Progression in jobs is the key to changing this place. You start at the bottom, and work your way up. Sorry but people trying to make a living on Mc Donalds wages, put the brakes on their progression train a long time ago! hard times or not, ANYONE can make themselves better if they try. Take a damn good look at the OLDER (see over 20) people working those jobs. you graduate highschool at 16/17. thats 4 years to get the fuck out of a Mc Donalds uniform. Hell even if you dont complete college, you can rack up experience and get an entry level career if you tried. Those jobs are there to provide stepping stones for people willing to travel over them. They are and were NOT intended to provide a healthy living.
And its the people who rush through college, get a diploma paid for by the government (10 trillion in student loans this year alone) who think they DIVERSE a position midway up the barrel becasue of it. Then whey they “Job market is soooo hard to find a job with my new fancy masters in business administration”, they quit looking and give up becasue most are un-willing to settle for an entry level job they think their diploma says they are over-qualified for.
ONCE AGAIN, it all boils down to taking pride in your work and following the natural progression up the food chain of hard work = valuable return.