Published: 01/25/2022 11:35:36 Modified: 01/25/2022 11:34:20 The latest jobs statistics show that 4.5 million Americans quit their...
Published: 01/25/2022 11:35:36
Modified: 01/25/2022 11:34:20
The latest jobs statistics show that 4.5 million Americans quit their jobs last month, either for greener pastures or to leave the workforce altogether. Driving down King Street in Northampton or Route 9 in Hadley, it seems like every fast food joint, fast casual and many retail stores are hiring.
I would have killed for this situation when I was a teenager during the Great Recession. At the time, I couldn’t even find a job as a busboy because of the job crisis.
But until then, I worked several years in the restaurant business, a few more in retail. Richard McCarthy’s latest column, “Here’s a tip, embrace the change“, is a case study in why I and the aforementioned millions of other Americans have left and will continue to leave these industries.
In McCarthy’s charming anecdote, the reader is confronted with a scenario where a coffee shop owner has priced an item at $3.75 without caring that with a restaurant tax of 7% , the bill will be $4.01 because the owner never personally calls any sales and $3.75. looks cleaner on a menu than $3.74. Add to the scenario a counter worker earning $12 an hour plus tip (the going rate) who is afraid to short the drawer in case he is disciplined or even fired.
Then add an authorized old man who insists on paying in cash instead of one of the multitudes of other options available in modern times, but becomes infuriated that the paper money he paid with could cause the currency to return. them. Abject horror!
For our collective enjoyment, Mr. McCarthy presents a scenario in which someone earning a pittance must choose between pissing off that old man or taking money out of his own paycheck – tip jar money – to subsidize their right by paying the company they already work for to give them back a note instead of coins. A nice painting.
Oh, and the clerk doesn’t get tipped anyway, of course, so it’s just the $12 an hour.
My best wishes to the 4.5 million people who quit last month, and I hope there will be another 4.5 million next month, including, perhaps, the young woman who had the bad luck paying for part of Mr. McCarthy’s breakfast. However, I have the impression that after all these workers leave, people like Mr. McCarthy are going to complain that they can no longer afford a good slice of pumpkin bread.
Neighborhood Ben
Northampton
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