Cracker Jack, quick post

I hardly ever see Cracker Jacks anymore. I bought some two days ago. Cracker Jack was always known for having a prize in each box. They stopped having prizes and began giving jokes out. I guess they stopped that too. My prize was a card that said the Seattle Mariners won 116 games in 2001. Why would any kid buy Cracker Jack for that prize? I should also point out there were very few nuts. The picture on the bag shows molasses coated popcorn with half and whole peanuts, I did not find even a half a peanut in my whole bag. This is common in industry now. Airlines used to serve salads, they had one olive per salad and decided to stop putting olives in the salad to save money, eventually they only sold sandwiches and gave no salads to most passengers.

Business talks about "value added" activities. I have not seen value added to any product in the last 30 years. The reality in most businesses is how do they increase profits, not value. The best way to increase profits is to decrease the value of what people get while convincing them they are getting the same amount for the same price or slightly more.

When I was a kid I made money shining shoes, delivering newspapers, working at an amusement park, selling greeting cards,  stuffing newspapers (putting the various sections together so they could be delivered, bussing tables at a restaurant (clearing them after people finished their meal) and even selling lighting at a store. Those jobs are gone, I had those jobs between 11 and 18 years old. By the time I graduated college I added selling home supplies (concrete, wood and mixing paint), cabinet maker, waiter, gas station attendant and at least a couple of others things I cannot remember. I held at least 11 jobs by the time I graduated college. By the time I entered law school, I already knew what hard work was and what it meant to take a job seriously.

I think my readers tend to be older and ask them to consider what opportunities exist for young people to get a job and learn to provide for themselves or about the value of a dollar or their efforts. Our experience is not theirs. Young people today are taking jobs as unpaid interns if they have the resources to on the hope of networking and creating a resume. People with no college degree don't have much better opportunities, they get to work for minimum wage at a fast food restaurant or WalMart, those are the biggest employers in the country, not auto manufacturers or aerospace or even tech companies. We don't need children working anymore, we have enough workers, more than enough to fill the jobs we have.

We don't need both parents working anymore, two incomes with no children while getting by is the new American dream. That is the best that young people can hope for and there is no toy in the box of Cracker Jacks anymore.