A former Yelp! employee, known online as Talia Jane, has been starving. Despite working for a company valued at $1.38 billion, Talia Jane has had to subsist on a 10-pound bag of rice and living without heat because her $733 bi-weekly paycheck doesn’t cover her $1,245 per month apartment, her $11 per day commute to and from work, and all of the other expenses every person has to contend with every day, which are especially inflated living in the Bay Area of California.
With a bowl of rice in hand, Talia Jane took to her blog to vent about her life in poverty. Not two hours after writing, Yelp! had fired her. But, her post went viral, reigniting debate about raising wages and so-called “entitled” millennials.
Yelp! CEO Jeremy Stoppelman also read Talia Jane’s post and responded with a series of Tweets concurring with Talia Jane’s assessment of life in the Bay Area, but also distancing himself from her termination.
1/5 Late last night I read Talia's medium contribution and want to acknowledge her point that the cost of living in SF is far too high.
— Jeremy Stoppelman (@jeremys) February 20, 2016
2/5 I have been focused on this issue, backing anti-NIMBY group SFBARF and speaking out frequently about the need to lower cost of housing.
— Jeremy Stoppelman (@jeremys) February 20, 2016
3/5 I've not been personally involved in Talia being let go and it was not because she posted a Medium letter directed at me.
— Jeremy Stoppelman (@jeremys) February 20, 2016
4/5 Two sides to every HR story so Twitter army please put down the pitchforks. The reality of such a high Bay Area cost of living is…
— Jeremy Stoppelman (@jeremys) February 20, 2016
5/5 entry level jobs migrate to where costs of living are lower. Have already announced we are growing EAT24 support in AZ for this reason.
— Jeremy Stoppelman (@jeremys) February 20, 2016
It’s no secret that the cost of living in the Bay Area is ridiculous. According to the Council for Community and Economic Research, the total cost of living in San Francisco (where Talia Jane lives and Yelp! is based) is 62.6 percent higher than the national average. Housing in San Francisco is nearly three time more expensive than housing in other U.S. cities and the cost has gone up nearly 36 percent from 2012 to 2014, the latest year in which statistics are available. It costs more to live in the Bay Area than New York City.
Talia Jane’s blog post has also incited more debate about millennial “entitlement,” notably in a comment at the bottom of the post by Medium contributor Kris Gellci.
“If you wonder why 18 year olds that live with their parents are doing the same job as you, it is because it is an entry level position with minimum wage pay that does not require a college degree.”
Nowhere in Talia Jane’s post does she mention that any of her coworkers are 18-year-old’s. However, she does mention that some of her coworkers live with their parents, which has become an increasingly common occurrence with young people in their 20’s.
One of Gellci’s edits to his comment emphasized the value of Talia Jane’s health coverage, using it to bolster his argument.
“I am not sure if you know what that is worth, it is about $600/month. I would be publicly thanking the company for that, not slamming them, most don’t provide any coverage for such positions, let alone pay the full amount.”
Health insurance doesn’t pay bills. Even the most valuable health insurance plans have absolutely no effect on rent, electricity, gas, groceries, communications, and taxes.
But it wasn’t just Gellci that objected to Talia Jane’s post on millennial discontent. Another user, Conservagrl, said:
“Kris, you really didn’t expect anything different from the generation that was praised for doing nothing sp as to build up their self esteem? or given a trophy for losing so as not to hurt their feelings? You’re talking to the generation that was never taught you work your way up, that you don’t start at the top. I worked 2 jobs, I went to College…”
Despite Kris Gellci’s comments and the scores of people who agreed with him, Talia had support as well, notably by user barb dybwad.
“‘The reason I am not sympathetic to this situation is because I have worked full time for less per hour while attending school full time at a place that offered not benefits of any kind including free snacks and drinks.’
Translation: ‘The reason I refuse to question The System we were both abused by is because I had to suffer through it also — and from my newly-minted position on The Hill of privilege, which affords me the right to stroke my own ego via lack sympathy for other human beings, I must keep aggressively pushing other souls down in order to stay The King and convince myself the struggle was worth it, or necessary. But hey — they bought my silence, and my conscience, and in return I get this awesome, morally-vacuous Hill from whence I can enjoy the dopamine rush of Being a Total Dick to someone in a vulnerable place!'”
Damn.
Talia Jane’s story is the story many young people tell about life in the working world. The wages are simply too low and the cost of living is simply too high. This is from where millennial disillusionment stems. It does not help millennials to be constantly belittled with antiquated anecdotes supporting a poisonous vocational system that contributes to more lives destroyed than more lives prospered.
Maybe barb dybwad’s admittedly speculative comment has some merit. Perhaps many who have gone through the grind have to speak out in favor of it, if for no other reason than to convince themselves that their suffering was worth it.
