As if there was one…

The problem with the current state of the job market and housing crises (Yes, Plural.) is that employers and landlords are somehow empowered by it. “If you don’t like it I can find twenty other people who will!” they think smugly to themselves. Unfortunately for them, once the tangled ball of yarn that is this economic crisis is unraveled, and once jobs become more plentiful and people become more confident in buying houses again, their infinitesimal kingdoms will crumble as we the People will once again have the power of choice.

I will give you one example. The apartment complex that I live in provides our heat which is included in the rent. Recently they issued a memo stating the following: “Now that the winter heating season has started, anyone found with a window open will be fined $50 per occurrence. There will be no exceptions. If you are too warm, call Bob Smith at ***-***-****. ”
(That is actually his name, not a generic representational alias to protect the innocent.) (It is also crucial information that the good Mr. Smith is about as available for chit chat as the Pope, and intercedes for your benefit as often as the federal government does for your income tax returns.)

It is important to note that we live on the 3rd and top floor of said apartment building. Heat rises. So when someone on the 1st floor uses their oven, we get all of that heat. When someone on the 2nd floor uses the stove, we get all of that heat as well. You get the idea. All night my wife and I swelter in temperatures upwards of 80°f. We have turned down our thermostat and it is still 80°f. Turning on our A/C fan is the only thing that provides some relief, save opening a window, which all of a sudden is against the rules! If my wife and I had a choice, we would prefer to pay for our heat and have some semblance of control over the temperature in our own apartment.

It goes without saying that $50 for an instance of an open window is highway robbery when taken into account that heat is included in the rent, which in and of itself is quite substantial. If my wife and I had opened our window once a week to let out the smoke of a burnt hot dog or to get a little fresh air on a warmer day, our rent would increase by $200 a month. And that’s just for one occurrence a week.

Employers also seem to throw caution to the wind when it comes to their employees. We endure insult upon injury and still manage to do our jobs with a smile on our face. We can’t quit before we find another job, (which won’t happen) and we are too scared to complain because we fear we could be replaced faster than it would take our boss to say the words “you’re fired.” And most of us would be correct in those fears.

Join me in praying for a quick resolution to this so-called “recession” and for justice to be served upon those who take advantage of the world’s misfortune.