Wed
Aug 9 2006
10:42 am
We can't make it here any more
By: Thomas Nephew

James McMurtry:There’s a Vietnam Vet with a cardboard sign
Sitting there by the left turn line
Flag on his wheelchair flapping in the breeze
One leg missing and both hands free
No one’s paying much mind to him
The V.A. budget’s just stretched so thin
And now there’s more coming back from the Mideast war
We can’t make it here anymore   [...]

The bar’s still open but man it’s slow
The tip jar’s light and the register’s low
The bartender don’t have much to say
The regular crowd gets thinner each day
Some have maxed out all their credit cards
Some are working two jobs and living in cars
Minimum wage won’t pay for a roof, won’t pay for a drink
If you gotta have proof just try it yourself Mr. CEO
See how far $5.15 an hour will go
Take a part time job at one your stores
Bet you can’t make it here anymore  [...]

Now I’m stocking shirts in the Wal-Mart store
Just like the ones we made before
‘ Cept this one came from Singapore
I guess we can’t make it here anymore...

That last part doesn't turn into "hate the foreigners," by the way. Peter Anderson video and James McMurtry lyrics via riggsveda.  Really good music, too. 

I think it ties in pretty well with Andy Axel's post on Monday about Bredesen's Wal-Mart job training initiative, and one of mine about Wal-Mart's Monday announcement that they're freezing the pay level for long term employees (Wal-Mart: No careers here).  No wonder Wal-Mart stays on top; they get the most help, and pay the worst.  An economic model for all to admire.

Topics:
Eleanor A's picture

Gak

Submitted by Eleanor A on Wed, 2006/08/09 - 2:00pm.

I simply can't believe anyone would promote the idea of Wal-Mart as a career path, except to those with limited educational opportunities who have literally no other options.

Anyone remember the old days? A chicken in every pot? The concept of one's kids doing better than they did? It's so sad that today's young people are being told they have to aim low. Unfortunately, until we do something about the 50% graduation rate in Tennessee high schools, that's going to be the reality.

Andy Axel's picture

"The Last Roads Left"

Submitted by Andy Axel on Wed, 2006/08/09 - 2:38pm.

I simply can't believe anyone would promote the idea of Wal-Mart as a career path, except to those with limited educational opportunities who have literally no other options.

Don't forget the Armed Services. Thanks to a combination of record low recruitment levels and the liberalization of entry requirements, that option is wider open now than ever.

Of course, there was a time that the GI Bill and Vets benefits meant something, too. Now, if you're a 40-something inactive Reservist, you stand a good chance of having your ass stop-lossed and shipped out. One day, punching keys at your day job; the next day, dodging Katyushas and bomb shrapnel. The American Dream.

____________________________

"winkin' at my peers," quotin' Thurston.

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