Wow... I hate to go all right wing on you Paolo, but your soliloquy truly is straight up communism. Sorry for the cliche but there is no other word for it. And that's cool if that's your thing, but let's call it what it is for discussion purposes. Retail work is unskilled labor, period. Unskilled labor does not pay anything other than what is required by law. Why should it? Would you pay, $10.00 for a bar of Ivory Soap when you could pay $2.00? Well, maybe you would, but most people wouldn't, just as most business owners aren't going to pay more for labor than they have to. Reality can be a painfull, but here's a news flash: I'll bet every "progressive" in this town bargained for the best deal they could get on their vehicle, or washing machine, or whatever. It's human nature.
As for housing prices, well that is a two party driven market, one buyer and one seller. No real estate agent, no market analyst or anyone else can make a person pay more than a house is worth. Our town happens to be currently very desirable at the moment, and that is a good thing, not the tragedy you make it out to be. People (working people) plan their lives, their children's lives and educations, and their golden years on the hope of making money from their real estate investments.
It's all the same principle. A product, and make no mistake about it, (and I'm sure this will make your left wing cranium cringe) LABOR IS A PRODUCT, sells for what it is worth, and only what it is worth... or it does not sell. Mary Poppins can not change that truth. Tell your parents or grandparents to sell their home in Northampton at a Springfield price so that a more deserving townie can buy it instead of someone who has worked and saved, or God forbid saved a few extra bucks by maybe going to school to earn a comfortable living, see what they say.
Who are these new homeowners that you fear? Are they undesirable strictly because they can afford more than you, or a clerk at Sweeties can afford? Am I part of the housing problem in your eyes? I was born working class in Springfield, achieved only a high school education, but work my blue collar butt off to this day buy real estate in this town. I charge market rate rent and have never had a tenant accuse me of taking advantage of the market. They know an apartment in Northampton will cost them more than one elsewhere, they don't consider that wrong... Should I? Do you? I never expected anyone to pay me more than the job I was doing was worth, no man should. Nor did I expect a landlord in this town to rent to me below market, nor did I expect a homeowner to sell to me cheap. Hard work, long hours, and personal responsibility paved my way to live in this town that I love.
You, or the people you are speaking for need to stop whining and do whatever needs to be done to be valuable to an employer. Go to school, learn a trade, paint a masterpiece... whatever. There's nothing better in the world than the feelin
Hey Richard, thanks for your candid response, that was refreshing, and I appreciate that. It appears that maybe I should have been more informative with my posting here, regarding the video, as I think you might be under the impression that I wrote it. The statements you made in response might indeed be true, but I want to be clear that I was only reading the article that appeared in the Northampton Herald, Issue 6 1983. (verbatim aside from a comment made where I noted the pay scale graph) As it seems was your reaction, I too had my mouth and eyes wide open when I came upon this paper, though admittedly, it probably spoke to us in different ways.
I was reading an article that was printed in the Northampton Herald, a paper published in 1983. In the video, I read an article as written by Arthur Gingras and Howard Staph. I am fascinated with history of all kinds, and that fascination grows as the history becomes more obscure and local. I am hoping to either scan or read and record audio of every article in the issue I have, and am excited to share it. I only read the article, i can not take credit for writing it.
And again, thanks for your candid and thoughtful comment, that was great, I am pleased you took the time to start a conversation. You raise some challenging questions. Unfortunately, it is not a conversation I want to have at this time, as the questions seem to have been raised due to a wrong impression on your part.
But...Richard, there is one comment you made I feel compelled to respond to. You wrote, "I charge market rate rent and have never had a tenant accuse me of taking advantage of the market."
Never being accused does not by any means resolve that you are not. (which you may or may not be doing, only you really know that)
Apologies for that misunderstanding. I thought there was a break, and that the narrative switched from the words of the newspaper article author to you. A tad embarrassing.
But I take issue with your comment about market rate rent. First of all the fact that I charge "market rate" all but absolves me of any claim of overcharging, unless one had reason to believe landlords are in collusion. Second, it is a far greater leap, and a more nefarious assumption that just because no one has said it to me that it is likely to be true.
Commenting by HaloScan
