{"id":26805,"date":"2014-09-06T09:41:16","date_gmt":"2014-09-06T16:41:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=26805"},"modified":"2023-03-13T11:16:05","modified_gmt":"2023-03-13T18:16:05","slug":"black-coffee-hi-ho-hi-ho-its-off-to-work-we-go","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id26805-black-coffee-hi-ho-hi-ho-its-off-to-work-we-go.html","title":{"rendered":"Black Coffee: Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It’s Off to Work We Go"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>It’s time to sit back, relax and enjoy a little joe<\/em> …<\/p>\n

Let’s get right to it this week …<\/p>\n

Credits and Debits<\/strong><\/p>\n

Credit<\/strong>:<\/span> 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<\/a> there.<\/p>\n

Debit: <\/strong><\/span>Speaking of jobs, the US economy created just 142,000<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> 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<\/a> jobless workers who exhaust their unemployment benefits.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> The number of Americans not in the labor force reached an all-time high<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Even more disturbing is a Wall Street Journal report<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> In California, there are currently 1.37 million unemployed<\/a> Americans. I suspect a lot of them weren’t happy after learning that a recent USC report<\/a> found illegal immigrants now make up 10% of the Golden State’s workforce. Yes, ten. Unbelievable.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> 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<\/a> — up to $12,000 annually. I know.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Meanwhile, fast food workers across the country launched another coordinated series of protests. The disgruntled minimum-wage employees went on strike<\/a> to demand their hourly pay be increased to $15. Right.<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> 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<\/a> that can make 360 hamburgers every hour. Uh oh.<\/p>\n

Credit<\/strong>:<\/span> 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<\/a> for unskilled labor.<\/p>\n

By the Numbers<\/strong><\/p>\n

Facts on fast food industry salaries:<\/p>\n

$47 billion<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Total employee wages paid by the fast food industry in 2013.<\/p>\n

24.6<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Percentage of industry costs attributed to wages.<\/p>\n

$50,600 <\/strong><\/span><\/span>Revenue earned per employee in 2004.<\/p>\n

$52,290<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Revenue earned per employee in 2013.<\/p>\n

$12,851 <\/strong><\/span><\/span>Average annual wage of fast food workers in 2004.<\/p>\n

$12,870 <\/strong><\/span><\/span>Average annual wage of fast food workers in 2013.<\/p>\n

Source: Statista<\/a>
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Plutus Awards News
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hey! Yours truly was nominated for a Plutus<\/a> 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.)<\/p>\n

Also … Congratulations are in order to my friend, Joe Saul-Sehy, whose fantastic money show, Stacking Benjamins<\/a>, 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.)<\/p>\n

Finally, congrats to my friend Paula Pant, from Afford Anything<\/a> — 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.<\/p>\n

The Question of the Week<\/strong><\/p>\n

[poll id=\"24\"]<\/code><\/p>\n

Last Week’s Poll Results<\/strong><\/p>\n

How much do you spend on household groceries each month?<\/p>\n