Mandy: Oh yeah, there’s a new place opened up down the road that does virginal steaming.
Lola: … I am not going anywhere near other lady’s pipes. ibid.
Have you got any of those fish that eat human skin? ibid. Mandy in aquarium shop
I really can’t understand the demonisation of pigeons. I think they’re nice. And they really helped us out during the War delivering messages and stuff. They’re really intelligent. Mandy V: Meat, Mandy legs apart on table to nurse
Donna: I’m a player short. I’m putting together the finest line-up since the Great Railway robbery … It’s all reliable people: Lucy Spatchcock … Wendy Typhoid: the Fixer: ain’t nuffin’ she don’t know. Mandy VI: Broadsword to Donna Ball
The economy isn’t just down, it’s imaginary. The middle class isn’t just shrinking, it’s dying. The wealth gap is astronomical and growing … Wages everywhere except at the executive level are stagnating … Obsolete, Truthstream Media 2016, Youtube 49.48
What if we work less? … Humans aren’t productive the full eight hours they’re at work … There have been a number of four-day work-week trials … Not only did revenue not decrease, it actually rose by 8%. Should We Move to a 4-Day Work Week? Youtube 12.56, Second Thought 2023
You’d end up with a country of happier, healthier, less stressed, more rested workers. ibid.
We’re churning out a generation of poorly educated people with no skill, no ambition, no guidance, and no realistic expectations of what it means to go to work. Wallstreetsilver tweet 9th September 2022
Work is getting worse … Sadly, that steady march of progress narrative doesn’t really hold up … New jobs are declining in quality. Why Work is Getting Worse, Youtube 16.35, Second Thought 2023
Jobs don’t pay as much any more … Most of the profit generated from that increase in productivity hasn’t gone to workers. It’s been captured by the 1%. ibid.
For the bottom 50% of the population, in other words the average American, pre-tax pre-benefits income has actually gone down by over 6% since 1980. And that’s before you factor in the cost of living. ibid.
Debt as a percentage of income has only gone up since the 1950s. ibid.
Security: More and more people are being brought into more precarious work. ibid.
Neoliberal politicians actively promote this wage restraint behaviour by lying to people about the relationship between wages and inflation. ibid.
Child labor laws are starting to come down. ibid.
Capitalists in the neoliberal era have helped to elect politicians that weaken workers in every imaginable way. ibid.
Your job will never truly improve under capitalism. ibid.
What if we work less? … Humans aren’t productive the full eight hours they’re at work … There have been a number of four-day work-week trials … Not only did revenue not decrease, it actually rose by 8%. Should We Move to a 4-Day Work Week? Youtube 12.56, Second Thought 2023
You’d end up with a country of happier, healthier, less stressed, more rested workers. ibid.
Our people basking in the light of glorious American exceptionalism … Our concept of success is not only narrow and shortsighted but also fundamentally opposed to human flourishing. America’s Overwork Obsession, Youtube 11.17, Second Thought 2020
Our waking hours are consumed by work, our life expectancy is on the decline, we rate poorly in metrics like happiness and job satisfaction, and those of us in the workforce today will never achieve the financial stablity of our parents’ generation. ibid.
The benefits of hard work have been stripped away. ibid.
We don’t need to work so damn hard … What if we stopped working? What If We Just … Stopped Working? Youtube 20.12, Second Thought
A life which resembles millions of other Americans following the recession. Nine million jobs have been created since the recession, most of which … [are] minimum wage jobs. Which means that Americans are working even more than ever. Working & Homeless: The Death of the American Dream, Youtube 52.18, 2022
The American dream should then be back on track. But at what price? ibid.
Unstable, part-time and underpaid jobs: this is the reality hiding behind the American dream. This has put almost one in every two workers into poverty … The working poor. ibid.
‘American dream’? mmm It’s all a bunch of crap.’ ibid.
American workers have come out of the crisis more vulnerable and poorer than ever, condemned to always working more hour just to get by. ibid.
In Seattle 500 families live in these temporary camps tolerated by the city. ibid.
It’s a dream for the giants of finance … with the workers paying the price. ibid.
The recession was the perfect pretext to put the new rules of the game into place. ibid.
After leaving the EU and after 12 months into the pandemic Britain’s job market is changing. Far more of us are now hunting for jobs in the temporary low-pay gig economy. With so many shops closed delivery drivers have felt the pressure to ignore the law. And some say they have been forced to take humiliating drastic action … So is low pay and precarious the future of work in Britain? Dispatches: Low Pay Britain: About Your Job, Channel 4 2021
Five families work low-wage jobs in 21st century America. At work and at home they look for the strength to keep going. Can these Americans, young and old, afford to dream? Meet the Working Class: Hard Earned, Youtube 47.17, Endevr films 2023
‘When you ask what would be my dream, I don’t have one … I have worked weekends for over thirty years.’ ibid.
‘$10.50 still can’t pay my bills. It’s overwhelming sometimes.’ ibid.
Emelia’s credit card debt is $16,000 which is just above the national household average of $15,000. ibid. caption
Only 39% of student loan borrowers are succeeding in paying down their balance. The remaining 61% are either in delinquency, deferment or forbearance. ibid.
‘So where’s the money coming from?’ ibid.
Student loan debt has surpassed credit card debt. ibid.
Last week my total income was less than $300. The Broken American Dream: Hard Earned, Youtube 47.22, Emilia, Endvr films
It was a huge blow when they came in our apartment and took all our stuff. ibid. DJ
In 2011, veterans aged 25-29 had a higher unemployment rate than non-veterans. ibid. caption
Americans aged 29-34 who obtained a first-time mortgage: 2000 = 17%; 2010 = 9%. ibid.
A family of four in Silicon Valley needs to earn for basic expenses = $100,948. ibid.
We’re going to have twins. So I got a second job. I’m working 85 to 90 hours a week. Surviving on Minimum Wage: Hard Earned, dude, Youtube 47.03, Endevr films
The more she [Emilia] slips into credit card debt, the more she risks losing her house. ibid.
‘The battle over the minimum wage heated up across the country today …’ ibid. television news
43% of low-wage workers who complained to their employer or tried to form a union reported illegal retaliation. ibid.
Percy and Beverly Evans see their retirement dreams fade after losing their middle class jobs. The Fading Dream of Retirement: Hard Earned, Youtube 47.20, Endevr films
In the last 20 years, the number of Americans age 65 and older in the workforce has more than doubled. ibid.
Median rent for Americans has increased over the past 10 years. ibid.
80% of low-wage workers do not get a single paid sick day. ibid.
I hate walking into the job because I know there’s something gonna be said, there’s something gonna be done. The Fight for Fair Pay: Hard Earned, Youtube 47.20, De’Juan, Endevr Films
De’Juan [DJ] Jackson has been hired full-time by the Workers’ Organising Committee of Chicago which is leading the local campaign for $15 an hour wages. ibid.
1 in 4 Americans rely on cheque-cashing, payday loans, pawn shops, pre-paid debit cards. Cheque-cashing fees cost a consumer 4-5% of each pay cheque. ibid.
Today he [DJ] delivers notices to inform employers of an upcoming strike. The Struggle Goes On: Hard Earned, Youtube 47.20, Endevr films
When Beth retires and starts to rely on social security, the couple’s income will fall way short of covering their bills at a time when their house is already in danger of foreclosure. ibid.