Who does your job serve?

[justwhoever]

I work for a high school. There's all kinds of income in that place. However, the school gets its money from the state and feds soooo...don't know who but am happy I get a check.

[ihearyou2]

I work luxury goods and its really the place to be. I've never seen a more healthy business model. Margins are fat, concentration is narrow, competition is minimal, and overhead is low.

[Sum Dum Gai]

I'm one of those scumbag contractors that are sucking the federal government dry or whatever. The feds get their money from taxes, which in our progressive tax system mostly means large corporations and rich people. I guess I'm just one small cog in the machine that keeps the rich and powerful rich and powerful.

[dividend]

I'm in advertising, and my primary client sells tires - so that's pretty much everyone.

[Jake 48]

Fire Dept., so I work for all the residents in town

[Deleted]

People that like chocolate.

[Opti]

You don't have an answer that really works for the last job I had. Our
company helped manage the telecom expenses for other companies so
our customers are companies not individual consumers.

[pushingit]

If those companies had no customer, you wouldn't have a job.

I'm surprised by how many don't seem to know why they're employed.

[phil5185]

I'm surprised by how many don't seem to know why they're employed.

Me too, interesting observation. I've always thought that you must how your work adds to the company earnings before you go to the boss and ask for a raise.

[cronewitch]

We serve ship owners, Navy, Coast Guard, NOAA, Ferries, Fishing vessels, tugs, barges. The fishing vessel owners can be wealthy but the rest is mostly government so the poor and middle class more.

Actually we work for the shareholders, they are wealthy mostly not sure about the last 4 they have only been shareholders about 4 weeks and only got 10 shares each. One has 3900 shares in his family trust and his dad's estate has a couple hundred in it's trust but he died just a year ago and we lost another shareholder this fall leaving his grandchildren some shares.

[piratesparrot]

I work in the Mortgage Servicing Dept. of a small bank. While my customers are homeowners a lot of them of became low income over the past few years. Some are very wealthy but the bulk of them are middle class. I am happy to say that since we work very closely with our customers and really try to get to know them we have only had a handful of foreclosures and most of those have been people that walk away. We have been working with people that are a yr behind and still trying to keep them in their homes as long as they are trying to make the payments and keep communication open. I am proud to work there instead of one of those foreclosure monster corp. banks.

[cubefarmer]

I work for the shareholders.

[cronewitch]

Phil some of us don't earn money for the company we are overhead. I never wait to ask for a raise I tend to ask about once a week in one way or another. When they give raises everyone gets one after a shareholder meeting. The president is given an amount he can give and decides the best use of the money. He looks up on salary.com to see what other companies are paying and then sends a note to each person on how much they are getting, there isn't a review at all. Last time was over 2 years ago and profits were way down this year so no raises, no profit sharing and no bonuses. That won't stop me from mentioning I would like a raise knowing I won't get a raise. I write the pay checks so know they didn't get one either nobody has in 2 years.

[rumples]

I can definitively say that I am paid by the entire gamut of income levels because I stand face-to-face with my customers every time I walk into the classroom. They range from doctors, lawyers and corporate high-mucky-mucks to people living on disability or other fixed incomes. Such is the nature of a hobby-based business.

[lynnerself]

health care, a clinic of 20 family practice and internal medicine providers.

We have medicare, insurance and private pay.
I'd say all classes.

[marmar]

I'm in law enforcement. My job serves everybody.

[Nazgul Girl]

I perform activities which bring in money to keep the medical school that I work for going. The medical school serves all comers, so indirectly I work for our substantial patient load. However, the doctors believe I work for them.

HoneyBBQ, I have a feeling we may work for the same outfit.

.

[The J]

Jan 8, 2011 18:47:15 GMT -5 cronewitch said:

Phil some of us don't earn money for the company we are overhead. I never wait to ask for a raise I tend to ask about once a week in one way or another. When they give raises everyone gets one after a shareholder meeting. The president is given an amount he can give and decides the best use of the money. He looks up on salary.com to see what other companies are paying and then sends a note to each person on how much they are getting, there isn't a review at all. Last time was over 2 years ago and profits were way down this year so no raises, no profit sharing and no bonuses. That won't stop me from mentioning I would like a raise knowing I won't get a raise. I write the pay checks so know they didn't get one either nobody has in 2 years.

Agreed. I'm overhead.

[formerexpat]

All income groups but I wouldn't say equally. I work in the insurance industry. Everyone needs and buys insurance but the amounts will be disproportionate with higher income individuals needing more insurance.

[pushingit]

Jan 8, 2011 21:24:25 GMT -5 formerexpat said:

All income groups but I wouldn't say equally. I work in the insurance industry. Everyone needs and buys insurance but the amounts will be disproportionate with higher income individuals needing more insurance.

Yes, but aren't there fewer of them?

Where I work, which is similar to many places, 20% of our customers account for about 70% of our sales. We wouldn't be profitable without that other 30% of our sales though, so we serve the other 80% of our customers.

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

My wonderful DH is active duty military ~ so I guess we all pay his salary.

[so1970]

Jan 8, 2011 22:18:22 GMT -5 ❤ mollymouser ❤ said:

My wonderful DH is active duty military ~ so I guess we all pay his salary.

thank him for me . if i had the power to i would give him a raise.

[Deleted]

I'm a teacher. Our students run the full gamut although they tend toward middle-class.

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

Jan 9, 2011 3:11:17 GMT -5 so1970 said:

Jan 8, 2011 22:18:22 GMT -5 ❤ mollymouser ❤ said:

My wonderful DH is active duty military ~ so I guess we all pay his salary.

thank him for me . if i had the power to i would give him a raise.

Actually, active duty military got a 1.4% increase in base pay for 2011.

[so1970]

congrats on the raise

[unrepentant_spendthrift]

I'm in the military....so I have to say all people???

ETA: We got a raise?? Nop one told me...lol

Actually, we get one most every January. This year's was a little lower than recent years...cost of two wars, i suppose

[quotequeen]

unrepentant, I actually own that button.

[AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP]

I would say honestly that poor and lower middle class people keep me "employed". I'm a landlord in a lower-income, working class area. I have had "rich" investors, but the day-in-day-out grocery money comes from people that wake up every day, go to work as mechanics, retail associates, bartenders, golf caddies, taxi drivers, and you-name-it jobs in order to pay my mortgages, property taxes, plus give me a little walking around money every month.

I suppose you could say it's the "rich" in the form of subsidies. While I take NO direct subsidies, I know money is fungible and I'm sure many of my tenants take food stamps, medicaid, and other programs- so no doubt I'm indirectly subsidized by the "rich".

[Deleted]

A rich guy.

[Frugal Nurse]

I'm a nurse and work at a University hospital- so i guess Insurance and Medicaid/Medicare pay my salary!