Specifically, it got me to thinking about Montana politicians and their need for second jobs.
I know it’s hard out there. I struggle everyday, and I’m currently looking for a third job (does being a parent count as a job?). Anyways, it’s tough, making ends-meat in the Treasure State, and that’s why I started thinking about some second jobs I could take if I were, say, the Governor or maybe a high-ranking Senator. Alas, while $108,167 a year and $175,000 a year are large sums, they just might not be enough to get through these lean, recession-era times.
Thankfully 4.9% of Americans have a second job, while in Montana that’s a bit higher – 10%, or 48,000 workers in the year 2000 alone. We both know that’s gone up. Montanans have second jobs, and if you were a governor or a senator, I’m sure you could easily get one of these five.
Snow Plow Operator
And to have the extra work ethic to hit those sidewalks on a Sunday? Gosh, you might run into a lost tourist or old person wandering around lost in dementia – what better way to introduce yourself and make a good impression. Plus it’s fun riding those things around!
Substitute Teacher
Since we know young people get about 99.99% of their political beliefs from parents, wouldn’t it be a good idea to send the little ones home with something to report on? Certainly having the governor or senator visit the school will elicit a little more than a “nothing” before they’re shunted off to homework, er…video games and TV hour(s). Well, maybe not.
Gas Station Attendant
Bantering with voters is a good thing, and when you do it for 8-hours at a stretch, 5-days straight…damn, you might be ready for a career change. Because let’s face it, regular people aren’t going to be bowled over by plaques on the wall or how many fundraisers you attended. They will look at your shoes and notice how you smell, and that shit means a lot. In other words, you can’t fool them because they’ve got nothing to gain by kissing your ass. Yes, this would be a great job for our governor or senator.
Bagger
So let’s get our “most important” representatives into that key position and really see what they’re made of. A good 5 o’clock rush at a Safeway or Albertson’s or hell, even a Walmart…though I think that last one might be a bit much as they’d have to work the register and do the bagging, effectively doing two jobs for one pay. That’s asking a bit much of someone’s dignity, don’t you think? No, let’s start them off slow and see how things turn out. Because if you get home and those bananas are smashed and the eggs are broken, how can you expect your finances to be any different?
Old Job
Alas, I’m not sure many can go back to where they started after they’ve been to such heights, and that’s why you rarely see former politicians re-enter reality.
I suppose what I’m really crying for help here on is how absurd it is to have such high-paid individuals working for you. We know they’re not working for us – people struggling and working hard and trying like hell to raise our family and not see them move away…not see us move away.
That doesn’t concern them – enriching their friends enough so they can permanently be at that high-paid level, that’s what concerns them. Both 2016 and 2018 are coming up, and instead of girding themselves against the forces that will destroy them with the armor that will save them best (Montanans), they seek out those forces of destruction and hurl them against us, saving their own skin in the process.
We used to have a word for that – betrayal, but now we just call it business as usual. It’s a real shame it’s come to that, and it’s a real shame it’s allowed to continue.