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February 09, 2012 at 11:18 PM
I listened to “Marketplace Money” this weekend. It’s the Saturday edition of the weekday show “Marketplace.” I usually enjoy both the daily and weekend versions.
This blog is two things — first it’s a blog and, second, a listener comment.
On last Saturday’s show, there was a newly minted Dartmouth graduate mentioned who was allegedly unhappy: (1) because she had done all the right things and gotten through the educational system, and there was no job for her skillset available; and (2) because she was making, she said, something like $2 hourly as a server in a restaurant.
Forget for a moment that she actually has a job and is unhappy. There are millions out of work, and she is not one of them. But that’s not my problem with the “Marketplace Money” piece, nor with her.
As to the salary, no, no and no again! Yes, she might be paid $2 hourly by the restaurant, but, unless she is the most hapless server in her community, she has to be making more, lots more. Servers live on tips, not on the $2 hourly wage. (Restaurants are allowed to pay low wages because of tips. Most restaurants could not exist if the minimum hourly wage had to be paid. Indeed, good restaurant food at reasonable prices is dependent on low-paid workers.)
