After Hours

Well I am back from a mini-vacation from Myrtle Beach, SC.   I love that area but REALLY miss how it looked many years ago when it was a small town and had only one main road - Kings highway.

Anyway, Mrs SP and I went with two other couples and visited broadway on the beach and other places.  I visited "The Gay Dolphin" (the name meant something else when it was built) which is a three story gift shop everyone should visit at least once.

During my vacation I was surprised at the number of Russian students who were working menial labor jobs throughout Myrtle Beach.   I bought an ice cream cone on the beach from a Russian girl pushing a cart,  I was waited on at "Johnny Rockets" by a Russian Girl,  I had my purchases at a gift shop rung up at a store by another Russian.

Now before everyone gets the idea that we are being invaded, these were all Russian students trying to earn some money.   I managed to speak with one who spoke very good english who informed me the Russian students hit the East Coast during this time to earn money for school.  I mentioned that I must be oblivious because I never noticed this before but was informed this year a higher percentage than normal came to Myrtle Beach.

 I couldn't help think how ironic that these RUSSIAN kids came to a small Southern Beach to take menial jobs such as pushing an ice cream cart all day on a hot beach instead of returning to their native Russia!   We have a lot to be grateful for folks.

This week I visited a MFG site to troubleshoot a software issue,  as I was taking a break in the break room I overheard some factory workers grumbling about their jobs.   They were complaining about how the supervisor was always on them to keep working and why did he think he had the right to do that (I was tempted to answer "Because he's the boss!" but kept my mouth shut) and how those darn Mexicans were taking all the jobs.   I realized that the speaker said MEXICAN but I couldn't help but think how the speaker was sitting in an air conditioned room, on break from a job that supplied health benefits and a 401K, while somewhere out there a Russian student was pushing an ice cream cart on hot sand hoping to make enough money to go back to school.   Did that girl take a job he wanted?

What steams me up is this feeling of ENTITLEMENT that a lot of workers have.   I have had conversations with people who seem to think they are paid simply to show up at work and grace the company with their presence!   They seem to get upset when they are actually told to do something!
Meanwhile there are Mexicans standing on the corner willing to dig ditches and do anything for $5 an hour!  

A few years back I visited a US plant that produced electronics per engineering specifications.   They had worked with a major electronics firm for years but had run into problems.   The people who put together the lines for the firm kept fighting with the engineers who designed the products.  They would tell them "it won't work that way!" and the firm would have to fly engineers in to prove their concept and costs would run up.   So, the firm eventually got tired of this and gave a major contract to a MEXICAN plant as a warning.   The Mexicans did EXACTLY what they were told...NO arguments!

I hope the American worker wakes up are they are going to be in trouble in the near future,  for too long the US has coasted on the laurels of the work ethic of generations past who made this country great.   The US worker is in danger of becoming fat and lazy while turning out sub-standard products which will not be wanted by anyone, for instance a large Chevy Surburban which just went through it's second starter and will be replaced by a foreign SUV that will not spend so much time at the mechanics.