Don't be sorry!! You speak for many of us! I have this weird existence with one foot in well paid work and the other in trying to keep a small and important business in the black, and paying my wonderful peops as much as we can afford. I feel guilty so often about my paid job, but it is helping us to recover from losing a LOT of money on our business, from owning a seismically compromised apartment, from a sick husband unable to work himself any more. The whiny hypocrisy of so many businesses means I refuse to engage with any businessy type organisations or networking, having learned that my mouth has a mind of its own and if there's one thing worse than a fat woman in her 50s existing at all, it's that she has opinions and wants to share them with you.
Bah. I think there are more of us than there are of them.
"Boss babe" is just another gross way of saying, women joining the patriarchy but make it cute in case the dudes are a bit threatened. You never hear "boss hot dude" because being a boss isnt new or impressive for men. We should be normalising being the boss (where we are the boss) instead of making it something cute and novel. And the whole point of being in a 'boss' position is to elevate and facilitate the growth of those coming in - more like, collective babe. Except without the babe. Also, another thought, you don't get to be at the top of a multi-million dollar private sector/commercial gig without exploiting other people. No one has 'earned' that, despite what they might think. I don't think any of these thoughts are new or interesting, I just felt like I needed to say it as I continue to not be a babe in my workplace.
You're right 'on the money' with that rant! I don't understand the mindset of businesses that don't care about their people. I work for a not-for-profit and we certainly aren't in it for the money, but you do need it to live on and it's good to be able to acknowledge the quality of your people with a little extra. A while ago we had a good year and decided to give everyone a pay increase of $1 an hour. The accountant on the board couldn't fathom the reasoning. Why not a percentage? Because then the people at the top keep getting incrementally more than the people at the bottom. Yes! He said. No! We said. We won.
I love this, Emily. I am a complete socialist. I think there should not only be a wealth tax but an actual cap on wealth. Apparently someone on minimum wage would have to work approximately 2.8million years to earn what Jeff Bezos is worth. That is absolutely obscene.
And I will never forget that horrible opinion piece John Key had published near the start of the pandemic, where he talked of the "brave men and women" who had...no, not health workers or essential workers...but who had started businesses!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well deserved rant. You kind of hope business will get the idea that well paid employees are more productive because they’re less stressed about making ends meet but they never do.
May 16, 2022·edited May 16, 2022Liked by Emily Writes
You’re absolutely right! I can’t believe how so many business owners cry poverty whilst driving sports cars and living in large designer homes. They say they’ve worked hard for it and deserve it but pay their workers a pittance without a pang of remorse.
Its all we hear in the media though as it seems those at the bottom of the ladder have basically no voice and sadly, I don’t think they’d know what say or how to say it, if they did. That’s why they need people like you who will use your well-earned platform to get it out there. Thanks hun.
Maybe we need an alien:predator-type hybrid of communism and capitalism? Both with gnarly teeth and acid for blood but with just a little more empathy.
Gosh I love your rants, and so much agree/relate!!! Why do business people get to “have a business” and cry losses because of Covid and lockdowns etc but are not made to pay their employees fairly and dignifiedly (?) and why doesn’t the media use the word Capitalism as the political insult it is, but socialism and communism get bandied around to illustrate tyranny.
And yes, capybaras ♥️♥️♥️ I’m Argentina we call them Carpinchos and are a symbol of social uprising ♥️♥️♥️
I'm 67 and ashamed of my often smug and entitled generation. We benefitted from free healthcare, education and could find beautiful, unspoilt countryside (having not yet fully exploited and destroyed our environment) Capitalism is a destructive force. I wince every time I hear some miserable (usually bloke) complaining about wage costs. Agree with those that say 'the older I get the angrier I get'
Never apologise! Unless you've said something racist and sexist, and then you only need to apologise for your word choice, not the twisted ugliness inside you that made you think they might have been okay to say. Oops, sorry, I'm still angry about that thing from two weeks ago.
But seriously, never apologise for your rants! Your rants are perfection, and true, and right. The world needs more of us to have these rants, loudly and in public, because we'll never have the money to influence the broken systems behind these problems, all we have is our collective voices.
Thanks for this, love a good rant, especially when I agree so vehemently!
I'm deeply worried about the polarisation of our politics - collectivism v individualism. Reading about the climate package today I'm hopeful but I also can't help hearing the oppositional voice. What's inspiring to me is also, to many others, happy clappy bullshit.
Leaves me wondering how this cultural gap can be bridged. Can we stay angry without pushing away the people whose minds we need to change?
The last thing you should apologise for, since you have just used your superpower to put what needed saying more compactly and cogently than anything else I’ve ever read. Thank you for nailing it, Emily!
And on a lighter note, thank you for the capybara comfort - for itself and for showing me that my vintage map of the pointy end of Manahattan is actually a closeup of a whiskery capybara face. It hangs opposite the bed and of course I can’t unsee it now….
Thank you for sharing Emily! Keep repeating please!! And can I possibly have another serving of capybara memes?? This has made my day!!!
On a brighter note, a couple of years ago my husband gifted us a trip to Wgtn zoo and we got to go into the enclosure and give the capybara some scritches. Best day ever!!!
Keep the rants coming!
If businesses cannot afford to pay a living wage, then it’s not really a viable business. They need to look at redesigning their business model.
Don't be sorry!! You speak for many of us! I have this weird existence with one foot in well paid work and the other in trying to keep a small and important business in the black, and paying my wonderful peops as much as we can afford. I feel guilty so often about my paid job, but it is helping us to recover from losing a LOT of money on our business, from owning a seismically compromised apartment, from a sick husband unable to work himself any more. The whiny hypocrisy of so many businesses means I refuse to engage with any businessy type organisations or networking, having learned that my mouth has a mind of its own and if there's one thing worse than a fat woman in her 50s existing at all, it's that she has opinions and wants to share them with you.
Bah. I think there are more of us than there are of them.
"Boss babe" is just another gross way of saying, women joining the patriarchy but make it cute in case the dudes are a bit threatened. You never hear "boss hot dude" because being a boss isnt new or impressive for men. We should be normalising being the boss (where we are the boss) instead of making it something cute and novel. And the whole point of being in a 'boss' position is to elevate and facilitate the growth of those coming in - more like, collective babe. Except without the babe. Also, another thought, you don't get to be at the top of a multi-million dollar private sector/commercial gig without exploiting other people. No one has 'earned' that, despite what they might think. I don't think any of these thoughts are new or interesting, I just felt like I needed to say it as I continue to not be a babe in my workplace.
You're right 'on the money' with that rant! I don't understand the mindset of businesses that don't care about their people. I work for a not-for-profit and we certainly aren't in it for the money, but you do need it to live on and it's good to be able to acknowledge the quality of your people with a little extra. A while ago we had a good year and decided to give everyone a pay increase of $1 an hour. The accountant on the board couldn't fathom the reasoning. Why not a percentage? Because then the people at the top keep getting incrementally more than the people at the bottom. Yes! He said. No! We said. We won.
I love this, Emily. I am a complete socialist. I think there should not only be a wealth tax but an actual cap on wealth. Apparently someone on minimum wage would have to work approximately 2.8million years to earn what Jeff Bezos is worth. That is absolutely obscene.
And I will never forget that horrible opinion piece John Key had published near the start of the pandemic, where he talked of the "brave men and women" who had...no, not health workers or essential workers...but who had started businesses!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well deserved rant. You kind of hope business will get the idea that well paid employees are more productive because they’re less stressed about making ends meet but they never do.
You’re absolutely right! I can’t believe how so many business owners cry poverty whilst driving sports cars and living in large designer homes. They say they’ve worked hard for it and deserve it but pay their workers a pittance without a pang of remorse.
Its all we hear in the media though as it seems those at the bottom of the ladder have basically no voice and sadly, I don’t think they’d know what say or how to say it, if they did. That’s why they need people like you who will use your well-earned platform to get it out there. Thanks hun.
Maybe we need an alien:predator-type hybrid of communism and capitalism? Both with gnarly teeth and acid for blood but with just a little more empathy.
Gosh I love your rants, and so much agree/relate!!! Why do business people get to “have a business” and cry losses because of Covid and lockdowns etc but are not made to pay their employees fairly and dignifiedly (?) and why doesn’t the media use the word Capitalism as the political insult it is, but socialism and communism get bandied around to illustrate tyranny.
And yes, capybaras ♥️♥️♥️ I’m Argentina we call them Carpinchos and are a symbol of social uprising ♥️♥️♥️
I'm 67 and ashamed of my often smug and entitled generation. We benefitted from free healthcare, education and could find beautiful, unspoilt countryside (having not yet fully exploited and destroyed our environment) Capitalism is a destructive force. I wince every time I hear some miserable (usually bloke) complaining about wage costs. Agree with those that say 'the older I get the angrier I get'
Here for all the anti capitalist rants! Absolutely agree with everything you've said.
Never apologise! Unless you've said something racist and sexist, and then you only need to apologise for your word choice, not the twisted ugliness inside you that made you think they might have been okay to say. Oops, sorry, I'm still angry about that thing from two weeks ago.
But seriously, never apologise for your rants! Your rants are perfection, and true, and right. The world needs more of us to have these rants, loudly and in public, because we'll never have the money to influence the broken systems behind these problems, all we have is our collective voices.
Yes! You do so well to put these thoughts I share into words - thank you so much for that!
Thanks for this, love a good rant, especially when I agree so vehemently!
I'm deeply worried about the polarisation of our politics - collectivism v individualism. Reading about the climate package today I'm hopeful but I also can't help hearing the oppositional voice. What's inspiring to me is also, to many others, happy clappy bullshit.
Leaves me wondering how this cultural gap can be bridged. Can we stay angry without pushing away the people whose minds we need to change?
The last thing you should apologise for, since you have just used your superpower to put what needed saying more compactly and cogently than anything else I’ve ever read. Thank you for nailing it, Emily!
And on a lighter note, thank you for the capybara comfort - for itself and for showing me that my vintage map of the pointy end of Manahattan is actually a closeup of a whiskery capybara face. It hangs opposite the bed and of course I can’t unsee it now….
Yes yes yes to all of this.
Thank you for sharing Emily! Keep repeating please!! And can I possibly have another serving of capybara memes?? This has made my day!!!
On a brighter note, a couple of years ago my husband gifted us a trip to Wgtn zoo and we got to go into the enclosure and give the capybara some scritches. Best day ever!!!