There’s a lot of turmoil in the country right now. Large groups of Americans are at odds over seemingly everything. We can’t agree on politics. We can’t agree on the direction of the economy. We can’t agree on social issues. We can’t even agree on what we disagree on. Sigh.

There are good reasons for this divide, but we aren’t going to use this space to get into that hornet’s nest. Instead, we want to take a time out, and remind everyone that we are all just human beings. We are flawed. We are imperfect. We make mistakes. It’s not easy being human.

It takes a lot of courage to open your heart and talk to people you may not agree with; to treat them like fellow human beings, instead of as the “other.” Today’s clip reflects that challenge. We chose The Beatles’ We Can Work It Out, because A, We love The Beatles and will use any excuse to use them in our column, and B, it’s a song that is lyrically more complicated than you might think. Ultimately, we like to think the song is optimistic about people learning to cooperate and put aside their differences. Enjoy the clip.

The gig economy has been blossoming for some time. Uber, Airbnb, petsitters, freelance writers (I think we hire those folks actually), etc. It’s become one of the popular choices of employment for a new generation of workers. We can see the allure. You work when you want for as many hours as you want. Sounds great; but is the gig economy a good thing for the overall job market? Is it good for the workers? Is it good for the economy? 

Essentially, gig economy workers are freelance workers. They independently sign up with an employer and each can decided to separate when it suits them. No two week notice necessary. Just leave. That’s appealing to a generation that values their freedom and views the typical workweek with a side eyed, suspicious glance.

While there’s reason to celebrate a freer life, the gig economy has serious downsides. Workers in the gig economy, have no bargaining power over wages or working conditions. No benefits. No job security. They have nowhere to go to complain if they’re mistreated.   

Who really wins in the gig economy? And make no mistake, there are definitely winners and losers here. Today, we have a clip that features interviews with gig economy workers and a labor organizer. They discuss the pros and cons of being a gig economy worker. It’s a fascinating glimpse at a whole different approach to work.

 

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Our country seems pretty comfortable screwing over generation after generation of young college students. In fact we seem to prefer it that way. We don’t give financial literacy courses in high school. We don’t discuss economics or what expenses are awaiting new adults when they come of age. No, we just offer a couple of choices. College or no college. No college usually means no debt, but less pay over a lifetime. Choosing college means huge debt, but more pay; yet even that is not guaranteed.

That choice used to be fairly easy to make for most, until about ten or so years ago when the cost of getting any degree skyrocketed, leaving millions with huge amounts of student loan debt. In the past we’ve featured interviews with new graduates talking about the ways their huge student debt adversely affects everything in their lives.

Being able to get married, having kids, buying a house; all delayed or out of reach due to the financial burden of paying back student loans. We’d like to remind some of you out there that student loans are not dischargeable by declaring bankruptcy. There is literally no way out of paying them back, no matter how large or burdensome they are.

Many new graduates have to find jobs quickly so they can start paying off their large monthly payments. This often means losing out on jobs in their chosen field since they can’t afford to wait long to start earning money. That financial pressure pushes student loan debtors into jobs they don’t want, that don’t utilize their skills, and more often than not, don’t pay well. As of a few years ago, half of college graduates were either underemployed or didn’t have any job. As Benjamin Franklin once said.”Well, that’s just fucking great now, isn’t it?”

Today’s clip features a young graduate discussing the burdens of finding work. Because of his monthly student loan payments, his options are limited in what employment he can afford to accept. It’s a sober reminder that the student loan crises is an ongoing issue, turning millions of twenty-somethings into a generation of debtors unable to get their heads above water financially. It’s completely fucked up, and it needs to change. By the way, Ben Franklin did not say that. That was jazz legend, Miles Davis. Enjoy the clip.

 

We’ve written about the future of jobs a few times in this column. Specifically about technology and its encroachment in the job market. Automation and robots are increasingly taking over jobs previously occupied by humans. That reality increases competition, lowers wages, and creates some possible chaotic scenarios in the near future. After all if there aren’t enough jobs left for people to do, who’s paying for lunch? Not us.

However, we want to shift gears a little, and talk about the benefits of technology in the work place. There are some jobs humans should not be doing. Risky jobs, dangerous jobs, hazardous jobs. Robots are being built and taught to do some of these jobs. We found a clip that shows how robots are being built that can take over jobs that put humans in harm. It’s fascinating, and we hope you enjoy it.

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Few people choose to be poor. Even fewer choose to be working and poor. Yet recent data shows there are over 12 million working Americans living below the poverty line. This is where issues like low minimum wages, lack of well paying jobs, automation of the workplace, and the 1% getting richer as the poor get poorer intersect.

No one should be working 40 hours a week and still have to apply for food stamps. No one. The working poor in America are growing larger, not smaller. To some this may come as no surprise. To those who believe we’ve recovered from the 2008/09 financial meltdown, well, the fire’s still burning folks.

We have a great article tomorrow on the working poor and attitudes they’re often met with by strangers. Today’s clip is a few minutes long, and puts faces to the crises so many poor working American’s face today. You may find yourself wondering, just how great a country are we that there exists such a divide between the poor and rich in our country? A divide that is among the highest in all industrial nations.

When you work as hard as most working mothers do, it can be rough trying to balance family and work. The emotional toll can wreak havoc on even the strongest mother’s psyche. As a society we espouse how important raising a family is, but we don’t support those platitudes with policies that allow new mothers(Or fathers for that matter) to spend the important early months of a newborn’s life bonding with their new babies. 12 weeks of UNPAID time off is all new moms get before it’s, “Good on you and excellent job on popping out that kid, but those spreadsheets at work aren’t gonna spread themselves. Now on you go, back to work missy” (Read this in a British accent for maximum impact)

Tomorrow, we feature a story about the difficulties working mothers face balancing home and work life. The piece is about the sacrifices, struggles, and economic realities for one of our writers and for working mothers everywhere in this country. It’s a compelling read, and we urge you to check it out.

Since we’re running a piece on working mothers tomorrow, we’re featuring a clip today of working moms sharing their experiences and hardships. There’s also information on the current status of where we stand as a country when it comes to giving mothers and fathers a fair shot at achieving real work and family balance. Enjoy the clip.

Remember when you were a kid and you would inevitably be asked by a relative or a teacher or an adult of some sort, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Reflect on that time right now. Go ahead, we’ll wait…………………………ok, we’re back. So, do you remember what you used to say to that question? Are you doing that job now? Probably not. And that’s to be expected. As you get older, life presents challenges you couldn’t or shouldn’t have known about when you were a child. Many of these challenges prevent us from going from point A to point B in an orderly fashion. Life is messy. Nothing new there.

One thing that’s nice about being a kid is daydreaming and fantasizing brilliant futures for yourself. Children can see themselves doing all kinds of jobs when they get to adulthood. Most kids have few limits to what they think is possible for themselves. That imagination should be celebrated, because the world at present doesn’t much care for or encourage people to follow their dreams.

Our clip of the week features kids answering the question of what they want to be when they get older, and older adults reflecting on how quickly time flies by. It also features kids expressing what it looks like to them when they see their parents working. It  packs quite a punch for an 80 second clip. We liked it a lot, and thought you would too. Enjoy.

Big business rules this country. They’re influential in how legislation gets passed or not passed. Their money and political sway have made them far more powerful than most governments. They use that political capital to insulate themselves from public outrage whenever they’re caught doing terrible things, One example is how the big banks got no real punishment for their parts in the 2008 financial crash.

This week we feature our second true or false quiz about corporate abuses and scandals. In preparation for that quiz we thought it would be of interest to spotlight some scandalous corporate activity not in our mini test. Now watch this fun video, and take our Friday quiz. We promise to make it fun and open book.

 

 

We like to mix it up in this section week to week. Normally we tackle serious topics like student loan debt, the poor job market, or a ton of other depressing but important issues. However, we think it’s important to lighten things up occasionally. To remind ourselves that if you look at it in just the right way, life is a comic ballet, and that laughter is a great tonic for what ails us.

In that spirit, we present a clip we know will give you laughing fits. So save this page for later when you really need cheering up, because we have bloopers from Gene Wilder’s and Mel Brooks’ masterpiece of comedy, Young Frankenstein. Enjoy.

This Friday we have an interview with Yale Strom, the multi-talented, award winning documentary filmmaker. Strom has a new documentary on Eugene V. Debs debuting in select cities across the country. Debs was an American socialist and revolutionary. He was instrumental in organizing labor unions and galvanizing citizens to insist their government protect all of the people’s rights instead of just the wealthiest.

We wanted to give you a look at the trailer for the documentary, which features narration from actress Amy Madigan (Field of Dreams). Eugene V. Debs was a patriot, and more importantly a role model. He fought for basic decency and dignity for all American workers. He went to jail for it too. During a time when too many politicians seem intent on destroying the social fabric, and repealing any remaining safeguards against terrible corporate behavior we still have in place, it’s inspiring to see someone who fought for what was right, despite the consequences. Enjoy the trailer.