Humanity House
Unemployment rates are at an all-time low. That seems like great news. However, its not. It would be great if the workers were paid a living wage. It is a sad state that we are in that in Allen County the number of jobs that actually pay a living wage are few and far between.
What does that mean? It means we are living in a county that is made up of the working poor.
For example: the living wage for a single parent with two children is $25.04 per hour here. A person who makes less than that is not going to have enough money to make ends meet no matter how hard they work. This is the person who cant take a sick day, who looks for ways to stretch a meal, who is always looking for ways to make extra money, who has to decide what gets paid this month and what can wait.
If the children are small, the parent also feels guilty for not spending enough time with their children and the anxiety of what happens if the babysitter becomes ill. If the children are older, there is the guilt of not being able to give the children the things that other kids have. This doesnt mean that the children are unhappy and dont have fun, but it can be hard on the parent who is working as hard and as much as they can and still are not able to make ends meet. This single parent would have to work two 40 hour a week jobs at $12.50 per hour to make enough to not be living in poverty.
Everyone wonders what has happened to todays youth. They seem out of control, show no respect, run the streets, and do as they please whenever and wherever they please.
Poverty has happened to some of them. For others, their parents could be preoccupied with money worries. These children have parents who work all of the time just to keep a roof over their heads, or single parents who can barely have family time because they work so much. Kids spend more time at the sitters house than they do their own because their parents always have to work. Parents are so exhausted from working for low wages to make a life that they dont get to live one.
I would be impressed with the unemployment rate if I knew that everyone who is employed is being paid a living wage. Until then, nerts to the unemployment rate.
While the government sorts this out, what can a parent do in the meantime? Try to remember that life is about the things that you can have with you forever. It is your family and the time that you spend with them. There will always be money worries, but worrying never cured anything, and in the meantime childhood goes by in a flash.
Find things to do that your children love to do with you that make memories. Sit on the porch in the evenings and get goofy with them. Read aloud to each other. Take school backpacks and go treasure hunting. Life is short, make sure and live it. Kindness Matters!
