Andy Loves His Job

(CBS) 


The following is a weekly 60 Minutes commentary by CBS News correspondent Andy Rooney.

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It's a fiction, unsupported by fact that we work to eat. Most of us work because work gives us more satisfaction than anything else we do. Eating is good, sleeping is good and playing is good but work is best. My work is writing and I'm happiest when I'm doing that.

There have been statistics I've read recently that indicate that more than ten million Americans are out of work. Well, I'm, suspicious of that figure. The fact is there's a lot more work that needs to be done than there are people who want to do it. If someone doesn't have a job, it probably isn't because there are no jobs that need doing. It's more likely to be because the jobs available aren't the kind of work a lot of unemployed people want to do.

I had several jobs years ago that were hard work and all I looked forward to was lunch and the five o'clock whistle so I could stop working and go home but I didn't hate work. Sometimes hard work felt better than sitting here, writing feels.

I worked in a paper mill for several summers when I was in college and to give you some idea of how long ago that was, at the end of a week's work, I stood in line to collect my pay and went home with $18.00, which was 45 cents an hour. I make more than twice as much as that now but whatever it is, I probably don't enjoy it anymore. I never see the money I make the way I used to see that $18 in cash either.

The highest minimum wage is in the state of Washington - $8.07 an hour. The lowest is in Kansas where some companies pay as little as $2.65 an hour.

The minimum wage here in New York State is $7.15 an hour but I paid 35 cents for an apple this morning.

Writing is pretty special work - or I like to think it is anyway. The trouble with writing is you're always working. I hate myself for it but I'll be at a party and I'll hear someone express an interesting idea and I'll think to myself "Gee I could use that."

You have to have an ego if you're a writer too - it's egotistical to think that anyone else cares what you think and put down on paper. I have an ego but it's under control. I usually know when what I write isn't any good.

I try to avoid that but I'm not always successful.


Written by Andy Rooney

[Jredman72]

Hi Mr.Rooney I have to agree with you.Well this has started for quite a few years now.We as Americans are spoiled,materialistic and greedy.I am a 35 year old man who works in the Radio Broadcasting Industry and I am going to get a new job in the industry just a little about minimum wage working about 30 hours a week and I will pickup a second job part-time probarly at Mcdonald's.If we as citizens would just live a more simple life,we wouldn't have these huge probelms,don't blame it all on the Bush administration or the Government...but instead blame yourself's.Do you really need cable..no!! (Listen to the Radio instead,it's free)....computer and internet...no! (Go to your public library and use the internet for free,like I do !!)....Phone at home (Why ??..if you have a cellphone)..get the minimum plan for your cellphone.Car payments (No need for this,but again were are spoiled and greedy..just get yourself a nice,used cheap car)..Don't eay out..(eat at home,plus it's healthier)..If you have decent clothes why do you really need new clothes ? Stop using credit cards,ripping up and never use them ever again !!...Buying big homes..for what to impress your friends..get a nice priced apartment with free heat and water.These are just a few points..if we would follow these guidelines there would less problems..So basically I have sympathy whatsoever if someone is losing their home,car,credit card debt,etc,etc,etc..You put yourself in that situation.Take a close look in the mirror,you have nobody to blame not the Government or Bush,Mr.Rooney..your the only one to blame.

[minnesotan5]

I am ashamed of you Andy:

I challenge you or a staff member to come to Minnesota and live here for three months with only $1000 dollars in your pocket. Then try to find a job that pay''s no more than $8.00 an hour.

Then do a follow up story which would be about your experience in Minnesota and how hard it might be to find a job, affordable housing and being able to afford food and transportation.

Before the story airs, show it to the The Senate, Congress, our Next President and most importantly the CEO''s who seem to care less when people are layed off while they continue to earn millions.

Sincerely

John Mistretta
Maplewood, Minnesota

[minnesotan5]

I am ashamed of you Andy:

I challenge you or a member of your staff to come to Minnesota and live here for three months. You or your staff must agree that you can only make $8 an hour or less but nothing more.

When and if you decide to take me up on this challenge (which would be a very interesting follow up story,) the person coming to Minnesota can only have $1000 in his or her pocket.

Why don''t you do a story on what it might be like to only earn $8.00 an hour or less in todays world with no healthcare and little cash on hand.

Even though a person can say they earn $8.00 an hour, keep in mind that when payday comes along,the actual cash a person receives is less than $8.00 due to taxes being withheld along with possible other deductions.

Show the story to congress and to the senate as well as our next President. Then and only then will Washington understand what the American People are really going through in today''s world.

The name of your story? Call it "America the Beautiful"

Sincerely

John Mistretta
St Paul Minnesota

[hypnotoad72]

I agree with you, Andy. There are jobs out there, only they''''re not the jobs people want to do or are use to doing. I find people get stuck in a rut and think they can only do one type of work. When my husband lost his job he took it as an opportunity to try new diverse opportunities, and found a job he absolutely loves. Sometimes when the jobs are hard to find you have to take lower paying jobs, or jobs you never even considered just to make ends meet. Deal with it. That''''s why it''''s called a recession.

Besides everyone knows this is just your personal opinion.

Posted by SusanME1 at 01:41 PM : Oct 29, 2008
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What degrees and/or certifications do you have? How many times have you been turned down, deemed "overqualified"?

Yes, we know his personal opinion. A lot of us are his fans. At the same time, the employment situation isn''t as cozy as what he - or you - happens to think. In this day and age, your husband is also lucky. (And the marriage thing being another issue of luck these days too, but I digress...)

As Walter Cronkite might say, "And that''s the way it is".

[hypnotoad72]

A morning radio DJ always whines and rants about crime and people not working. It''s not enough to wonder what he thinks is work while lambasting those who don''t (there are days when he reports something and the reality almost sinks in), but for his usual movie critic who calls every morning whom he respects, I find it odd that this critic guy spends ~4 hours per day whining to DJs across the land about how bad movies are... but then talks about how great his golf game was in the afternoon. How many people responding to this article have time to play golf so leisurely? Or have such a wonderful, money-making "job"? Most of us do real work. And I wish being a radio DJ or a writer were up and coming careers -- we could all be just as rich.

[susanme1]

I agree with you, Andy. There are jobs out there, only they''re not the jobs people want to do or are use to doing. I find people get stuck in a rut and think they can only do one type of work. When my husband lost his job he took it as an opportunity to try new diverse opportunities, and found a job he absolutely loves. Sometimes when the jobs are hard to find you have to take lower paying jobs, or jobs you never even considered just to make ends meet. Deal with it. That''s why it''s called a recession.

Besides everyone knows this is just your personal opinion.

[cbuk1013]

Andy, You''ve Lost It. Retire. Or call Kevorkian...for our sake, not yours.

[jmclermont]

Dear Mr. Rooney:

So, as you say, there is so much work to do, that the unemployed are just, well, lazy?

I envy you. I will never be able to dismiss unemployment as a form of sloth. Because I have been there. Because I am there.

My last boss let me go in June, giving my job to her recently hired, young staff and leaving me, a single, fifty-something woman to the wiles of a youth oriented job market and a broken economy. I work sometimes eight hours a day looking for work. I live in a condo building, and some of my neighbors share my predicament. One was just foreclosed.

I am so scared. Last week I took my car in for what I thought would be a minor repair. The bill came to $2200. How many more bills like this can my savings absorb? What if I get sick?

Did I tell you that I too am a writer?

Oh to be you. You are famous and the world waits each week for your opinion of whatever. Unwanted Christmas gifts, watches, a serious issue now and then. You have a job. I will be lucky if I get to edit insurance policies.

After what you said on Sunday night, you owe it to us, the American unemployed, among whom you have clearly never counted yourself (and never will), to give us some of that national face time you take so much for granted. I dare you to walk into your nearest unemployment office. Talk to us, especially those of us with grey hair.

Put our stories in the public eye, and with those stories, the growing meanness of corporate America.

[jmclermont]

Dear Mr. Rooney:

So, as you say, there is so much work to do, that the unemployed are just, well, lazy?

I envy you. I will never be able to dismiss unemployment as a form of sloth. Because I have been there. Because I am there.

My last boss let me go in June, giving my job to her recently hired, young staff and leaving me, a single, fifty-something woman to the wiles of a youth oriented job market and a broken economy. I work sometimes eight hours a day looking for work. I live in a condo building, and some of my neighbors share my predicament. One was just foreclosed.

I am so scared. Last week I took my car in for what I thought would be a minor repair. The bill came to $2200. How many more bills like this can my savings absorb? What if I get sick?

Did I tell you that I too am a writer?

Oh to be you. You are famous and the world waits each week for your opinion of whatever. Unwanted Christmas gifts, watches, a serious issue now and then. You have a job. I will be lucky if I get to edit insurance policies.

After what you said on Sunday night, you owe it to us, the American unemployed, among whom you have clearly never counted yourself (and never will), to give us some of that national face time you take so much for granted. I dare you to walk into your nearest unemployment office. Talk to us, especially those of us with grey hair.

Put our stories in the public eye, and with those stories, the growing meanness of corporate America.

[jlmiller1967]

I must confess that I rarely get emotional enough over a 2 minute commentary on TV to take the time to post a comment. My husband and I are faithful viewers of 60 minutes and have deep respect for its journalists. On October 26th, Andy Rooney went from being a rather amusing end to the show to being a complete baboon, with a complete lack of understanding of what is going on in today''s society. To state that "employment stats are highly suspicious and that it is more likely that people who are unemployed just don''t want to do the jobs that are out there" (paraphrased) is such a wide sweeping insult to the unemployed that it makes me ill. Yes, I am sure that there are people who fit this category, as there are good and bad in all walks of life. He should be embarassed to claim an understanding of these conditions because he worked in a paper mill during his schooling! If he opened up his complacent eyes, he would see a society filled with people who have either been kicked down so long, they have no idea how to begin to come back up, or people who have been fortunate enough to be able to provide a decent living to their families for decades, and now are unemployed, terrified, with no resources to help them re-direct their lives, and their families looking to them to make the problems go away. It goes without saying that when his ending to 60 Minutes comes on in the future, we will be changing the channels. Thank you,J.Miller,NB,Canada