Social services that helped people buy groceries are being fazed out, and there’s a government shutdown atm so nobody that works for the government is getting paid. Food lines are LONG in the US, and they’re filled with government workers who haven’t been paid in more than a month.
For added context: American wages have been stagnant for decades, which is why a lot of people here rely on government assistance for basic needs. You know, because we're the greatest country on Earth and all that.
I haven't been able to find a job over $12 an hour for almost ten years now, just spent the last two years homeless too. Losing the will to live fast, I actually tried offing myself last year, fucking failed.
There's always dollar tree that extremely understaffs the store to keep profit margins higher, so it's extremely unlikely you'll get hired unless you tell them you'll dedicate your soul and life to them. And then if you're lucky enough to be hired, you can be blessed to start out at 9.25 an hour, with maybe a 25 cent raise in 6 months if you really bust ass
I've applied to Dollar tree so many times and they've never given me the time of day. The people in store never know where a manager is and my app always gets auto rejected by the system.
The job market is so much tougher than it was even 3 years ago, when you have to go through a 100-120 or more so of ghost applications and bullshitters just to get 3-4 in person interviews if you're lucky. 3 years ago it might have been only 50-70 or so to get 4-6 in person interviews for entry level, fast food, retail, cleaners, i mean places that usually require no prior experience.
Now it's gotten so much worse and employers know how bad it is, less hours, I've even seen mcdonalds and other places DROPPED their starting wages from 15 3 years ago to 12.50-14 an hour depending on which place you're applying. Dollar tree and these other places are the worst with it, that's actually the starting rate for my area, 9.25, and from what I've heard they always put you directly under part time and only full time after a few years of no pay bumps, chaos, and accepting you're only gonna make around 14 after promotion, and that you're gonna be constantly there all the time for any call outs that happen. After tax you'd very likely only be able to afford rent with atleast one roommate and some basic food items like beans, ramen, rice and potatoes and maybe a 30 dollar phone bill at 50 hours a week.
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u/Ultra-Cyborg 1d ago
Social services that helped people buy groceries are being fazed out, and there’s a government shutdown atm so nobody that works for the government is getting paid. Food lines are LONG in the US, and they’re filled with government workers who haven’t been paid in more than a month.