[Gargamel]

It will be a cold day in hell.....

This issue pisses me off to no end.

I was a critical care paramedic for 12 years, spanning various services from primary 911 to tertiary transport to airborne pediatric critical care to urban level 1 trauma ER tech.

I never once held a full time spot that paid more than $12.50 an hour. I would frequently hold multiple jobs just to make ends meet.

I left the job I loved 4 years ago because the money wasn't there.

I went into UNSKILLED LABOR IN A FACTORY making almost twice what I did as a medic. I walked in the door as a temporary employee for 6 months, and even then I made more than a medic, and my job was practically lifting boxes. It has progressed since then, significantly, where money really isn't a major concern for me. And the workload is considerably easier than as a medic. (Scheduled breaks, what the hell are those? I get to go home at my scheduled time? Well that's a novel idea!)

Lots of my friends are active medics, and my girlfriend is in school to do the same. She is going to start off at only a few bucks more than minimum, if that, when she starts working.

These people, myself included in the past, put their lives on the line every day for a bunch of unappreciative a-holes.

If these idiots who think flipping burgers should be a career, they stop and take a look at what others in their pay range are doing for the same amount.

If they don't like the pay, THEN GO GET A JOB THAT PAYS. I don't want to hear a damn thing about how there aren't any jobs that pay that much in their qualifications. Bull****, I'm living proof there is. They just don't want to do the leg work to find a place.

If they don't like the job, then they can go on strike. Oh wait, there's 30 other people willing to work that after school.

Fast food is NOT supposed to be a career. There are paths, like MCd's management path that do make a good career, and any employee can work their way up. But cashiers and cooks are NOT supposed to be Career. It's for part timers to make some extra cash.

So unless they start paying the EMS community $30-$40 an hour if these idiots get $15, I will be mightily inclined to start fire bombing fast food joints. And then I'll move to the Netherlands, they seem like they have their act together a bit more than we do.