Just Because You Graduate Doesn’t Mean You’re Not Wal-mart Material
Usually by this time, college students have given the working world a try. Scooping ice cream, stocking shelves, cashing people out; you all know what I’m talking about. Those minimum wage jobs that most of us think of as an extra; a way to get some spending money. If we quit, maybe we don’t buy quite as much beer, but our housing, tuition, and eating habits won’t change much. But there’s one big difference between us and the mother of two who runs the cash register next to ours. She is trying to survive on those wages, and use them for basic necessities like food, medical care when her children are sick, and the ability to live in an apartment rather than a van. But she isn’t succeeding.
For the third year in a row, the number of Americans under the poverty line has increased, according to recent figures from the Census Bureau, partially because the minimum wage hasn’t been raised in seven years. According to the Community Service Society of New York, close to 35 percent of all Americans are having problems providing the basics for their family. Since President Bush took office, 1.6 million private sector (non-government) jobs have been lost, and the jobs that are being created pay 27 percent less than declining industries.
So what does this have to do with you? Well, there are two main points. First, as a human being, the growing poverty in our country should be distressing to all of us. “This administration today, here and now, declares unconditional war on poverty in America,” said Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. Forty years later, we have given up that fight and the results are being felt across the nation. Less affordable housing, jobs that don’t pay a living wage, and lack of health care for millions of Americans affects everyone, not just the ones who are struggling to make ends meet.
Secondly, if the total number of jobs is decreasing and the jobs that are being created do not require a college education, that means that we are not special, and not guaranteed a job when we graduate. Maybe we aren’t at the bottom of the barrel, but we certainly aren’t immune to Wal-mart and the local grocery store. Dr. James Holmes, an economics professor here at UB agrees. “A college degree, even if it is a Ph.D., is never a guarantee of a job,” said Holmes.
According to Dr. Michael Lichter, a sociology professor at UB, “the job market today is so-so” for college graduates. “Since the working age population has continued to grow since 2000, you can bet that the competition for many jobs will be stiff,” said Lichter.
Still not convinced? Then check out our cover story this week, an interview with nationally bestselling author Barbara Ehrenreich. In her book Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, Ehrenreich moved to various cities for a month at a time and tried to get a job and housing without the help of any friends or professional connections. The experiment only reinforced her personal belief that our country is in a dangerous position economically and socially when a third of our population is teetering on the economic edge like this. And she calls the job market for us college grads “not too promising.”
So be careful what you do with your years at UB, and don’t let graduation take you by surprise. With a declining job market and cost of housing on the rise, if you’re not proactive, it doesn’t take a huge stretch of the imagination to find yourself living at home and working at the local Wal-mart after graduation.
Good luck,
Jenny Rose
Senior Editor/Business Manager
