily make the transition to heavy equipment operators, road building, truck driving etc. No matter how safe you think your job is, always keep an eye out on the possibility it may not be there tomorrow and have a back up plan.

[riversedge]

53. No, and I have to wonder when and or IF Trump will tell them that.???

[The_Voice_of_Reason]

3. Well presented...

A lot of people do not realize the exemptions that exist when it comes to the Minimum Wage laws. Working in a restaurant is one of them. America needs a living wage, but additionally, certain areas of our economy cannot be exempt to that law. If a Waffle House owner cannot pay the minimum wage, then they need to close their doors.

[Trekologer]

7. Servers can be paid a lower wage with the expectation of tips

Should tips not reach the minimum wage, the employers need to increase the wage. Or at least that's what the law says.

[exboyfil]

34. Bet it never happens

Also giving out Bible tracks is a thing around there instead of tips.

When I was back for my Grandma's funeral, it was wall to wall Trump signs. These are folks that have to get their water delivered in containers. My family asked what they were, and I told them but they did not believe me.

Some of the most unfriendly folks around. I was looking a little graveyard where my great grandpa was buried. I guess they didn't like the Iowa license plate.

I don't plan to ever go back again. I have an aunt and some cousins there (nice people), but I won't miss anyone else.

[smirkymonkey]

4. K&R

[Coventina]

8. The title of this article is vastly misleading. Restaurant workers make that wage in LOTS of places

It's not a "coal country" problem. It's an entire country problem.

And, you, author of article, if YOU voted for TRUMP you did NOT vote for the candidate who is actually going to back restaurant workers.

[Mr.Bill]

23. In California waitstaff is paid the full minimum wage.

And they get tips on top of that.

[Coventina]

24. Well, that's definitely NOT the case here in AZ. It's the same as the article states. n/t

[Mr.Bill]

57. I think only a few states are like California on this matter.

What's funny is restaurant owners in other states saying they could not stay in business if they had to pay full minimum wage while every restaurant in California is proving them wrong.

The other issue is wait staff are usually required to do certain duties they don't get tipped for, like refilling ketchup bottles, filling napkin dispensers, etc. That amounts to a percentage of their time doing something besides waiting on tables while they are being paid less than minimum wage.

[aidbo]

63. Oregon too. Minimum wage at $9.75 currently.

[msongs]

9. dear waffle house employee - your neighbors are happy with things as they are. that's

why they voted for trumpenstein. best advice? move to a different state.

[Nwgirl503]

22. As they're so fond of telling us...

If you don't like it, LEAVE!

(I actually don't think that's a possibility most times for most people, but if that's what they want to yell at us when we voice our concerns for our quality of life under a certain leadership, then I feel they can get it right back.)

[Wellstone ruled]

10. Companies only relocate to a different

region when it becomes Economical to their Board of Directors. Notice how we have States raiding each other for these low skilled jobs knowing full well they have to bribe them with Tax Breaks,out right Cash hand outs to the targeted company.

Corporate America,also know as Multi-Nationals,are going to use the cheapest most profitable labor pool available. We live in a Global Economy and now we have to figure out how to survive.

[TonyPDX]

36. Jack Welch said he believed the ideal factories would be constructed on barges,

which could simply be floated to wherever the cheapest labor existed. They're pretty much doing that now with a number of industries, like movie and television production. Vancouver B.C. until they want a raise, then Atlanta, or North Carolina, etc. Trucks roll out as easily as they roll in.

[Wellstone ruled]

64. Barge dormitories were built back in the 70's

for use as Man-Camps for Construction workers working in coastal Oil Patches,don't know if there ever seen use.

Welch was a real piece of work. To this day,he is a stain on our Country.

[quitnesset]

11. get out of Dickenson County

I thought I would be a smart ass and ask why you did not take advantage of job training programs in your county; it turns out there are none. Even the title "Job Opportunities" on the County website is spelled incorrectly, and it links to nothing. The local County Higher Education Center Facebook page shows nothing but (very beautiful) quilts... where are the jobs programs? NOWHERE! Pictures of your county show it to be a nice rural location, but there is nothing there for anyone interested in working and you need to get out now while you are still young. Get to a larger urban area and enroll in a postsecondary program that will lead to a job; Stop hanging around in Dickenson waiting for things to change because the voters there seem to like it just as it is and they are not willing to demand change from the people they keep electing.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

13. It's not always so simple.

It reminds me of people arguing that people living in destitute urban areas should just move.

[Squinch]

32. It isn't simple. But it is the only option if he wants a living wage. Coal isn't coming back, and

unless there is some miraculous technological advance that decides to park its industry in his community, the situation in that location is not going to change. The government is not going to change it, jobs training is not going to change it because what jobs?

No one thinks its simple. It's actually very much like people arguing that people living in destitute urban areas should move. The fact is, though, that the only way the people in those urban areas stop being destitute IS to move. Sometimes it takes a generation, sometimes more, but that is the only way.

When the famine comes, the only way through is out.

Especially when the people in his town elect the con man who doesn't even have any desire to help.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

39. There's no stability as long as we're all prisoners of free markets.

My parents left their small farms based on the allure and job opportunities of the city. Those jobs later vanished.

The same will happen, again and again.

I'm not arguing for communism. No government can successfully manage it all.

However, if we're all going to be subjected to the will of markets with no real oversight or direction, people need to be more empowered to make such moves. That often involves money, and I think a universal minimum income would make people more mobile.

By the way, I suspect that famine is much more likely for city dwellers. If our electrical infrastructure gets wiped out by a high-altitude nuclear blast or a coronal mass ejection from the Sun, it's the city folks who will be more screwed. No radio/TV communications. Vehicles that don't start. Lack of tap water (since most water towers rely on electrical pumps to get the water elevated). Groceries that quickly run out of supplies that aren't replenished. On and on.

The USA doesn't even manufacture transformers anymore... because markets rule and national planning drools!

[Squinch]

41. I do agree with pretty much everything you say.

The minimum income is inevitable, especially because I think we will see a lot more jobs lost to mechanization in the years to come. And because we have no reduction in productivity, in fact we have been seeing big increases in productivity.

But I fear we have to go through a terrible time before everyone comes around to our way of thinking. Rich people, as we can see all around us, are stupid. They take a larger and larger share of the money, and it is going to come as a surprise to them when no one else has any and there is no longer any market for their goods and services. But that is the only thing that will bring about fundamental changes in work hours, wages, and the attitude toward minimum income. And the problem is, the rest of us will have to go through hell for a good while before they wake up.

As far as famine in urban areas goes, yeah I agree. I think about it sometimes and eye the geese and turtles in the pond near my home and think about how we would get food sources around here in a crisis. I grow basil in my window, though. It's a start! If I have to starve, at least I'll have pesto!

[Buckeye_Democrat]

45. I fear it will take terrible times to get through to people too.

Republicans have been very clever with their propaganda over the years, I must admit.

[TheFrenchRazor]

15. well, the fast-food labor secretary sure ain't gonna help you any. nt

[madokie]

16. For th emost part we eat at the mom and pop

places and we tip good. 20 cents on the dollar at least, sometime more if what are bill is low. In other words we don't eat much

[Bradical79]

17. Off topic, but aren't servers in better position than other min wagers?

First, I agree with the living wage premise. I'm just confused at how servers are consistently shown as some terrible exception to the minimum wage law. If the restaurant has to make up the difference when they don't get enough tips, then isn't the minimum wage the floor of their earnings? While it's bad to have us subsitizing wages for some wealthy owner through tips, at least there is a chance they will make more than minimum wage some weeks, right? I always feel like I'm missing something when servers $2.50/hour wage is brought up.

[Johnathan146]

40. They are guarenteed minumum wage.

At some places, perhaps tips are not enough, and they do make just minimum wage, but nobody is making 2.50 an hour after tips.

I would also assume most servers are under reporting their tips, and paying less in taxes than a non tipped employee who makes the same amount per year.

[AngryAmish]

50. There is a tiny segment that makes 100k

I had a client once who did. He worked at a steakhouse with 100 dollar bill per person. 7 days a week. Reported every penny.

But that is unicorn area.

[flying-skeleton]

18. And yet the coal country overwhelming voted for the Orange Turd

And re-elects Turtle McConnell without missing a heart beat every time. Everyone in coal country has no one to blame but themselves. I do have advice for those caught in the quagmire ...... F**kin' MOVE !! Pack you bags and move to a State that cares about their citizens. You won't find it in GOP controlled states !!

Let the turtle operate the mines with his own hands !!

[hurple]

19. If republican get their way

The typical working American family will be living like this again...

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[Buckeye_Democrat]

20. They just need to get educated and move.

Just like the angry African American rioters in Milwaukee need to move. It's so easy!

It would actually be easier to move if people had something like a universal minimum income, but that's something that conservatives will fight tooth and nail. Meanwhile, they laugh all the way to the bank while others argue over which groups deserve more empathy.

[Cryptoad]

21. King Coal aint coming back,,,,,

coal miners are joining buggy-whip makers in history.

[TonyPDX]

30. Sadly, yes. As the typewriter factories and journalists have.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

35. I compare them to the other heroic roughneck workers of the 19th century....

There was a time when whale oil was common in lighting homes.

Here's a picture of barrels of whale oil.



It was the petroleum product of that age.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

26. Republicans tell this kind of voter to focus on guns and abortion.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

27. Anything to keep their eyes off the main motives.

"Look over there!"

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

28. Your crappy wage at Waffle House has nothing to do with living

in Coal Country. Most states allow such low wages to wait staff, on the assumption that tips will bring them up to the minimum.

And if you are only 20, you are young enough to try to go to school somewhere for a better job. Junior colleges typically have very good programs that can get you into a decent job.

But yeah, I do agree that all jobs should pay a living wage.

[TheFrenchRazor]

61. get a clue; it is not about THIS WOMAN, it is about the overall economy; the percentage of "good job

"good jobs" in this country is not nearly enough to support any kind of decent standard of living for THE MAJORITY of citizens. your little P.S. at the end is the whole point; why dump on this woman?

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

66. The real problem is that states are allowed

to declare certain jobs not subject to federal minimum wage. I am NOT dumping on this woman. She lives in a state that allows this sub-minimum wage.

Either we all get together and correct this problem, meaning make ALL jobs subject to the federal minimum wage, or not. Or, as I said, she can consider getting training/education to get out of this trap.

Oh, and I'm old enough to recall when a lot of jobs were still not subject to the federal minimum wage. And my very first job was one of those.

[zippythepinhead]

70. Yeah, I agree!

the poster should walk a mile in her shoes.

[bravenak]

29. It is time to face reality

Red stateism is the cause of these wage issues. Conservative economics is the problem. Even up here they fought against tying our minimum to inflation and raising it a couple of bucks in the meantime. They lost.

You MUST PUT MINIMUM WAGE INCREASES ON THE BALLOT. Waiting for the feds is stupid. Waiting for state legislators to step in and make their corporate buddies pay is stupid. Complaining about how the Democrats don't fix it for us is stupid. You want something done? My mama always said do it yourself.


Every state that has such a stupid ass low minimum wage needs people out there doing the groundwork to get propositions or measures or etc on the state ballot. Now. To do less is stupid.
You can march in the streets until your legs fall off and nothing will happen. Get it on the ballot. Anything else is a stupid waste of time.

[yuiyoshida]

38. I must be lucky....

To be hired by a company in Japan, and to do work at home.. To have a decent wage sent to my bank account each month. I was talking with a friend. He was saying how sad it was, that I had to get paid by another county, because the jobs around here were low wage jobs, working three shifts at MacDonald's doesn't cut it.

damn, I am lucky.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

44. I've worked at a few Japanese owned companies here.

They weren't work at home jobs, but factories.

The Japanese workers were paid double -- at home in Japan and here. I later found out that NONE of them wanted to be here! None of them were volunteers! They were all conscripted to work at the USA subsidiaries, but at least they were also paid more. After they "served their time," they always went back to Japan.

I'm happy for you, by the way!

EDIT: I just remembered there was a female employee from the home company that stayed here. She married someone here and she didn't go back.

[yuiyoshida]

46. My job isn't a factory job

Just something I can do on my computer, punch in. punch out, each day...send out emails, send back information..all done in my jyammies if I want..and my only co worker is my cat.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

47. Wonderful!

I have a long-distance Jewish "girlfriend" with that kind of job too.

[yuiyoshida]

56. That's cool

[Buckeye_Democrat]

60. She works at home for Mossad, though.

KIDDING!

She was born and raised in the USA and has no ties to Israel.

She's an independent contractor who updates internet business information. I wouldn't have known there was a need for such services, but apparently there's contact information and the like that's wrong and the misinformation spreads.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

54. Everyone deserves at least a living wage... trust in Bernie to get the job done!

Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!

[Adrahil]

62. just mandating a living wage will not do it.

We need an economic transformation.

Yes, we need a minimum wage that is a living wage. But places like "coal country" need to actually embrace the fact that the mines, with their high paying jobs are not coming back. Firstly, coal is dying. Second, those idiots actually voted for politicians who busted the unions that GOT them those wages.

[Willie Pep]

67. Yeah that is what is so aggravating.

People tend to forget that the only reason those factory and coal mining jobs ever paid well was because they were unionized. Before unionization these jobs were often low-paying. That is why there was so much labor strife around mining and manufacturing. But people don't know their labor history. Their memories only go back to the 1950s at most and they just assume these were good jobs because of the magic of the free market and American capitalism being somehow special.

[KG]

68. the american worker has no friends in DC. not for 30 yrs, not dem or gopper.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

71. K&R