If there’s one thing America knows how to do it is to keep its people broke in the name of “working” oneself to death. In our new deep dive, we took a deeper look at why some people aren’t returning to work following a still present deadly pandemic. We asked varying people from Los Angeles California to Kansas City Missouri right into New York City why they weren’t hip to going back just yet — the answers varied significantly.
Our quest includes Moms; singles, men, women, people, college students and more. We wanted to get a varying idea here of what the real reason is people are waiting out till the end to go back to work.
“It’s mostly due to the poor wages. I have at least one child I have a few medical issues myself but can still work. Childcare isn’t cheap and neither is being alive at this rate. Between him and myself making $11 an hour isn’t cutting it anymore. They used to have me working sometimes until 12 and 2am and I would on top of other things never get to see my son. I’ve been collecting unemployment until I (and I’ve vigorously been applying because I have both a diploma and a college diploma) find a job that pays a bit more so me and my son don’t have to worry. If I learned one thing from this pandemic it is that these businesses and the government will more often than not leave us out to dry.” – Katie P, 29 – Coral Gables Florida
“The piss poor wages it starts and ends there. Poor wages poor benefits slave labor hours at most places you go for very little. We are expendable mice to these people. I’m not stepping foot back into a job until the pay is right and that is something I hope more people do. There’s no reason in this world someone should be earning so little that they require two jobs if not three and sometimes even snap benefits to survive. These people want to moan and complain about these types of things but then do absolutely nothing to fix it. This economical theater from people who have never had to worry about where their next meal is coming from has to end.” – Danny M, 30
“Why would someone want to be working for a place that doesn’t value them” – Tiffany W, 33
“Certain people love to be like people just need to pull themselves up by the bootstraps but those people either don’t have to work two jobs to make ends meet or simply don’t have to work at all. This stuff is one big episode of the pot calling the kettle Black. They don’t want us to be helped because they can’t be helped they’re telling their base this stuff because their base believes if one suffers all has to suffer.” Carter T, 38
“I’m honestly just sick of it. We’re charged to live from the moment we’re born up until the very moment we die. That is a level of fucked up even the worst of people would have a hard time coming up with. These people love to argue “the haves and the have nots” when the “haves and the have nots” are actually The People vs The United States of America.” – Alexandria, 29
‘I was let go from my job briefly went on unemployment and then I and my son decided to start an at-home business. I probably won’t ever work for a company ever again. I’m sick of being treated like a piece of gum on somebody’s shoe.I am a human too. I am somebody’s Mom. I want to be able to spend time with my son and still be able to work and live comfortably. I’m not asking for a ton I just want the ability to live comfortably and not have to struggle. I was a developer and I loved my job but they treated me so bad and it was often hard to even get the most minimal of benefits because I hadn’t been there very long” Nia L, 46
“It’s childcare in my case. My husband also works and we need both incomes but can’t afford the astronomical cost of childcare. It is a double edged sword designed for us normal people to fail.” Bernie C, 42
‘I was a server earning next to nothing and barely getting by. I was denied snap benefits because they said I make too much because I was also a cashier at a clothing store. The clothing store paid the rent the other job was trying to put food on the table and keep the lights on. At one point my Wifi and such got cut off because when the pandemic hit my server job disappeared. The unemployment saved my life because the clothing store also let me go. I wasn’t earning much at the clothing store and now I realize that I should be negotiating a better pay no matter where I end up next.” Blake S, 23
‘I didn’t really have the usual problem during this pandemic but I took part in this survey anyway. I just want people to realize that we need to start asking allot more questions. Because this pandemic has shown us that either the world just doesn’t like us human beings or we live in somebody else’s fucked up world where some billionaire is secretly calling the shots. Because there is no reason that 9 people got billions richer while others are being edged closer to life on the streets. We’re pawns in somebody else’s bizarre game when they left people out to dry in the name of pandemic relief that should have been indication enough that we are in this alone.” – Anonymous
“For my son it was the fact that he had absolutely no life and no time to feel human. He was let go from his job went on unemployment for six months (it was a godsend honestly) and has since found a remote job that pays double what he was getting from his last job. I am so thankful for the unemployment benefits because it helped my son stay afloat” – Carly K, 40
“At one point I had to ask myself why does it feel like my kids don’t know me. And then the pandemic hit and it really just made understand that I have a family who at one point only saw me one day a week because of very long hours. Being on unemployment saved my life but made me realize that what I was earning was not enough to cover my expenses including my kids. All this time looking for a new job and applying places I’ve been working on my negotiating power/skills because I deserve more and will be rightfully paid the next job I take.” Bernard G, 46
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