To the local MP with the nasty comments about the less fortunate and unemployed, and to all the self-righteous “no-good bastards” who agreed with him..FUCK YOU…No one chooses to be poor or live on the street. Everyone wants a decent life but it is usually denied them by elitist fuckheads like you..Do more for the poor and it’ll surely decrease the numbers of homeless and starving poor in this city. Offering someone a week or two of hard work at barely above minimum wage is not incentive enough for even the poorest derelict..Wake the fuck up people…
—Poor and Proud
This article appears in Nov 26 – Dec 2, 2009.
“No one chooses to be poor or live on the street.”
You sure about that? There are lots of people who are poor and on the street because of the bad choices they have made. They may not WANT to be poor or homeless, but some of them did play a part in getting there.
There are also people in the province who won’t go to work, even seasonally, because it will interfere with their EI and social assistance benefits.
Also, last time I worked on a farm it paid a whole lot more than ‘barely above minimum wage’. I made 12 grand in 4 months, and I wasn’t even the best worker. Min wage would come in around 5-6K for the same period of time.
I’m not unsympathetic to the poor and I’m not saying all poor people are like those I’ve described, but I have seen crops rotting in the field because unemployed and poor people are too lazy or too entitled to get out, lend a hand and make a buck. That frustrates me. Like I’ve said before, the farms even sent buses to Halifax to pick people up but couldn’t fill them. Now, they rely on migrant workers to do the jobs we’re too good for. Something is terribly wrong in this province.
I would work on these farms if I knew how to get there. I’ve never seen the jobs advertised.
I did it for 3 years. It was grueling work, at times. Smashing earth that had been baked into cement with a small wood and iron tool that chaffed your hands until they bled was one of the worst jobs. Wading through the mud on your hands and knees in pouring rain to pick tomatoes was another crappy task. Sunstroke was not uncommon. On the plus side, I slept really well at night and I was in really good shape. And, I learned a lot of new things like:
-never run from a bear–back away slowly
-wet mud relieves the pain of hornets’ stings (and that they build their nests on the ground)
-always be sure to check that the pallet of bags you are sitting on to eat your lunch does not contain leaking pesticides
-after working hours in the hot sun never jump into a frigid mountain stream to cool off
-date a trained masseuse
I don’t know if the jobs are well advertised. When the springtime rolls around, make some phone calls to valley farms.
I just used Canada411 and searched “farms” and “Nova Scotia” and got most of the farms I’ve worked on before listed.
Back in the day I just called around and asked if they needed any labour, pickers, harvesters or whatever until I got someone who said yes. It didn’t take long. I know some people used to come up from Halifax on a bus that the owners chartered, but I don’t know if they still do that.
“”because unemployed and poor people are too lazy or too entitled to get out, lend a hand and make a buck.””
Hey, you sound just like Rush Limbaugh. Do these welfare cheats all drive around in Cadillacs too?
All that’s missing is where you say that “these people” spend all their money on smokes and VLT’s
Bravo to Mr Keddy who has the balls to say what most of us have been saying about the bums on SGR. Mind you not the mentally ill who were released from institutions “because their human rights (or whatever) were being violated” or whatever the claptrap the bleeding hearts were spouting.
I’d like to see if any of these lazy asses would ever get on a bus that would take them to the farms to work.
Only a few months ago, I saw a tradesman pass by one of the common bums on Spring Garden Road asking for spare change (this is the tall, younger guy who used to swear at people who wouldn’t give him money, but he’s a bit tamer now). The tradie first said no and passed by, but after walking several more feet, he stopped, went back, and asked the guy if he wanted to work for him. The bum shrugged his shoulders and said no.
Lazy fuckers deserve what they get!
On the other hand, I understand where some people are coming from not wanting to do these types of jobs if they have worked hard getting an education in order to not have to work those types of jobs. That’s what I at least thought I did, getting my Honours Degree after five years and several thousand dollars spent at school, but here I am working a shitty just-above minimum wage job again because I cannot find any work in my field at the moment. I have worked much better office jobs and have seen how much better that work is, both in terms of conditions and pay, but there’s nothing for me at the moment. It sucks, but I guess it’s better than sitting at home all day posting on LTWWB.
MOST farms dont advertise jobs in media because then it would mean that Canadians can get jobs that they cant hire foreign workers for. 27 Canadians in my hometown were given their 2 weeks notice for “disciplinary problems” but never addressed as to what those problems were or given a chance to correct them. then the farm owner did the right thing by advertising the jobs….and by advertising, he posted the jobs on the telephone poles up and down his street. when no canadians showed up for work, he had 27 guatemalan employees shipped up to replace them, and had the 27 outgoing canadians train them. that being said, ive worked farms ive worked grape, hay, blueberry, turkey, all rewarding and well paying jobs. Jobs that MANY of the panhandlers on spring garden could be doing even IF they have some sort of mental instability. so OP WAKE THE FUCK UP yourself. ive never been poor because i worked 2-3 jobs just to make ends meet when i had to. not to mention go to school as well. so if anyone says it cant be done….well i beg to differ. and agree with the politician because of it
Frosty, that comment was directed at the actual lazy and unemployed people I knew at the time who actually told me I was being an idiot for going out and working instead of collecting a government cheque. Some people just like to ‘get what’s owed them’. I was not referring to all or even most poor people….just the ones who make a bad name for everyone else.
qpmz: Your training and education should make your time more valuable. It makes sense to look for a job in your field and sometimes that means you have to be unemployed or underemployed while you are looking. Someone in your position has options and your resume should qualify you for higher-paying jobs in other fields if you had to take them. Some people don’t have the education or specialized training or the skill set that qualifies them for higher paying jobs yet they still feel that a McJob or a labour intensive job is beneath them. To me, that’s just a shitty work ethic.
I hope so, Miles, I hope so. I worked these types of jobs while I was in school, and having to work at places like where I’m working now was one of my biggest motivators for staying in school! Something must come soon. The world needs its urban planners.
I knew my letter to Gerald would get results!
That MP put into words what many of us were thinking, he just used a really poor choice of words. There are those who legitimately are poor and homeless, otherwise we wouldn’t have Turning Point, the Salvation Army, etc… near downtown. There are those who give those people a bad name (fake panhandlers, welfare abusers, etc…) and I believe that’s where the MP’s comments were directed.
BAGGERS can not be choosers…take the work when it’s there and don’t complain about it. Don’t expect people to help you unless you’re willing to help yourself.
Yes he said what everyone was thinking but to scared to say it. We need more people like him.
I agree with PDG. There are legitimately poor people, people with disabilities and people with families to support who can’t work these kinds of jobs. I know many of us believe we would do whatever it takes to support our families, taking any job – but there are some people who don’t have that same mentality, and those are the people that deserve the MP’s comments.
I’d like to point out that many people who are begging on the streets don’t have a vehicle that might take them to work on the farm every day.
hence the busses….
and yeah, it’s all the posers that make it tough to tell the ones actually down and nearly out.
I saw that grey sweatpants girl yesterday that someone posted about a bit ago…
she wanted a bus ticket or loonie because she was ‘stuck’ yet lives 3 blocks away from where she’s begging… laughable. when I see them with netbooks and blackberries, it’s tough to know who to believe anymore… so to be sure I treat them all the same.
To the poor: there are jobs out there. Just because you refuse to work doesn’t give you the right to complain.
Farm work SUCKS.
I did it for a week and I gotta say I’d much rather work min wage flipping burgers or bagging groceries.
I wonder what Mr. Keddy’s opinions are on the working poor. Would he call them “lazy bastards” for not being able to get a super fancy job that pays tons of cash for doing essentially nothing (such as Mr. Keddy’s). I mean obviously you don’t have to be the brightest crayon in the box if you think that calling the poor “lazy bastards,” while relying on the public to elect you to your job, is a good idea, so why can’t the ‘uneducated’ working poor do the same? Because you know, ALL poor people are lazy, uneducated bastards.
However, on the flip side: those on SA have a great set up. Add in some public housing and you’re set. Fuck some random dude and pop out 5 or 6 kids and you’re even more set with tax payer-provides smokes, booze and scratch tickets. Don’t forget the big 8 pop, coachman wieners and cheap day old bread for the youngins. Sounds pretty sweet to me.
So does fishplant work, PK, but when I needed the $, I put the Vicks up my snout, bought old crappy used clothes, some rubber gloves, and a gutting knofe, and went in to get ‘er done.
There is work available everywhere, just not necessarily the work we all want…
Whoops – KNIFE, not knofe…
I have a great job. It took years of training and paying dues to get where I am today. I get a lot of respect whenever I’m dressed in my uniform doing my job. I make a lot of money doing my job, because quite simply, there aren’t a lot of people around that do what I do.
But in all honesty, 99% of the time the job I do requires that I sit on my ass and watch computers do what I tell them to do, sipping coffee and making small talk.
I consider myself one of the laziest people in the world. I did plenty manual labour for low pay when I was young. I hated it. I knew I had to find something that would pay me lots of money for doing relatively little in the way of work.
So I became an airline pilot.
Mr. Keddy obviously figured out the same thing at some point in the past and so he became an MP. Lazy people like me and Mr. Keddy shouldn’t shoot our mouths off about folks who are unfortunate enough to not have something they can do where they get paid enormous amounts of money for relatively little effort.
I like you, Urban Farmer Bob.
I have had times of being down on my luck once or twice during my life but never considered begging to be an option. The key is to make an effort to improve your lot in life instead of standing on a sidewalk begging. We live in a country with social programs to assist those who aren’t able to get by until they can. With food banks it is not likely people will die of starvation. Try living in some third world countries to see that destitute really means the difference between life and death.
the thing is two of the hardest jobs i’ve ever had were: picking tobacco and pruning x-mas trees; not many of the street types would be able to handle that type of physical labour in the semi mal-nutrition state that their in
Good point, martym. Hard labour requires additional energy. They would need to eat breakfast, have a lunch to take with them, have transportation and appropriate clothing. And, at the end of the day, they need supper and a bed to get a good nights sleep. And, they need to cover any expenses until they get their first pay. As well, there is a certain amount of politics and pettiness in the field (like most work places), and the other workers can make life pretty miserable for people who don’t fit in.
Erm, farmer Bob…did those “menial low-paying jobs” you did help pay for the 1-2 hundred grand to work your way up the ratings to an ATP licence, lol?
I smell family money…
HKM we all need shelter, food and clothes, etc and the vast majority of us do it the same way, WE WORK TO EARN OUR WAY. Why are the lazy ass bums (again, not the mentally ill) not doing the same thing, get a fucking job. Lots of jobs out there. They went to the same schools we went to, could have worked or gone to secondary school (student loans like many do), but they prefer, YES PREFER, to live off of idiots (some of us) who throw coins in their Timmie’s cups or pop out kid after kid after kid.
Lol at this repeated ‘exception” for the “mentally ill”.
What, exactly, is the “threshold” of illness one needs to get in your good books there, BT? Does drug/alcohol addiction count? How about if it causes depression? Schizophrenia? Is someone “mentally ill” enough if they just have a touch of social phobia or fear/distrust of authority, and can’t hold down a McJob?
You don’t know the background story on these folks that are homeless, you just think you do. No more Fox News and AM radio for you!
All that’s missing, lmao, is for you to say “Hey, some of my best friends are mentally ill…”
I think we can all agree that there is a difference between a homeless drug addict and a homeless single mother without family who’s home just got foreclosed. Even then there are options. It’s all about taking control of your situation and having the balls to get back on your feet. Still though, I have zero tolerance for facetious fuckwads that treat homelessness as a condition caused only by the lazy. You don’t know what goes on behind the scenes.
baD mR fRosTy:
First of all, typing your nickname correctly requires far more effort than a lazy person like me should have to expend.
Second, I learned to fly decades ago when it didn’t cost what you think it does, and I paid for it myself (and university too) out of wages from manual labour jobs.
Third, there was no family money. My father worked at manual labour jobs his entire life. What do you expect with a grade six education?
Finally, that was then, this is now. Young folks can’t nearly pay for a university education working summer jobs and part-time during the school year. Tuition at most universities around here runs close to $7000 per year. I was lucky. One year of tuition at the University of Manitoba in 1975 was about $500. I’m not kidding!!
Real income in the decades since has declined and the tax system has been rejigged so that the almost extinct middle class shoulders a far larger portion of this country’s tax burden than those at the top end and of course the large transnational corporations (some of which pay no tax). The game has been rigged and most people have been brainwashed to think it’s fair and that they just have to work harder or something.
Those folks currently struggling on the lower rungs of the economic ladder have my heartfelt sympathy. I don’t think Gerald Keddy feels the same.
Sometimes the problems you encounter in everyday life really ARE caused by someone else.
UFB – (note the clever use of the acronym)
That’s great that you were able to pay for commercial flight school and the cost of renting the planes all from “low-paying” manual labour jobs. That must have been gruelling work and a quite spartan existence.
I too learned to fly, at the private VFR level almost two decades ago, and by the time I had 55 hours, I was into it for almost $10,000. I can’t imagine affording the 150 hours for a commercial license, which is what I was going for, but my life took a turn for the better and I went to sea instead, lol…
I should point out that for commercial flight school, I WAS able to secure a student loan, lol….that was only availably in BC due to the amount of work back then for small commercial aircraft pilots…that has since changed.
You are the FIRST pilot I have EVER met that is 100% self-made, congrats. Even my two cousins here in BC that still fly had their father’s fishing charter business with 2 amphib Beavers and a 185 on floats to build their hours…
I don’t think it would be possible today to do what you did. Not at the cost of training plane rental and instructor fees now, and the lack of jobs for commercial pilots with low hours to build their 1500 for an ATP (which is about to be increased, I hear).
Family money/aviation business or the financial cradle of the Air Force are the only realistic ways forward.
I’m afraid though, that I’m still going to disagree that just “working hard” at a crap under-paid job is the path to success. It’s the path to success of the business owner to have us working hard for shit pay, that I agree with.
The system is tilted towards further success for the person who already has some wealth…more now than ever before since the robber barons of the last century.
Personally, if I was faced with cleaning the middle class’s toilets, shovelling your shit, digging your ditches, or “yes sir, no sir, three bags full sir” as I mow your lawn…I would rather B&E your house, sell drugs to your kids, or pimp your teenage daughter… 😉
Good thing I have a job I like, innit?
BTW, I don’t mean “disagree” with YOU UFB, I mean disagree with others that say people should just get off their asses and come landscape my house/clean my rain gutters etc for minimum wage…
baD mR fRosTy:
I am sorry the flying thing didn’t work out. These days it is hugely expensive. I honestly don’t know how young people do it.
I guess one of my points was that back then it was easier for someone (with no family money) to make their way in the world. Nowadays not so easy.
Another point I was making is that some people have to work very hard for very little money whereas others expend relatively little effort for a lot of money. I don’t think there is a direct link between working hard and making lots of money (or even achieving financial security).
I can give you one example that I am very familiar with. On your average airliner the flight attendants make a fraction of what the pilots make. Why? You could argue that supply and demand dictates that those with relatively rare qualifications (pilots) will end up making far more than those with relatively common qualifications (flight attendants). This is not intended to demean the work that flight attendants do. Quite the opposite. They work much harder than the pilots do, I think. But this just illustrates my point. There is no direct link between hard work and financial reward. There are probably examples from other industries as well.
The original bitch that started this referred to MP Gerald Keddy’s remarks about the difficulty of getting Nova Scotians to do hard physical farm work and how he thinks we should import workers from other countries (Mexico?) who are willing to do the work.
Perhaps there is more to this issue than Nova Scotians simply being ‘lazy bastards’ (in Mr. Keddy’s words). Maybe the work is short term/seasonal. They don’t harvest apples forever in the Annapolis Valley. Maybe people are looking for something longer term. What are the benefits like? Full dental, optical, pension plan? Also, by definition, farm work is done in rural areas. Should a person move to Kentville for two months of work? What kind of rent would they pay even assuming that in a small place like Kentville there are lots of apartments for rent? I know from first hand knowledge that it is difficult to be poor in an urban setting but almost impossible to be poor in a rural setting, because resources to alleviate poverty are much scarcer in rural areas. So if one is destined to be one of the ‘working poor’ for some period of time might it not make more sense to stay in the city?
But there is a far larger question that Mr. Keddy either chose not to address or is ignorant of. What Mr. Keddy didn’t address is how the dominant corporate agribusiness model depresses farm incomes and farm wages (ask a farmer about this) while at the same time enabling corporations like Cargill, ADM and Monsanto to reap huge profits. Farmers don’t get paid enough for their products to pay decent enough wages to farm workers. This is a global problem, although the dysfunction manifests itself in different ways around the world. Third world farmers are forced into commodity crops and end up at the mercy of global commodities markets. Canadian farmers are forced to compete with farmers in poor countries whose income is pitiful compared to what it would take for a Canadian farmer to make a decent living. Someone is getting wealthy in the farm business and it isn’t the farmers.
Maybe instead of trying to pit poor migrant labourers against poor unemployed Nova Scotians, a politician like Mr. Keddy should be working on policies (he is part of the government after all) to make sure that farmers themselves make decent living. This might start with restructuring domestic farming policy so that it isn’t dominated by large transnational corporations.
Bringing migrant workers to Nova Scotia isn’t going to help farmers here in the long term. It will only help wealthy agribusiness corporations get wealthier. Farmers need more control over the pricing of their products so that by making a decent living, they can afford to pay a decent living wage to farmhands.
“that was only availably in BC due to the amount of work back then for small commercial aircraft pilots…that has since changed.”
What’s changed? Is the pot being flown south on larger planes now?
“I’m still going to disagree that just “working hard” at a crap under-paid job is the path to success”
It may not make you as ‘successful’ as an airline pilot or a truck driver, but I’d argue you will be more successful than if you were unemployed or homeless or pimping my daughter. What’s wrong with cleaning gutters and landscaping for min wage if you have no other job prospects? Are you seriously saying it’s better to draw on social assistance or live on the streets? Or are you just arguing you should be paid more money to do jobs that require less skill?
I agree with Bob…pay isn’t always indicative of how hard you work, but it is indicative of how ‘in demand’ your skills are.
Urban Bob: maybe it’s because I grew up in a poor rural area, but I would argue that it’s easier to be poor in a rural area than it is in an urban one. People seem to look after each other a little better in rural areas and I know lots of people who get by through bartering, working under the table and relying on the generosity of their neighbours. I know the urban poor has community too but in my experience the situation seems more dire (homeless shelters, pan handlers, addictions). Maybe that’s because the poor who can’t survive rurally end up in the city, I don’t know. You also suggested that the city has more resources to support the poor, but I would argue that the jobs that can support the working poor (unskilled manual labour like farming) are more prevalent/accessible in rural areas. I know people who just hop from job to job depending on the season and manage to find pretty steady work. I think if I was working poor, I would want to live rurally.
“”Or are you just arguing you should be paid more money to do jobs that require less skill?””
What are you talking about Miles? I can never seem to follow your points…although I DO try…
Are seriously saying that the way amount folks are paid in our western society has to do with ‘skill’? I make more currently as a truck driver than my dad ever did as a marine biologist for 30 years at BIO. (Or than I did teaching high school math). Way more. So that throws that stupid theory out the window, doesn’t it?
Or are you saying that people “in demand” make more? Huh? There is a chronic shoratge of both nurses and math and science teachers…neither occupation will make you rich FYI….However, well-paid lawyers are a dime a fucking dozen.
You write in full sentences, Miles, I’ll give you that…but I often have trouble understanding what the heck your saying…although I “get” the parts where you try to belittle people’s arguments, lol…
For instance:
What, praytell, is the “connection between “homeless”, “unemployed” and “pimping”? I don’t see homeless jobless ridin’ around in the big-ass caddied with the curb-feelers, do you?
(music cuts in) “Which one of these things doesn’t belong here?”
To me, back-breaking farm work, cleaning, and jobs like that SHOULD be paid better then the minimum that’s offered now. Apparently you disagree.
But it bugs me when folks swoop in and start lecturing how everyone currently without a job should pick up a broom and climb down some rich bastard’s chimney…and that seems to be what you’re saying here…
I was once jobless for many months, and sat quite happily on “welfare” thank you very much, until I found the right opportunity. And no, I don’t feel like I should have come mowed your fucking grass either, thanks anyway…
You’re welcome to come give my Peterbilt a nice wash though…
😉
UFB…That’s OK mate, I’d be bored with airline work anyway…now that you can’t facebook on the red-eye to Atlanta…
I’ve also been to farms out here in BC that use immigrant workers…it doesn’t look at all pleasant, Asian cranberry pickers in the baking sun/pooring rain…Mexicans loading seedlings into my trailer as I drive along in basement low (no union ‘safety’ rules here!)
They don’t make $12,000 in 3 months, and they DON’T even get to enjoy being in the country. They stay on the farms in bunk-houses, and have those fees deducted as well…
I disagree with those who say that it’s ‘laziness’ that prevents Nova Scotians from taking these jobs..it’s pay, and lack of it.
I’d like to see proof if, as Miles says, there are farm jobs for 2-3 times minmum wage going begging…I just don’t belive it.
Regarding the agri-corps in the US…indeed they do make use of ‘slave’ immigrant labour, under the banner of “Americans won’t do it!”
I call BS…they pay is crap, the hours long, THAT”S the fact.
Ironically, the same folks that are so opposed to “illegal” immigrants (the far right conservatives mostly)…are the first to support the big corporations you mention that employ them. (As long as it’s not at Home Depot so they can’t whistle at your wife, that is).
As far as all this anti-welfare crap is concerned…in any society there will ALWAYS be a small percentage that won’t work, can’t work, shouldn’t work (I don’t WANT that guy cooking my food, thanks)..that’s the reality. No democracy has 0% unemployement, even if there are tons of jobs available.
However, I would think carefully before joining those that want to abolish or reduce our safety networks. You can cancel everyone’s welfare, sure…
….but better lock your doors, bow your head…and wait for the richochet…
Well, Thank you for trying. I do my best to make sense of what you say too.
Frosty: “Personally, if I was faced with cleaning the middle class’s toilets, shovelling your shit, digging your ditches, or “yes sir, no sir, three bags full sir” as I mow your lawn…I would rather B&E your house, sell drugs to your kids, or pimp your teenage daughter… ;-)”
Miles: “What’s wrong with cleaning gutters and landscaping for min wage if you have no other job prospects? Are you seriously saying it’s better to draw on social assistance or live on the streets? Or are you just arguing you should be paid more money to do jobs that require less skill?”
So, to clarify, when you say you would rather break the law than work for minimum wage are you saying that it’s better to be a criminal or use social assistance or be a panhandler than it is to work at a job doing labour for minimum wage? The other way to interpret your comment is that minimum wage is not a living wage so why work for money when government assistance or crime pay more. If there’s another meaning to that comment, maybe you could dumb it down a bit for me.
Frosty: “Are seriously saying that the way amount folks are paid in our western society has to do with ‘skill’? “
Welll, I said: “I agree with Bob…pay isn’t always indicative of how hard you work, but it is indicative of how ‘in demand’ your skills are.” Overall, this is true. People with University degrees and college training (i.e. skills) make more than those who don’t. Within each field/industry there is a pay hierarchy. The guy who drops fires doesn’t make as much as the gal who manages the place…because the manager has more skills/training. With respect to demand: There are lots of lawyers because they are in demand and the economy can support that many lawyers. They get paid a lot because their skills are in demand and not everyone can do the job they do. Fewer people are qualified to to the job of a physician than a nurse so doctors get paid more.
Frosty: “What, praytell, is the “connection between “homeless”, “unemployed” and “pimping”? I don’t see homeless jobless ridin’ around in the big-ass caddied with the curb-feelers, do you?”
The connection is that these are the alternatives to working a min wage job when you have no other job prospects. 1) Draw EI or SA (unemployed). 2) be homeless and panhandle (subject of the thread) or 3) “B&E your house, sell drugs to your kids, or pimp your teenage daughter.” (your suggestion). I understand your comment was probably meant for comedic effect, hence the smiley, but I included it in my response. One has to keep ones self entertained somehow, right?
At what point was I trying to belittle your argument? I was just disagreeing with something you said and asked for clarification. It’s sometimes unclear when you are kidding, using sarcasm, using hyperbole or just expressing an unconventional (although often useful) opinion. If anyone has a tendency to belittle, it may the one who fills their posts with “innit”s, gaffaws, lol’s and other forms of ridicule when a straight answer or an explanation prove more effective (although less entertaining).
And, after all that, you finally give the answer to my relatively innocuous question which is essentially, “No Miles, I’m not seriously suggesting that social assistance is better, I just think that min wage jobs should pay more.” Which is actually something I DON”T disagree with.
If you read my response to qpmz you will also see that I am not saying that everyone on EI should be out sweeping chimneys. My only concern with this issue is the abuse of a system designed as a social safety net. It’s not a hammock. Even still, I would rather live in a society where 100 people rip me off for a dollar (EI fraud) than one where one guy rips me off for a hundred (Enron-like scandals). Surely there are ways to minimize the abuse on both ends though huh?
And I will wash your truck for $20. Easy money. I’ll even wear my speedo and you can watch for another $40.
FWIW, it was just shy of 12,000 in 4 months, not 3. I worked as a farm hand and a crop picker varying between 8-12hr days and 4-7 day weeks. My hourly wage as a farm hand was 10 and change and that was when min wage was $5.45ish. That made up for my just over min wage-equivalent picking skills. And as I said, I was not the best picker. There were guys making at least twice as much as I was. It’s also worth noting that I got the farm hand job because I worked there the season before and I asked if there was more I could do. Sometimes starting at the bottom can create opportunities for you too.
I don’t know where you worked, Miles, but the only people I saw making that kind of cash was in the blueberry field after they dropped acid (used to come in pill form) or speed. And, by the way, you made that much per hour because you were male. Females made almost $3 less per hour. That used piss me off so much. We were groveling in the mud, and the guys stood around passing us buckets.
Actually HKM, I must have made more than $10/hr or I wouldn’t have made 12K. It was a while ago and all I really remember is busting my ass all summer to try and cover tuition and residence fees. Given that, I’ll back off my earlier suggestion that most farm workers could make more than about min wage. I had a good deal that summer apparently and although some crop pickers could make a killing, the average one’s probably only came in around min wage. My bad. Farm work isn’t worth the effort. 🙂