Sarah and I have a nanny AND a cleaning lady. I suspect that neither of them are in the country legally, and of course we pay both of them in cash.
I tell myself that there's no way for the two of us to work AND clean AND care for Asher 24/7. I tell myself that in this city where life is so hard, you have to use every bit of money you've got to ease the way. I tell myself that we pay them well - better than other families would pay. And that the cash-under-the-table gives them the financial flexibility to live their own lives in a way they could not if they were on the government's radar.
I tell myself all of these things, trying to reconcile myself to the reality that I basically have two servants.
I tell myself that there's no way for the two of us to work AND clean AND care for Asher 24/7. I tell myself that in this city where life is so hard, you have to use every bit of money you've got to ease the way. I tell myself that we pay them well - better than other families would pay. And that the cash-under-the-table gives them the financial flexibility to live their own lives in a way they could not if they were on the government's radar.
I tell myself all of these things, trying to reconcile myself to the reality that I basically have two servants.
posted by isaacjosephson at 5:55 AM
3 Comments:
Guilty as charged. Still doesn't make it any easier.
Servants ARE paid. Slaves aren't paid. In England, for example, being a servant is considered a respectable trade--depending on where on the hierarchy you fit as a servant. A valet definitely has more prestige than the person who cleans the toilet. But the jobs traditionally stayed in the family.
Of course, this was not (and still to many degress is not) a culture that encourages or rewards upward mobility. Not everyone gets to marry a prince. Very few Cinderellas get to go to the ball.
Tom
But, yeah, give yourself a break. Unless you can work from home, what are you going to do? (Besides pay their FICA tax...)
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