‘Survival Should Not Be an Aspiration’

Mistaking wealth for virtue is a cruelty of our time. By treating poverty as inevitable for parts of the population, and giving impoverished workers no means to rise out of it, America deprives not only them but society as a whole. Talented and hard-working people are denied the ability to contribute, and society is denied the benefits of their gifts. Poverty is not a character flaw. Poverty is not emblematic of intelligence. Poverty is lost potential, unheard contributions, silenced voices.

Working at McDonald’s is not indicative of all a person can accomplish, nor should it be a sentence to limited opportunity. The service industry is increasingly where Americans end up, as pre-recession jobs are replaced with part-time, poverty-wage work. If temporary jobs are a permanent problem, we need to improve their conditions — along with those of the white-collar jobs to which many aspire but cannot afford to take.

Sarah Kendzior, who previously wrote about unpaid internships at the U.N., has now tackled the McDonald’s McBudget issue, arguing that the American Dream is not survival. It’s a terrific piece.

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