What Is Your Worth?

Here’s a fun fact! The average median income for Americans is approximately $57,000. Let that sink in for a moment. Basically, the average American worker is only worth a mere pittance that barely amounts to a liveable income. How is this acceptable to millions of people? The answer is simple. We define what we are worth. If you accept $10, $15, $20, etc., you are accepting that it is what you are worth. 

I absolutely understand that people have responsibilities and have to work for a living, but you should never be comfortable and accepting of devaluing your worth. You will never become financially independent while working to keep others financially independent. The system of economics dictates that this will never happen. 

Contrarily, this same economic system will sell you on the fantasy that if you work hard and tow the company line, paradise awaits. Devote 40 years of your life to some company, and if you’re lucky, you get a pension that you can barely live on and a replacement the day you leave. That’s a sad and wasted life, in my opinion. Yet, millions and millions of people are perfectly content on settling for crumbs. In the end, we all have choices to make. I would suggest taking a moment to really think about what your worth is to you. 

——————————————————————————————————
Most jobs in America are hourly based paying jobs. The objective for any company is to maximize profits, while cutting costs wherever is possible. The easiest place to start is with your labor costs. Now, let’s take someone who has immigrated from a country where they were making $400 a year. To someone in that situation, it may be unimaginable to be able to make $25,000 a year. Any of us know that you can barely live on such money, including the companies who partake in these very hiring practices. The company will sell the illusion that they are providing the American dream to these unfortunate souls, when in reality, they are exploiting these very same people. This leads to loss of jobs for people who can’t live on such ridiculous wages, due to the fact that the companies can get away with paying non-liveable wages to people who know no better than to be grateful for the scraps thrown their way.

Now, let’s break down that almighty caveat, which is getting a raise. The best thing you can hope for in these types of jobs is to receive a raise whenever it is time for your review. Take in mind that these generally occur every 6 months to a year. Obviously, the best outcome during these reviews is to receive a raise for all of the work, dedication, effort and time that you have devoted, thus far. The employer is going to cite anything they can to minimize the raise that is given. If you’re lucky, the company may say that they are very pleased with your work and reward you with a $1 raise. Many people would walk away feeling very good and happy that the company was so generous. Yet, the reality is that you have dedicated a year of your life to be rewarded with an extra $40 a week, before taxes. After taxes, it’s more like $28. In contrast, can you imagine how much profit the company has made off of the year’s worth of work that you provided?

At the end of the day, we are all responsible for our own actions and decisions. Only you can put a value on your time and effort. My intent with this article is to hopefully make people stop and reflect upon how much they value themselves. Our economic system is absolutely designed and fueled by companies exploiting their workers. It’s built on illusion and fallacy. Sadly, most people are more comfortable living in illusion and fallacy.