The American Dream has not yet been realized by all Americans

The American Dream has not yet been realized by all Americans. I recently finished reading Nickel and Dimed — it was powerful. For so many Americans (those you will likely never see on Linkedin), their relationship with work is nothing like most of us enjoy. They often work longer hours than you and me at a small fraction of the pay. Often in multiple jobs.

The author, Barbara Ehrenreich, experimented by trying to live on minimum wage. The results were troubling and the stories were powerful. I highly recommend the book.

By coincidence, the weekend I finished the book, I was traveling and stayed at a Marriott Hotels property that was using a QR Code from a company called Shiny to allow tipping for restaurant, breakfast buffet, room attendant, etc… their cards were in various places throughout the hotel.

For those like me that rarely carry cash these days, I greatly appreciate what they are doing to help me help the service industry.

And then I found out when I was making this post that co-founders, Rebecca Robinson and Gwendolyn Johnson live in Austin, I was delighted. But not surprised. Austin has always been known for the triple bottomline — do good for people, the planet and profits.

Well done!