Income Inequality In The US, A Sense Of Entitlement?

I was scrolling through Facebook today and came across this screenshot. 

I have to admit, I felt somewhat enraged when I read this. First of all, the final price for a small cup of coffee with a plain donut listed above- the price is inflated. I had to search for the price and this is what I found-Dunkin Donuts Menu: Combos Prices

2 Donuts (Brownie Batter or Cookie Dough) .... $3.29

So, for a medium coffee and 2 specialties donuts, total price excluding taxes is 3.29. Whoever wrote the original text above didn't do any price checking, obviously. I realize they did not list 'Dunkin' donuts but instead, called it "Dunks," which led me to Dunkin Donuts menu prices as one example. I looked up Starbucks as well and their prices were slightly higher but did not come close to $13.48. Average price for a cup of coffee and a donut was under 5.00 without taxes. I realize the text above is not an article but it's still misleading on purpose. I was already feeling a bit peeved as I read the text above and the bogus price at the end of it sealed the deal for me. 

Whoever authored the text which has gone viral, takes issue with those who are in need of making more money per hour. As I read the text I was able to agree the careers listed are worthy of good pay, and they do work hard. What the author of the text left out are there are many professions which don't include College degrees yet, these people put themselves at risk and work long, hard hours for little pay. 

When I think of income inequality within the US many professions come to mind. I used to be a Nurses Aide and we did all the dirty work. I'm not trying to say that everything a Nurses Aide does is 'dirty work,' but it's a very physically demanding and your on your feet giving bed baths, putting patients on bedpans, cleaning their privates after they are done on a bedpan, getting them out of bed after surgeries to mobilize, taking temperatures, cleaning bedpans, feeding patients, measuring urine output, turning patients, answering call bells which tend to go off about every 5 minutes or so during your 8 or 10 hour shift, assisting nursing in any manner that is required, changing patient's clothing if it's soiled and their bedding too (many times you must do this while the patient is in the bed because they are immobile). There are many other job duties that go along with being a Nurses Aide and many times the only break an Aide gets is 30 minutes for lunch or dinner- in other words, they are running circles practically their entire shift.  

Mean hourly wage for Nurses Aides in Major Metropolitan Areas:

I live in a rural area and Nurses Aides generally are paid a  wage of approximately $10.00 per hour. Certified Nurses Aides on average make about 1.00/hour more. Most Aides are Certified today. A Nurses Aide's yearly income would be considered poverty level. 

Utilizing a Nurses Aide's income is one example of many who I feel are underpaid in the US.  There are many employees whose occupations are complex, physically demanding, dangerous and on the list goes who are in my personal opinion, underpaid. I'm sure anyone reading this article could list at least one occupation which employs workers who are under-compensated.  Not everyone is 'College- bound material' but that doesn't make what they do any less relevant than those with College Degrees. 

My blood pressure began to rise when I also read "I'll cry poor me and jump on the mass health/snap benefit express." As some of you know who've followed me on Linkedin, I have a sister who is mentally ill. She has psychosis which she will never be free of totally, her anxiety is disabling and she's put on a lot of weight because of her illness and the medications in particular. So, not only does she have a debilitating mental illness, she developed health issues which seem to be medication related.  My sister would love to work and misses it. She was a productive member of Society until she became ill.  She does receive benefits from the SSI. Her monthly income is approximately 1200.00/month. She also has a spend down for her medical insurance and must pay 425.00 out of pocket each month before Insurance will pay for any treatment(s) or medications. Do the numbers, she's living below poverty level. She never complains. Yet we have people who have never been in the shoes of another who is ill and living 'off the system,' as people have classified those on SSI?! Please explain why you feel people receiving benefits from the Government (including many of our VETS), are living on easy street? Please keep in mind many people who receive benefits have also paid into the system for years. I'm aware of second and third generation Welfare recipients and that is part of the problem within the US. Sadly, many of these people have no clue how to break free because that's the only life they've known. We need programs for people like this that are mandatory so they can become productive members of society- a topic for another blog.

It appears there are a few issues here

There are people with College degrees who feel entitled to earn more than those without College degrees. There are others who feel the Government should not help those who are disabled. I understand that some people take advantage of the system. The question is- how does anyone honestly know who's taking advantage of the system if you have not walked a mile in their shoes? Do I feel all jobs should pay a minimum wage of $15.00 per hour, NO?!  The big question is this- how do we as a Society define who makes higher wages versus those who don't work hard enough (or aren't smart enough) as some people would like to define others when it comes to income gaps? Maybe a great incentive would be for employers to receive a larger tax break if they raise their hourly rate. I don't have any answers but I do know there is a lot of differing views when it comes to wages in this country. 

Income disparities have become so pronounced that America’s top 10 percent now average nearly nine times as much income as the bottom 90 percent. Americans in the top 1 percent tower stunningly higher. They average over 38 times more income than the bottom 90 percent. But that gap pales in comparison to the divide between the nation’s top 0.1 percent and everyone else. Americans at this lofty level are taking in over 184 times the income of the bottom 90 percent.  

I would love to see our Society thinking of others as much as they think of their own needs. I realize there are people who are able to do this but there are just as many who are incapable for whatever reasons. I would love to see the income gap in America decrease. These are topics that many of us should be talking about. I always remind myself of where I came from- which was lower middle class and where I am now. I also remind myself that nothing is promised to us in this life and one day we could become disabled as one example, or lose our job and find ourselves in the shoes of those many despise.  

What are your thoughts? I would love to hear people discuss answers or ideas instead of disparaging others more. 

Sources: http://inequality.org/income-inequality/

                 http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes311014.htm

                 http://hackthemenu.com/starbucks/menu-prices/

 Theodore Rosevelt Photo/Quote provided by: Google Images & www.izquotes.com