Nobody likes the thought of people struggling to make ends meet but people in France (unemployment 10%) would be amazed that one person could get 3 jobs in America.

When I met my wife she had 2 jobs (our oldest child is mentally/physically handicapped) and was glad to get the money.

BTW I am not a fan of GW but I do think the press makes way too much of off hand statements that could be taken in a number of ways.

The summer I worked two jobs I didn't feel uniquely American, I felt tired and unnecessarily put upon. And, is it really all that unique when our labor laws make a lot of companies reluctant to pay overtime? Having three jobs because you can't put in all your hours at one job isn't unique, its irritating. It just makes a crappy situation ridiculously complicated.

Katharine

I understand your anger but given a choice between having 2 jobs or no jobs which would you take?

Here is an interesting website:

http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/fields/2129.html

You will notice that the world unemployment rate is at 30%.

Also uniquely American (at least in the industrialized world): A person can work a full-time minimum wage job and still be in poverty. And not have health coverage. Or affordable childcare.

Things not to be proud of here in the United States.

Maurice:

Have you ever had to make ends meet for your family on a minimum wage job?

"It highlights a President who seems to think that working three jobs is some kind of showcase of character and, by extension, a good thing."

Sounds like a good thing to me!

She works her butt off in order to pay her bils, and care for her children.

Surely, in France, Sweden, or Germany, the gov't (in other words, the taxpayers) would simply pay for all her expenses.

Amd the safety net is available to her as well, even in the US of A.

But instead, she chooses to work.

Rugged individualism. Hard work.

Sounds pretty damn American (and positive) to me!

"And, is it really all that unique when our labor laws make a lot of companies reluctant to pay overtime?"

No. You should try looking into the labor laws in Europe...

RJ: My point is that a situation where a parent is working three jobs in order to pay bills and take care of a special needs child (and how much time will a parent who works three jobs spend with any child? Not very much) is not something to be made fun of: it's a desperate and nearly tragic situation.

A President who doesn't understand that, who can't empathize with a situation like that, is distressing.

Eric Berlin
Dumpster Bust: Miracles from Mind Trash

On the one hand it's quite unfortunate that the woman has to work 3 jobs to support her kids because of a tragic circumstance. On the other hand, it's great that she's actually willing to go out and work so hard to take care of her family. And that's what's uniquely American. It's also uniquely American that we've got the extra jobs to make it possible.

I also suspect that if you look into the situation you'll find that she's working part time jobs, not three full time jobs, and that she's picked the work she does based on convenience to her kids schools and other considerations of her family situation, including having a more flexible schedule so she can spend time with the kids.

Dave

I wonder if any of the individuals who are praising this "uniquely American" story as a good thing have ever been in a similar situation themselves?

you're all right: her personal situation is sad, distressing, if also rather heroic; but in the broader sense it is also an indication of the health of our economy that she can find three jobs to work

Roy:

have you ever read my posts? Without revealing all the details of my life, yes, I have worked at multiple jobs for minimum wage. Most of my family remain on welfare or still work at min wage. My grandfather still traps muskrats for a living. My father never made more than 25k in his life. I am 'uniquely' qualified to comment on this.

I am so glad that I live in a country that has jobs.

Maurice:

Glad you are happy with the situation. Call me a crazy liberal, but I think the richest country in the world can do better for our poorest.

I've worked three part time jobs while being a full-time student at the same time, but I've never had to trap muskrats, thank god.

You do what you have to do to make ends meet. Strangely I've never worked a job at minimum wage. Even when I was a teenager I was able to find jobs fairly easily which paid at least 50 cents above minimum - which in those days was a hell of a lot of money.

Dave

"muskrat trapper" - you don't see that on resumes all that often anymore (smile)

Roy -

in addition to alway having your talk button pushed, you always see the glass as half empty. We have the richest poor in the world. My parents have always been very frugal. They own their home and their vehicles. I am happy that they were always able to find jobs. I used to go to the bakery with my Dad at night and help him sweep up. Being a janitor was just one of his many min wage jobs. It didn't seem like a hardship.

BTW trapping muskrats is easy - cleaning them is another story.

Maurice: We have the richest poor in the world.

Depends on how you define rich. Many of our poor are homeless and very few of them have adequate health care. In the EU, homelessness is much lower and health care is generally universal.

Great post, thanks for the thread and commendations to Ms. Mornin and all women around the world who go all out to care of their children, sometimes grandchildren as well.

As a mother, chances are no matter how well Ms. Mornin 'arranges' her 3 jobs, p/t or not, and her schedule, with all the things a single mom with a special needs child has to include, the kids and Ms. Mornin herself are the ones that 'lose out' the most.

Quality of life, parental guidance and all around nurturing can't be 'all that'.

sorry, 'care for'..

RJ: I know very little about labor law in Europe. Thank you for the recommendation.

Maurice, re cleaning muskrats: I just assumed there were muskrat washes in the area or something like that, sort of like the whale wash in Shark Story

Roy,

you are confusing 2 issues - min wage and homelessness. Once again I am uniquely qualified to comment on this because I worked in France, England, Italy and Switzerland for several years. They have plenty of homeless people wandering around and I beleive it is the same reason we have them here. Mental illness or drug abuse. Dave Nalle had a great post where he debunked the whole min wage thing.

One last point - the health care there sucks. I had to go to the hospital once because of a bicycle accident. It reminded me of the hospital in 'Jacobs Ladder'.

Very funny Eric - I'll tell you it aint easy being a hillbilly.

Ok, here's a vital question. Who do you sell your Muskrats to after you catch and clean them? And how do I get some nice muskrat pelts for my home?

Dave

Maurice: So why do Europeans live longer and have lower rates of heart disease and cancer?

Is it their protective layer of bodily filth?

Dave,
my grandfather would cure the pelts himself and sell them directly to a company here in Idaho. I don't know where you would buy them now. Wait a minute... is this more 'lets make fun of the hillbilly humor'?

Roy,
people here are fat. Even the poor here are fat. The answer to your other question can be found in a book titled "Currents of Death".

That's humor by the way. Just capitalizing on the comedic value of stereotypes!

>>Maurice: So why do Europeans live longer and have lower rates of heart disease and cancer?<<

You directed this at Maurice, but I can answer it. Better diet. That's the key to it all. Americans eat crap and it kills them.

Dave

Their programming lineup is very inferior, as well, which leads to them not being as inclined as us to be couch potatoes.

Maurice, I was in no way making fun of you or your grandfather. I'm just a general smartass. In fact, I think your perspective is extremely admirable

"I also suspect that if you look into the situation you'll find that she's working part time jobs, not three full time jobs"

I agree. If it was 3 full-time jobs (120 hours a week...and there are only 168 total hours in a week!), then she'd be dead of exhaustion.

So. She prolly works one 40 hour/week job, and a couple 15 or 20 hour/week jobs. Just under 80 hours per week.

Is that a lot of work? YES! But MY boss manages to do about 70 per week, even while suffering from MS.

I work 65-70 hours a week

"Is it their protective layer of bodily filth?"

ROTFL!

>>but in the broader sense it is also an indication of the health of our economy that she can find three jobs to work>>

No, it's sad that she can't find ONE good paying job. That she cannot but must work three parttime - which usually means menial - is not an indicator of a strong economy.

And Dave N nails it on why Americans in general (not just some of the poor) are as pork-laden as the coming budget - better diet. You eat Ramen noodles for a week that's 10 for a $1. When you're past your high-burning metabolism college stage -- well have you seen the 25 percent fat content in Ramen? It sticks around.

Fast food hamburgers. Cheap and at every corner? Sugar and flour are also very inexpensive - and both are packed with the wee stuffs that aren't that great for you


And don't start saying, well at least that's all available, because wer'e not comparing America to some African countries, we're comparing it to other developed countries.

Joe: Is it their protective layer of bodily filth?

I know you thought you were joking here, but I've seen studies which suggest that this may actually be the case, especially with children. If they're kept nice and dirty for the first 4 years they're more resistent to disease later in life.

Dave

Muskrats, dirt, and Europe aside (good topics though they all be), my overall not-so-subtle point is that the President appears to be woefully out-of-touch with ordinary folk and the ordinary and not-so-unique struggle of many Americans to get ahead.

It's this kind of values gap that makes John Edwards' Two Americas pitch so appealing to many. It's too bad that Kerry couldn't make this case more effectively in '04.

>>It's this kind of values gap that makes John Edwards' Two Americas pitch so appealing to many. It's too bad that Kerry couldn't make this case more effectively in '04.<<

It didn't help that Kerry was clearly even MORE out of touch with common Americans than Bush was.

Dave

Dave - You're right, Kerry lost the appearance war, plain and simple.

Too bad that has so little to do with governance.

Dave says: It didn't help that Kerry was clearly even MORE out of touch with common Americans than Bush was.

That was the appearance at least. His other problem is that he didn't have a governing philosophy that could be turned into a soundbite, and didn't even make an effort to get there. That can kill you every time in an election, even if you have better policy proposals, which I think he did.

[Before the tech problems, Eric O. asked me about Howard Dean's politics...]

He's shockingly moderate, Eric. He believes in balanced budgets (he accomplished this a bunch of times in the small state of Vermont) and as a doctor has an excellent sense of the health care system. He's as pro-gun as a Democrat will ever get, and though he was "rabidly" anti-war with regard to Iraq, supported Gulf War I and Afghanistan. I think he's "for" war as a last resort and for doing it in the right way.

He's quite liberal on social issues which seems, at least, to be where even many of the conservative regulars to BC are at.

Dean was easily painted as an outlandish Northeastern liberal because of his grassroots support, spooky Internet following, and anti-Iraq stance. The Scream sealed the deal, but the truth is that the guy is remarkably articulate and reasonable. I think he can be an excellent spokesman for the Dems and help to solidify message and instill backbone/gumption where needed.