It’s time to sit back, relax and enjoy a little joe …
Let’s get right to it this week …
Credits and Debits
Credit: With Labor Day behind us, it’s sad to know that some people will always be allergic to work. In South Korea, the desire of some people to avoid a job is growing so fast that there has been a drastic increase in the sale of fake casts there.
Debit: Speaking of jobs, the US economy created just 142,000 of them in August, which is far less than the 225,000 economists were expecting. It’s also not enough to keep pace with population growth.
Credit: Despite the sub-par jobs market, the official unemployment rate managed to fall 0.1% last month — if only because the government conveniently stops counting jobless workers who exhaust their unemployment benefits.
Debit: The number of Americans not in the labor force reached an all-time high last month: 92,269,000. In fact, 37.2% of all Americans do not have a job — that’s the worst national employment figure in 36 years. I wonder how many of them own fake casts.
Debit: Even more disturbing is a Wall Street Journal report that says one in three US workers — 53 million in all — are actually freelancers such as independent contractors, temps, and moonlighters. Yes, those freelance jobs tend to be far less stable than other forms of employment.
Debit: In California, there are currently 1.37 million unemployed Americans. I suspect a lot of them weren’t happy after learning that a recent USC report found illegal immigrants now make up 10% of the Golden State’s workforce. Yes, ten. Unbelievable.
Debit: Of course, cash-strapped California is a lost cause. Thanks to a rogue legislature that has completely lost touch with reality, American taxpayers there are now forced to cover college tuition for illegal aliens — up to $12,000 annually. I know.
Debit: Meanwhile, fast food workers across the country launched another coordinated series of protests. The disgruntled minimum-wage employees went on strike to demand their hourly pay be increased to $15. Right.
Credit: Apparently, the strikers are unaware that minimum wages are reserved for work that: A) requires very few skills; and B) can be done by almost anyone. I suspect they’re also oblivious to the fact that a robot now exists that can make 360 hamburgers every hour. Uh oh.
Credit: You can bet restaurant owners in the fast food industry are taking notice. After all, unlike those striking fry cooks and cashiers, robots don’t require 10-minute work breaks, won’t call in sick and — best of all — are incapable of demanding ridiculous wage hikes for unskilled labor.
By the Numbers
Facts on fast food industry salaries:
$47 billion Total employee wages paid by the fast food industry in 2013.
24.6 Percentage of industry costs attributed to wages.
$50,600 Revenue earned per employee in 2004.
$52,290 Revenue earned per employee in 2013.
$12,851 Average annual wage of fast food workers in 2004.
$12,870 Average annual wage of fast food workers in 2013.
Source: Statista
Plutus Awards News
Hey! Yours truly was nominated for a Plutus award this year in the category for Most Humorous Personal Finance blog. Hooray! It’s the third time I’ve been nominated in that category; believe it or not, I actually won the award last year. (And, no, I’m not sure if that’s a reflection on my writing style, or all of the rotten advice I hand out here from week to week. I suspect it’s the latter.)
Also … Congratulations are in order to my friend, Joe Saul-Sehy, whose fantastic money show, Stacking Benjamins, just received a Plutus award nomination for best personal finance podcast! (Yes, yes … despite the fact that I’m a regular participant on the Stacking Benjamins’ Money Roundtable segment.)
Finally, congrats to my friend Paula Pant, from Afford Anything — she received a Plutus nominations for Blog of the Year! Come to think of it, Joe received one too for Stacking Benjamins. Their nominations are well-deserved.
The Question of the Week
[poll id="24"]
Last Week’s Poll Results
How much do you spend on household groceries each month?
- $201 – $400 (35%)
- $401 – $600 (28%)
- Less than $200 (15%)
- $601 – $800 (14%)
- More than $800 (8%)
More than 200 Len Penzo dot Com readers weighed in for this week’s survey — and the answers were, predictably, all over the map. I can only hope that those of you who are spending more than $800 per month on vittles are not shopping for one.
Other Useless News
Programming note: Unlike most blogs, I’m always open for the weekend here at Len Penzo dot Com. There’s a fresh new article waiting for you every Saturday afternoon. At least there should be. If not, somebody call 9-1-1.
Hey! If you happen to enjoy what you’re reading — or not — please don’t forget to:
1. Click on that Like button in the sidebar to your right and become a fan of Len Penzo dot Com on Facebook!
2. Make sure you follow me on Twitter!
And last, but not least…
3. Don’t forget to subscribe via email too! Thank you.
Top 25 Referrers for August
It’s the first weekend of the month, which means it’s time once again to thank the top 25 referring websites to Len Penzo dot Com.
1. MSN
2. Business Insider
3. Rockstar Finance
4. Kiplinger
5. Budgets Are Sexy
6. Wisebread
7. Art of Manliness
8. Money Talks News
9. Modest Money
10. Frugal Village
11. Deseret News
12. Afford Anything
13. Don’t Quit Your Day Job
14. Smart Asset
15. The Money Principle
16. Stacking Benjamins
17. Save Outside the Box
18. Canadian Personal Finance Blog
19. Creative Home Ideas
20. And Then We Saved
21. The Apartment Prepper
22. Money Crashers
23. Mega Ricos
24. Wealthy Turtle
25. Work to Not Work
Thank you to everyone who refers their readers to this little ol’ blog! It’s much appreciated.
Here’s Some Posts You Might Enjoy …
Frugalwoods – Travel Cheap by Eating Like a Local
Art of Being Cheap – Does a Freezer in the Garage Save You Money?
Coin Thrill – Two Cent Peculiarities
Red Debted Step Child – Do You Need Life Insurance In Your 20s?
Debt Debs – Cutting Cable: Will It Pay Off?
Letters, I Get Letters
Every week I feature the most interesting question or comment — assuming I get one, that is. And folks who are lucky enough to have the only question in the mailbag get their letter highlighted here whether it’s interesting or not! You can reach out to me at: Len@LenPenzo.com
Michelle had this to say after reading about how much I paid for my recent bathroom remodel:
$23,000 is INSANE … (You) may have lost a little with me there, Len.
Yeah, but what’s even more insane is giving me free reign around the house with a saw, a hammer, a plumber’s wrench, and some power tools. Not pretty, Michelle. Not pretty at all.
I’m Len Penzo and I approved this message.
Photo Credit: brendan-c
Thanks so much for the shout out! I appreciate it. And, congrats on your Plutus nomination.
Glad you liked my coin article! Don’t forget you always have a standing offer there to share some of your own words on the magic of coins 😉
Gonna miss you this year at FINCON, bud…
Congrats on being a finalist again!
That is crazy stuff about fake casts (and I’m going to have to look into that more).
Also totally amazed at the top notch sites that are your top refererrers. I’ve never once had anything but a blog or social media refer to my site! I’m totally small potatoes!
When the fast food workers get cut to only 15 hours a week they will then understand that employers can’t afford $15. per hour and stay in business.
At times I hire a handyman or two to help me with my rental properties. Most of them will happily work for 12 or 13 per hour. They are semi skilled in a variety of jobs. The fast food workers is skilled at what. The registers have pictures of sandwiches and shows how much change the customer should get. The fry cooker has a timer on it and it does not take rocket science to man a spatula.
Those folks should expend their energy on learning a real skill instead of screaming “woe is me”.
Thanks for the shout out! It is difficult to understand how the economics of $15/ hour for unskilled labor would work, but I wish them luck.
It’s just that if I had known I could have made $30k/ year doing unskilled work, maybe going to college and learning to do something much more valuable to the economy may no longer be a wise choice.
Congrats on your 3rd Plutus nomination! Thanks so much for linking my cutting cable post, so far our only complaint is that we wished we had done it sooner! Watching Shark Tank now, as I write this so life is wonderful. LOL I’m not able to go to FINCON and am super bummed so wrote a tongue-in-cheek post about why I’m not bummed. I assume you are going, if not let me know as we’re planning something fun for the mice. 😉
The economy works again! Instead of dealing with sullen fast food workers on the rare occasion when I pop in for a fast food breakfast item with my “buy one get one free coupon” I’d much rather have a robot prepare and serve me my wrapped breakfast and let me put my payment in the slot. Minimum wage is for beginning workers. If you’re minimally educated and 35 years old and with illegitimate children all you can get is a fast food or big box store shelf stocking job. The fast food robots are coming, the pace partly depends on how not linked to the value of the job the salaries demanded are.
This was a very good wrap up and so many things to think about. Not the least is: why won’t my browser let me vote? Anyway.
I’m not sure how I feel about the education for undocumented aliens. On one hand, there is a side of me that says “no way! Not fair!” On the other side, I think “well, what is the outcome that we get?” At some point, you have to analyze various programs to see if spending a little money now saves you more later. Are we better off educating the illegal aliens who attended high school here for 3 years than letting them become gang members, or whatever else? Assuming we aren’t willing to deport them.
I don’t know that answer – just something I think about. I think about it a lot lately because of the college stats – CA state colleges and universities are accepting a lot fewer in-state residents these days because they make more money from out of staters. Which seems wrong, on so many levels – but then again, what percentage of the total university budgets comes from state money? Apparently not that much.
On the minimum wage thing, I have sympathy because a lot of people work those jobs because so many other jobs have left the country. That begs a question, though – how about we “retrain” the fast food workers to become farmers – we wouldn’t need as many illegals to pick our produce anymore.
I have a friend who has been unemployed for a year and cannot get unemployment. She collected it, got a job, lost that job – and she’s been doing a lot of contract work. Her husband is retired. The two of them swap time with others to get by. Some people do contract work because they prefer it – others because they have no choice. I wonder what the breakdown is?
Hey, the advantage to the fast food robot is that you’ll need technicians to fix them.
Sorry, but these fast food workers are out of their mind. They want to make more for flipping burgers than I do for dealing with people’s sensitive financial information, catching fraudulent checks, providing high-class service, and handling tens of thousands of dollars every day.
Fast food workers get away with sullen service, screwing up burger ingredients, or popping gum when you’re trying to order.
I work at a bank and we are held to very high standards for customer service, work ethics, sales requirements, strict audit rules and cash handling policies, and a hundred other rules and regulations to worry about. If someone hands me a fraudulent check and I don’t catch it, I can be fired.
Why should I make less than someone who only has to worry about pressing a button to order the big mac, and not dropping the fries on the floor?
BTW if you think I’m insulting fast food workers, I WAS ONE for over a year, and I know exactly what it’s like. It’s a stepping stone job, nothing more. They have no right to expect higher pay for a simple job, it’s insulting.
Fast food is not designed to be a life long career, why do these people not grasp this simple concept? The margins are too small for them to be paid enough money to life comfortably. They should use their brains and learn a skill, a trade, anything, and move UP in the world.
Sheesh, whatever happened to the mindset behind the American dream? The dream was working HARD and achieving success so that you could be self-sufficient and not living in poverty.
So little salaries grow ? It is a sobering topic. regards