[TAG] Issue #106

[Jimmy O'Regan]

Jason Creighton wrote:
> On Mon, 20 Sep 2004 13:36:00 -0700, 
> Mike Orr <mso at oz.net> wrote:
>>The reason people are so uniquely enraged at Wal-Mart is that its
>>famous low prices are borne by the employees to an extent not seen at
>>other stores.   Low wages, no benefits, "off the clock" work, 
>>part-time positions, etc.
> 
> 
> Then why do people work there?
> 

I can answer this one, as I am working in a place with conditions not 
far removed.

For those who either are unskilled, lack documentation of these skills, 
and/or have not got the self-marketing ability to sell their skills to 
employers, there are few options available when it comes to jobs.

Using myself as an example, I dropped out of college because I had 
chosen the wrong course, and couldn't afford to return. I took the first 
job that came my way, as a web designer, but soon got loaded down with 
other tasks I simply wasn't being paid for. I quit that job, got 
"unemployment assistance" (?37/week - roughly $50), quickly built up 
debt, and had to take the job I'm currently in, where I'm earning enough 
to pay my child support payments, but not enough to set aside money to 
make a break from where I am.

One of my friends from college, the second most gifted programmer I ever 
met (and that's because chance found me sharing a taxi with rms the 
first time he gave a talk in Ireland), currently stacks shelves in a 
supermarket. (Just to illustrate, in his third year in college, while 
trying to write a game, he wrote his own windowing system.)

I know plenty of people who didn't even get the chance to screw up in 
the ways I did, and who had no other choice but to accept these sorts of 
jobs.