Interesting discussion with an RV salesman on Sat

[bryancass]

Well, I guess I did. When I was in high school gas was around $1.10/gal. My vehicle (which I worked a summer remodelling an old farmhouse in trade for) got 5mpg. My school was 18 miles from my house. I made $4.35/hr, and brought home around $98 after taxes. $40 of that went to gas, and who knows what to upkeep. My parents paid half my insurance so I could have a little of my paycheck to do teenager stuff. When the engine blew up I was 17 and quit working at the fast food joint and worked at a tree farm because it paid $1/hr more (plus I got more hours) and I could ride my bike to work. It was harder work, and Florida summers while digging holes was not as enjoyable as flipping burgers. I started riding the school bus again. I saved up the $600 for a new engine and put it in myself. I guess I could go on, but you're probably not interested in hearing it anyway.

I like hearing it. Similar story here. I worked 3 jobs at one point... part time stocking grocery shelves at night, working at a music store part time days, and volunteer firefighter where we got paid $7 per call. My first job was busbpy at a Yacht Club at age 14 and I made a boatload of money working overtime hours... I think I still have copies of my time cards showing over 40 hours a few times. I worked at a bar at age 15 washing dishes on Fish Fry night for $20 cash a night (under the table). blah blah blah, I know. It can be done though - bust your butt, work hard, be reliable, available and courteous. Handouts make lazy and entitled people.

[attaboy]

I like hearing it. Similar story here. I worked 3 jobs at one point... part time stocking grocery shelves at night, working at a music store part time days, and volunteer firefighter where we got paid $7 per call. My first job was busbpy at a Yacht Club at age 14 and I made a boatload of money working overtime hours... I think I still have copies of my time cards showing over 40 hours a few times. I worked at a bar at age 15 washing dishes on Fish Fry night for $20 cash a night (under the table). blah blah blah, I know. It can be done though - bust your butt, work hard, be reliable, available and courteous. Handouts make lazy and entitled people.

Yes, hard (smart) work is good for the soul and bank account. For awhile I thought the younger generation did not feel the same.
I was DEAD WRONG. My grandson (yes, I am bragging) was schooled at home. Entered FSU at 17. Got enough scholarship money
for full tuition. Worked several jobs in Tallahassee for rent, food and bare necessities. Graduated at 21. He is now working in the
Supply Chain area of a major company in Atlanta and is doing well. Four months after graduation he was debt free.
For the most part our future is in good hands:
Bob A.

[PTParker]

Well, I guess I did. When I was in high school gas was around $1.10/gal. My vehicle (which I worked a summer remodelling an old farmhouse in trade for) got 5mpg. My school was 18 miles from my house. I made $4.35/hr, and brought home around $98 after taxes. $40 of that went to gas, and who knows what to upkeep. My parents paid half my insurance so I could have a little of my paycheck to do teenager stuff. When the engine blew up I was 17 and quit working at the fast food joint and worked at a tree farm because it paid $1/hr more (plus I got more hours) and I could ride my bike to work. It was harder work, and Florida summers while digging holes was not as enjoyable as flipping burgers. I started riding the school bus again. I saved up the $600 for a new engine and put it in myself. I guess I could go on, but you're probably not interested in hearing it anyway.

Well, you made more, everything considered than they do now! Do the math, you brought home more money at 4.35, and 1.10 gas than the people now at minimum wage and $3.75 gas not to mention the price of everything else! Any way you slice it, at a point people are not willing to, nor is it profitable to work at a wage that can hardly even pay your way to go to work! It is simple economics, Minimum wage is only about twice what it was 40 years ago, but almost all products are 4 to 5 times the price, so in reality you make half or less than you did in the 70's! I am very conservative, but at some point, you have to pay what a job is worth to get workers and we have hit that point! Today, we do not value a hard days work, and that is much of what is wrong today! We will pay a college graduate that does not know how to do anything, and has no experience a ridiculous salary and want to pay peanuts for a hard days work! Don't say I don't know what I am talking about because I can give you many examples even from my own family!

[jakev383]

Minimum wage is only about twice what it was 40 years ago, but almost all products are 4 to 5 times the price, so in reality you make half or less than you did in the 70's! I am very conservative, but at some point, you have to pay what a job is worth to get workers and we have hit that point! Today, we do not value a hard days work, and that is much of what is wrong today! We will pay a college graduate that does not know how to do anything, and has no experience a ridiculous salary and want to pay peanuts for a hard days work! Don't say I don't know what I am talking about because I can give you many examples even from my own family!

LOL - I was born in the late 70's and my foray into the working world was in the mid-90's. According to the interwebs, bread was $1.59 a loaf and milk was $2.29 a gallon in 1994 when I was in high school. According to the online-shop at my local grocery store, the bread I buy today is now $3.59 while milk is $2.49 (store brand). My parents probably didn't buy the nicer bread like I do today, and I know they watered our milk down when I was young since we were not well off.
But don't worry - where we currently live they are going to roll out universal basic income and some restaurants are now adding a 20% surcharge line-item to your bill as a "living wage service fee" since they cannot get anyone to come back to work. Things will be all better soon!
I do have to agree about the over emphasis on college degrees though - my father has been a machinist for... well, since he was 15. He initially made decent money until the late 70's/early 80's. Today, I would not want to work for what he does. But I still would because it's no one else's responsibility to support me.
And before you jump to conclusions, I do not have a degree.
Funny story to end this with - when I was 17 my father was giving me a hard time about spending any extra money I made on computer equipment. I looked at him and asked "would you rather I spent it on drugs?" He looked at me for a few seconds, and then said "I'll shut up now".

[PTParker]

LOL - I was born in the late 70's and my foray into the working world was in the mid-90's. According to the interwebs, bread was $1.59 a loaf and milk was $2.29 a gallon in 1994 when I was in high school. According to the online-shop at my local grocery store, the bread I buy today is now $3.59 while milk is $2.49 (store brand). My parents probably didn't buy the nicer bread like I do today, and I know they watered our milk down when I was young since we were not well off.
But don't worry - where we currently live they are going to roll out universal basic income and some restaurants are now adding a 20% surcharge line-item to your bill as a "living wage service fee" since they cannot get anyone to come back to work. Things will be all better soon!
I do have to agree about the over emphasis on college degrees though - my father has been a machinist for... well, since he was 15. He initially made decent money until the late 70's/early 80's. Today, I would not want to work for what he does. But I still would because it's no one else's responsibility to support me.
And before you jump to conclusions, I do not have a degree.
Funny story to end this with - when I was 17 my father was giving me a hard time about spending any extra money I made on computer equipment. I looked at him and asked "would you rather I spent it on drugs?" He looked at me for a few seconds, and then said "I'll shut up now".

Well, I go back a little further than that, I started work about the time you were born! I do not have a degree, but have a world of real world knowledge and experience! I built my own house, I work on cars, I farm, I have done a little bit of everything and can do a little of everything! My son has a Phd and calls me weekly to find out how to start his generator, or ask questions about his house, truck, or just about anything else. He makes an insane amount of money, but can't do a 10th of the things I can, and he knows more than most in his generation! My son-in-law has a Masters degree and called me to find out what to do about a spider in his garage! So yes, we pay college students far to much and people that work with their hands far to little! The people making the money want to keep the low minimum wage so they can have cheap goods and services! In comparison, goods and services are much cheaper today than they were 30 years ago! That is why you see people eating out 10 times more than 30 years ago, it is more affordable because they are squeezing the little guy! I was fortunate to make really good money to not have a college degree, as did my Father and Father-in-law, but that does not happen much today because to the mentality of our society! My Father-in-law worked his way up in a company and was in a high level position making very good money without a degree, that is impossible today, even though he had to teach and train the college degree guys! Well, I guess that is enough of this, we have gotten way off topic on this post so I will shut up and get off my soap box!

[WhittleBurner]

Manufacturing for the most part has been driven out of our country. That is a real shame. We have turned into a service economy which is not good. I don't believe there has been a service economy that has survived. If you have nothing to back up the value of your dollar the value of the dollar will continue to diminish. Not everyone can work at Mcdonald's.

[JohnSWood]

Hopefully, the lack of materials and labor to build them will put us back to where WE make things out of the materials we buy elsewhere. It seems there is a market for them; we are lacking in the supply area.

I do not understand people who think that more money at the top of the wage ladder is fine, but those near the bottom are too lazy and don't deserve an increase. Most of the bottom money is being spent to survive; most of the top monies are spent on whatever the fancy of the moment is. Not every blue-collar worker is unskilled, but the increase in wages as skills are gained isn't commensurate with the increase in profits for the top of the ladder.

I can remember gas at $0.39/gallon, I can remember profit-sharing programs and savings accounts paying 7%. I've worked for 25 years as a blue-collar worker, and went back to school, eventually earning my Ph.D. I now teach and make about what I did when I was a blue-collar worker. BTW, I can fix or drive damned near anything except a unicycle. I cannot, however, fix or tolerate stupid.

If your kids can't, it is probably because you didn't teach them. My dad had me on a roof helping reshingle when I was 6. I mowed 30 lawns every week the summer when I was 10, with the mower I bought from my brother. I got real, tax-paying jobs when I was 14.

[Walaby]

I guess Im stuck in my old school ways.

I started working when I was 10 or 11... convinced my mom to let me go pick berries with my older brother and sister. Got fired from that job because I left too many berries still on the plants. Was so embarrassed it took me several days to tell my parents. To this day, I have never been fired from any job since.

I also have never been unemployed. I never quit a job, regardless of how low the pay was, until I found a replacement job. Joined the AF when I was 21. New recruit pay sucked back then. I left my mechanic job where I made nearly 2000 per month in the early 80's on commission and made less than 1000 starting out in mil.

My point in bringing that up, is I've always felt minimum wage jobs were really there for young people to start their first job. Gave young people the opportunity to develop good work ethics, develop skills that then can then use to advance in the workforce. Same way I did in the mid 70's, and people before me did. I still feel that minimum wage jobs are better suited for just that purpose. Im sorry, but if all you can do, or all you strive to do, is flip burgers for a living, well then I feel sorry for you.

My 17 year old grand son got a job as a host at a local restaurant. After two months he got a raise to $10 an hour. Min wage is what, 7 something? As long as you work hard, there are opportunities out there. They may not be doing what you really WANT to do, bu sometimes you have to do what you HAVE to do, and it's not always fun.

Those who believe in wealth distribution kinda crack me up. Who determines what is "fair". Today, $15 an hour, some people think is "fair". What's fair tomorrow? $20 an hour? For a job that is really designed for unskilled laborers, and really entry level workers?

Yes, those of you who believe big businesses should pay more, and can afford to pay more, are correct, they can afford to pay more. But, their investors aren't going to want to accept less profit for their investment. So, something has to give. Either cost increase by passing on the labor costs to the consumers, or lesser quality, or both to increase their bottom line. Investors aren't interested in maintaining status quo, they expect increases year over year or they will invest elsewhere. And any business owner/CEO/CFO or senior manager of a company knows this and also knows if they do not produce, they will be replaced.

Why do you think stores have self checkouts? It reduces the labor costs. One person can watch six registers. And we, the consumer, do the cashiers job and don't see any benefit in terms of reduced cost.

Im sure we could argue back and forth about whether min wage jobs should be designed to provide a life sustaining income or not. My belief is they are not (or shouldn't be). They should be entry level jobs to develop good work ethic, some life and work skills, and move on. That's what I did all the way to now, where I make well into six figures with only a HS diploma.

People either need patience or ambition, or both. Burger flippin at McDonalds was never intended to be a career.

Mike

[huntr70]

They aren’t all ‘entry-level’ jobs. They are just treated like they were. Do you really want a TT built by a teen-ager just out of high school?

Wouldn't be a bad thing if they were trained properly.

Not set into bad habits isn't a bad thing....

[Steven@147]

Well, have we solved the countries problems yet? We're flogging a dead horse here. Its a pendulum that swings back and forth, or if you like a yo-yo that goes up and down.

To bring this back to the RV area, really the only thing that gets me is someone or some company, that just doesn't care about doing the job right. , Construction quality (any brand) of RV is going to hit an all time low with manufacturing throwing them out as fast as they can. Get them out, they will get fixed at the dealership. If you don't want to put off buying an RV, a person had better learn how to work on it and repair it themselves. Service in a lot of RV dealerships is just plain bad! If you find a good one you're lucky.