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I felt bad for him in the moment when he talked about being judged for being a senior and doing a "menial" job. Being a delivery driver is certainly not a high

I felt bad for him in the moment when he talked about being judged for being a senior and doing a "menial" job. Being a delivery driver is certainly not a high status job but I think it's a reminder not to allow ourselves to look down on any particular role in society. We need all these types of work for the gears to keep turning.

ergot_vacation 6y ago
It's not an issue of "looking down" though. We absolutely need these jobs (some of them anyway, we don't really need restaurants for example). That's all the more reason to ensure that they are sustainable. We need rules so that people are paid well, working in safe conditions, not being overworked, etc. As a society we need to ensure that people doing vital stuff like delivery are protected and taken care of, for our sake as well as theirs. Post-Covid, Amazon has essentially become a core part of US infrastructure, as much or moreso than the USPS. And of course, all of this is even more important for the reason the article highlights: These are the jobs people end up in now. In a country with a vanishing middle class and terrible social safety nets for seniors, increasingly large numbers of people end up here. Not just criminals, those who aren't especially bright or those who are a bit unlucky, but good, capable ordinary people have nowhere else to go now. If we're all going to be living here now, we need to start cleaning the place up.
magicalhippo 6y ago
When I worked at a grocery store I reflected on how the cleaner who came every night was one of the more important workers we had. After all, who'd want to shop groceries at a dirty place when there's a nice, clean place just a bit down the road?
pmoriarty 6y ago
"We need all these types of work for the gears to keep turning." Ok, we can all agree that until a high level of automation is achieved, such jobs are necessary. But how many of the people defending the need for such jobs would actually want to do them? Usually they're happy to let other people do them, but would balk at doing them themselves. This is especially true for "dirty" or "unsavory" jobs such as garbageperson, exterminator, food processing / slaughterhouse worker, etc. People are usually happy to hire such people or consume their products, and talk about how essential they are, but would never want to be one themselves. On top of that, they'd usually look down on people with these jobs and never dream of associating with them or inviting them to their parties.
- WalterBright 6y ago
  A professor friend of mine told me once that one of the secretaries was lamenting that "even garbagemen get paid more than I." Curmudgeon that he was, he suggested that she quit and become a garbageman. She replied in an offended tone "no way would I do a filthy, disgusting job like that." QED

ergot_vacation 6y ago

It's not an issue of "looking down" though. We absolutely need these jobs (some of them anyway, we don't really need restaurants for example). That's all the more reason to ensure that they are sustainable. We need rules so that people are paid well, working in safe conditions, not being overworked, etc. As a society we need to ensure that people doing vital stuff like delivery are protected and taken care of, for our sake as well as theirs. Post-Covid, Amazon has essentially become a core part of US infrastructure, as much or moreso than the USPS. And of course, all of this is even more important for the reason the article highlights: These are the jobs people end up in now. In a country with a vanishing middle class and terrible social safety nets for seniors, increasingly large numbers of people end up here. Not just criminals, those who aren't especially bright or those who are a bit unlucky, but good, capable ordinary people have nowhere else to go now. If we're all going to be living here now, we need to start cleaning the place up.

magicalhippo 6y ago

When I worked at a grocery store I reflected on how the cleaner who came every night was one of the more important workers we had. After all, who'd want to shop groceries at a dirty place when there's a nice, clean place just a bit down the road?

pmoriarty 6y ago

"We need all these types of work for the gears to keep turning." Ok, we can all agree that until a high level of automation is achieved, such jobs are necessary. But how many of the people defending the need for such jobs would actually want to do them? Usually they're happy to let other people do them, but would balk at doing them themselves. This is especially true for "dirty" or "unsavory" jobs such as garbageperson, exterminator, food processing / slaughterhouse worker, etc. People are usually happy to hire such people or consume their products, and talk about how essential they are, but would never want to be one themselves. On top of that, they'd usually look down on people with these jobs and never dream of associating with them or inviting them to their parties.

WalterBright 6y ago
A professor friend of mine told me once that one of the secretaries was lamenting that "even garbagemen get paid more than I." Curmudgeon that he was, he suggested that she quit and become a garbageman. She replied in an offended tone "no way would I do a filthy, disgusting job like that." QED