OptionalThat's How
Ok, but 30$/hr for shoveling snow with the benefits of a government job is a wee too much
How much have you paid in the past for some clearing your driveway? That’s about the going rate to have someone plow your driveway and it’s way less than an hour’s work. Personally it should be more to work all day shoveling, it’s really hard work.
How so? It’s a physically demanding job, and pay also has to be scaled with the fact that NYC is one of the most expensive cities to live in.
It’s also a lot of calories burnt. Like, I would definitely need to double up on what I currently eat in meals at least if I were doing that all day and I already have an active, physically demanding job.
Shoveling snow can be dangerous in extreme cold
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., Feb. 5, 2026 — According to the American Heart Association, a relentless force changing the future of health for everyone everywhere, research shows that the exertion of shoveling snow may lead to an increased risk of a heart attack...
In NYC? Where a bottle of water is five bucks?
spinnetroubleWould $20/hr make it acceptable to you? $15? Minimum wage? When you find a point that’s different but acceptable, that’s a hangup, not a standard.
mycodesucksI once heard a way to think about this kind of comment…
It’s not that you think they’re being paid too much - it’s that you think it’s too much relative to what you make vs your own work and your own value assessment.
And that doesn’t mean they’re paid too much - it means YOU’RE probably being underpaid too. Be angry at your own boss - not the ones who pay better. This “paid too much” idea is worker vs worker class warfare to keep everyone miserable. Don’t do the capitalists’ work for them.
I know I am being underpaid and I am angry at my boss. I am just commenting from an economic point of view.
Its an emergency situation, we had the largest blizzard in 10+ years. I think paying a higher wage over a short term for exigent circumstances where you really want people to show up is reasonable. Its roughly equivalent to a mid-level salary for a garbage man (which is probably too low for garbage men, but at least they get insurance and other gov’t job perks.)
Also, they don’t get government job perks like health insurance or a pension.