Underpaid, Underemployed
“Everything’s gone up. Rent went up, gas went up, food went up, milk went up, cheeseburgers went up, even cigarettes went up,” said Mr. Chea, who had stopped at the barbershop to spiff up before his job interview. “I’m used to getting a haircut for $6 or $7, but they charged me $9. Even haircuts have gone up.”
The Times has a story this morning about how difficult it is to continue to pay for things when wages are stagnant and inflation continues to do its thing. As you can imagine, people who are earning money, but are underemployed, are finding it very difficult to make ends meet.
I can sympathize. A few years ago, when I was a perpetually underemployed and underpaid freelancer, I actually picked up a gig driving a truck around New York City to deliver newspapers to make the extra cash I needed to get the bills paid.
“We don’t have any freelance assignments, at the moment,” I was told, “unless you’re interested in delivering papers.”
I took the gig, to the amusement of the editor. You gotta do what you gotta do sometimes.
Photo: Shutterstock/terekhov igor
I can so relate to this right now. Temping in Tokyo is a a nerve-wracking experience, and I’ve been doing a lot of random crap lately for about $100.
I’m not even sure how much of it is inflation? I showed you guys that thing about housing in Toronto, and how even with inflation prices should not be as ridiculous as they are? It’s made me totally skeptical of this inflation business.
I’m shocked that the editor was “amused” you took the delivery gig rather than waiting around for a freelance gig. What — the editor can’t comprehend that people need to pay bills? I really hope the editor didn’t laugh at you for taking the delivery job.
A month ago, I stumbled into my building’s laundry room to discover they’d raised the cost of doing laundry by $.50. But it’s still the same shitty two washers and dryers.
But also: seriously, everything IS getting more expensive, my wage ISN’T rising, and it’s working my nerves something fierce.
We’ve only noticed it the last two times we’ve gone grocery shopping but somehow we now manage to spend a little over $100 when normally we spend about $80 and we’re buying pretty much all the same stuff. We even look at our receipt and try to figure out where we went over but can’t really pinpoint what, exactly, is increasing. Everything, I guess.
I’ve accepted that my salary will likely remain stagnant for the next 5 years, and possibly begin to rise at a pace close to inflation after that. My solution is going to be to move to increasingly cheaper cities so I can create the illusion that my wealth is growing as I age.