Get Back to Work

I work for a game company. A lot of my friends work for a game company. While there are days that are pretty stressful and plenty of days could be better, we don't have a real job. We're not curing cancer or pulling people out of a fire or teaching the next generation of gamers. There are plenty of great things games offer to people but as I tell myself when I'm having a bad day "at least I don't dig holes for a living". My dad worked construction for most of his life and many a day actually did dig holes for a living.

My company has a bonus structure. I get something like 10% if the company makes X million in profit. There are only two owners and some 25 employees total in the company. The owners own plenty of other things and typically leave us alone. The X million is more than 1 million and less than 10 million. Let's say all 25 employees make 50k a year (some make much less, others much more) and we make our X million. That is 10% of 25 people x 50k a year or .10(25x50,000), so $125,000. So two owners make multiple seven figures and the 25 make $5,000. When you explain it like that it seems like we're getting shafted but I agreed on my salary without a bonus. An extra 10% would be nice. Plus again I get to do what I like to do for a living. Sure the accounting people or production people or whoever aren't doing their hobby for a job but you get to go to free NFL games and cool NASCAR stuff. I bet working in our customer service department sure beats digging holes for a living.

I agree the Hollywood writers are getting shafted, they are more in the right the billion dollar corporations. But the writers get to do what they love to do. They get to write. I write an article each week and write a few hundred cards every few months, I know writing is work. People who read this blog realize there are days my writing is on par with a 5 year old so I realize it involves skill. But it isn't digging holes or pulling people out of a fire or asking people if they want fries with that.

You agreed to your salary, you thought it was fair. You get to write for David Letterman or The Daily Show or Heroes or whatever. You get paid well for it. Now you're keeping the hundreds of other people on your show from working and getting paid. I know, I know, the big evil corporations get all of your profits. So you get paid to write Friday Night Lights and FNL loses NBC money. NBC might fire you eventually but they don't ask for the money back they paid you. Hell the West Wing lost NBC money and it went on for seven years and won 1435451 Emmys. They fired people but they didn't take money back from Aaron Sorkin or Rob Lowe. The big evil corporation is the one shouldering the risk, they are the ones that get the rewards, that is how it works. Don't like it then be like George Lucas and fund your own projects.

Get your ass back to work.

Oh the health insurance issue you say. Almost half of the WGA don't earn enough money to qualify for health insurance through the WGA. The WGA has close to 13,000 members and over 6,000 of them are below the minimum. The minimum for health insurance provided by the WGA is I think $32,000 a year. If you are educated and you aren't making $32,000 a year then you probably need to do something else. I know laborers for the DOT make $16 an hour with a good bit of OT/double time, turns out you can make $32,000+ a year digging holes. You don't want to dig holes, you want to write. You want to keep with it and maybe make it big as a writer. You're willing to deal with those early sacrifices to make it big. Well those sacrifices include no money and lack of health insurance but you knew that going into it.

I like what I do but I like feeding my family more. If I was single I'd do what I like at risk of things like money and insurance if it was what I like. I'm not single and I'm fortunate to make a good wage, have health insurance, and get to work in a field I really enjoy. If I couldn't work in this field I'd have no problem getting a job to pay the bills. Either way I wouldn't want or ask for your sympathy. I sure as hell wouldn't ask for your sympathy when I'm keeping thousands of other people from working.

Get back to work.