The Trivial Pursuit of Happiness

  I was reminded about my last car buying experience this morning when I saw a post for a Cadillac appear in my newsfeed on Facebook. I thought to myself, "I almost bought a caddy." Why I didn't has less to do with the car than my customer service experience and the unfortunate nature of humans to judge. At the time I looked at a Cadillac I was also making a delivery for the restaurant I work at. Deliveries are not typically my job, but we don't typically deliver and I am not on the line or the front counter, so it makes sense for me to make the deliveries as needed. My job is in marketing, which has everything to do with relationship building and engagement. The decline in the quality of customer service is particularly disappointing to me, but at the same time, I know it only benefits the small businesses excelling in customer service because they will appreciate the potential customers others don't. I dropped off the order inside at the car deal...

I have never liked labels, but when someone once asked me what my political views were specifically, I stated,"If something hasn't worked to solve a problem, new solutions need to be found." For that statement I was labeled a "Progressive." There are a lot of people who convey a negative connotation to the label of being progressive,  but those of us who agree we need to find solutions to solve the underlying problems, not the symptoms, are just exercising our common sense in working on collaborative ways to find solutions to benefit the many and not just the 1%. So, here is my proposal in lieu of raising the minimum wage, because unless it is increased to $15.00 an hour, people will still be living in poverty if there are no new jobs created outside of the retail and dining industry. I already know many small businesses paying considerably more than the hourly minimum wage because they know what is best for business. Paying employees a livable wage allows e...