A woman running to become a Pennsylvania State Representative has a lot to say about jobs that pay working people a low income. According to her, nobody wants to work for the meager pay that most places of employment are starting workers at. Why? It’s difficult for workers to survive the rising cost of everything in their lives.
Destiny Howard (@dezzy4prez) states, “If the choice is accept $15 per hour or be homeless, that is not consent,” pushing her belief that people deserve to be paid a livable wage. Commenters on one of her previous TikToks wrote that if you agreed to that wage when you accepted the job, it’s only fair. But Howard argues that that doesn’t equate to “consent” because Americans are pushed into that situation with the threat of homelessness.
According to Howard, $15 an hour will bring home about $2,000 a month after taxes. But then you have to consider things like rent, which can be $1,500 in Pennsylvania for a three-bedroom. On top of the high costs of utilities, food, and supporting a family, how are people supposed to survive when they’ve “surpassed” that amount?
Howard added that people often “have no choice” but to take low-paying jobs. Though this doesn’t mean they want it, or that this $15 an hour will work out for them. People will often tell others that they should go to college if they want to be paid more. Yet she claims the same people say, “If you didn’t want $40,000 worth of debt, you shouldn’t have gone to school.”
To conclude, Howard pointed out how people don’t understand consent at a fundamental level. She explains, “Consent is when people have an actual choice and they are happy about the decisions that they are making.” She says this is why it’s not consent to be practically forced into taking a job that doesn’t pay enough. It’s either that, or lose your home for some.
Commenters flocked to Howard’s video to share their opinions on this highly opinionated and divisive video. Many people agreed that they, too, have gone through what Howard mentions in her video and want to see justice in the future.
One commenter explained, “The response is always ‘go get a job’ but the jobs don’t pay enough to live. Then it’s ‘go get a better job’ and those jobs also don’t pay enough to live. Completely ignoring that there is no such thing as equal opportunity for high paying jobs.” Another commenter suggested, “I believe in universal basic income. Give people safety and it will drive so much advancement.”
Other commenters shared their own personal experiences for others to discuss. One woman shared, “I’ve been working for an allotted 1.5 years at this job. Found out the 3 newer hires make 23 an hour. I’m making 19 an hour. After rent and car payments, I have nothing left.” So many Americans are sharing that they are dealing with the same thing.
Time will tell if things go in a different direction, but one thing remains the same: Americans believe they are not making enough money.
