8/20/2010

This Is the Way the World Ends: Not with a Bang, But at McDonald's:


Out in Northern California and Nevada this past Tuesday, McDonald's, the fast food giant known for burgers, fries, and a horrible clown that makes John Wayne Gacy look like Emmett Kelly, held job fairs for 1000 positions at 600 locations across the Far West. That works out to be less than two jobs per MickeyD's. According to reports, "thousands of job seekers" turned up, with lines reported in many locations.

The positions will mostly be for $8 an hour for 20 hours a week or less, with some having access to benefits. Those benefits are what attracted many.

Out in Sacramento, where that picture up there is from, 300 people showed up for the jobs at five locations; according to the owner, they were "people from (age) 16 to folks with families; people with four-year degrees to others with résumés two pages long."

This is where we are. This is our American present. While we fiddle away our precious time on nonsense like where a Muslim community center is built or whether the President worships one sky wizard or another, in Fresno, San Francisco, and Reno, there's lines out the door of people hoping for the opportunity to serve Big Macs.

By the way, the Rude Pundit's no economist, but he can figure out why the Golden Arches needs to hire more people: it's the only place most of us can afford to eat anymore. Supply and demand, man, supply and demand.

(Note: Three more chances to see the Rude Pundit's new play, Heterosexuals, at the New York International Fringe Theatre Festival:

Saturday, August 21 at 10 pm
Monday, August 23 at 8 pm
Wednesday, August 25 at 2 pm

All performances at The Cherry Pit at 155 Bank St.)