This is definitely not a political entry, although I guess in some ways it kind of is one.  Anyway it’s definitely more personal than not.
For a couple of years, I was living in Europe and now I’m back in the United States.  I’ll be returning to Europe (permanently) as soon as I get my new “career” on track.  In the meantime, I’ve been working a “regular” job here in the States to make some money.

To be more specific, I’m now working at a hotel.  I won’t tell you which one but it’s part of a chain and you’d probably know it I told you the name.  It’s sort of a mid-range hotel, with a room going for about $60 plus tax per night.  From the outside, there’s nothing particularly unique or special about it.  It’s located next to the interstate and not too far from a large airport.

I guess it’s what’s on the inside that you don’t necessarily see which is what I find so interesting.  I realize not everyone understands hotels or the hotel industry so let me lay out a few basics.

Similar to many chain restaurants, from McDonald’s to Applebee’s, each individual building is a franchise.  This means the owners are not part of the named corporation.  The owners bought the building and pay the corporation to be part of the network.  They get their hotel listed on the company’s website, they participate in a kind of “frequent flier” program where people who stay multiple times earn points redeemable for  many things (including a free night) and they get the “name recognition” of being part of a well-known brand.

But other than that, there’s absolutely no affiliation with the corporation.  In other words, the hotel where I work is completely and utterly unconnected to a hotel of the same “name” in your town except they both follow the minimum guidelines of the corporation.  

So what the average customer coming here has no idea about is that this hotel is owned and operated by citizens of India.  They’re here legally but they are not American citizens – they have “green cards”.  Even more interesting is that they own a number of other local properties (including a share in a bank) that belong to other corporate networks.  Imagine the Wendy’s and the McDonald’s in your town being owned by the same people – different restaurants but the same owners.

Right off the bat, that cultural difference means that the hotel where I work is run by different principles.  In my case, it means they are “penny wise and pound foolish”.  They cut corners in every conceivable way you can imagine even when it makes no business sense in the long run.  Ok, so you’ve put out the skimpiest possible “continental” breakfast possible and saved a few bucks but at the same time you’ve alienated that customer from wanting to come back next time she’s in town.  But the owners really don’t care since there’s a steady stream of suckers coming down the interstate who will see the “name brand” and pull in for the night.

Although the owners and managers are not American citizens, they prosper highly from the American government.  A lot of the financing to purchase these properties came from the Small Business Administration.  A lot of restaurants are purchased the same way.  Essentially, the SBA becomes the “guarantor” on the loan, meaning it’s a fairly risk-free sale to the former owner.  And for the Indians, at the very worst, they lose money they never had (i.e. borrowed) and have to go back home.

Secondly, while some hotels DO hire illegal aliens for tasks such as housekeeping, the people I work for only hire citizens.  Yet they benefit from this too as they get federal tax credits for hiring certain individuals – mostly people on parole, “rehabilitated” drug offenders and people in “halfway houses”.  I believe the owners get $2,700 per person in tax credits, which adds up fairly quickly.

The Indians also benefit from federal labor laws by paying people the minimum wage.  No it’s not $5.15 an hour.  It’s actually $4.75.  That’s legal for 90 days as a “training wage” and that’s what most of the housekeepers and entry level workers get.  Meanwhile the owners get the $2,700 in tax credits.  Most of these workers either can’t handle the relentless verbal abuse from management or they find they can’t make a living on such a low wage (who could?) and so they quit.  And that suits the owners just fine because they can then hire someone new and get an additional $2,700.

Yet when the average American customer rolls up to the hotel in his or her automobile and sees the recognized brand name on the sign outside, they have no idea about “training wages” and tax credits and all the rest.  They see the price and the physical condition of the hotel and that’s about it.

I’ve got to say a few words about the customers here as well.  To begin with, it truly is astounding how many of the hotel’s customers are in terrible physical condition.  A lot of them are simply overweight.  Many have clearly visible problems such as difficulty walking.  I’ve also seen many people who appear to be ok end up sweating and red-faced from the exertion of carrying in their own luggage.   This hotel also does not have an elevator and if the customers have to walk more than 20 feet, they complain.  Instead of being relieved, most of the customers tend to get extremely irate when the machines don’t work.

Aside from all of that, I cannot understand why so many Americans dress so slovenly.  What’s the reason for that?  I’m hardly a “fashion plate” myself but there seems to be no “minimum standard” for public dress in this country other than your genitals and chest are covered with some kind of clothing.  Greasy, stringy dirty hair, filthy stained shirts and going shoeless seem to be perfectly acceptable as “public” dress.  I guess the priority is “comfort”, as in your own, not someone else having to interact with you.  Is it so wrong to take a little pride in your appearance?

There are vending machines in the hotel which sell both drinks as well as snacks.  All of the drinks are sugary crap “soda” with the exception of water.  The water of course costs the same as the soda – $1.20 per 20 ounce bottle.  All of the snacks are literally junk food – chocolate sweet things or else salty fried things.  All of the vending machines are owned and operated by a completely independent company and they keep all of the profits as well.  The Indians let them operate their machines here for a small cash kickback and because it adds a free service for the customers.  Unfortunately, the vending machines often fail to work right and are regularly out of order.

The housekeepers are underpaid semi-criminals who usually last about 2 weeks.  There’s some petty theft from the customers but mostly the housekeepers “steal” from the hotel by reporting rooms as clean which aren’t – there’s hair in the shower, trash left in the trash can or the sheets aren’t changed.  Sometimes the customers can see their rooms aren’t clean and sometimes they can’t.  Even a properly “cleaned” room leaves a lot of things infrequently washed – air conditioners, the inside of refrigerators and bedspreads (blankets) especially – all of them excellent breeding grounds for diseases and bacteria.

There are signs outside in the parking lot which specifically warn you that the hotel is not responsible for your vehicle – and it isn’t.  Other than some overhead lights, there is no security.  You save a lot of money by keeping staff levels low and there are no “guards” or people patrolling the parking lot.   And with a lot full of vehicles with out-of-state plates, yes we have had some break-ins.

I guess the whole experience becomes sort of a meta-metaphor for the United States as a whole – with overfed, indulgent, self-important Americans thinking they are in control of their own experience while foreigners literally sap them of their material wealth (and send most of it overseas) while preying on the American underclass to perform most of the daily work.  Furthermore, it is the client who is paying the taxes that fund the government’s ability to turn around and hand advantageous tax credits to the foreign owners of this hotel.

And what’s going on in the United States, especially with Iraq?  The same American citizens who are customers of this hotel are the people who think they are somehow directing that war when in fact they’re not.  But they are financing it – financing not just the weaponry and billions in contracts stolen and going to cronies but also the thousands of foreigners who perform the jobs (yes, in Iraq!) that Americans “won’t do”.  Meanwhile literally everyone profits except the people paying for the war – or this hotel.

Quite frankly, it depressed the sh*t out of me.  I was just in Italy on some business last week and the hotel I stayed at there was owned by Italians.  My room was cleaned by an Italian woman and she made a heck of a lot more than $4.75 an hour.  She also was quite good at cleaning the room and had been doing it steadily for a while.  Not only was the staff extremely friendly and the service terrific but so were the drinks and the food.  And you know what? One night there cost me about the same one as this hotel where I work.

Speaking of Italy, it’s easy to forget over here that long-time PM Silvio Berlusconi committed a lot of aid to the war in Iraq – treasure and troops.  Italians are just as “patriotic” as Americans are and yet I saw none of that “rah-rah” support the troops by putting a sticker on your vehicle bull.  Italians are proud of their country, of their culture and of the accomplishments of their fellow Italians but they have no “fear” of calling a mistake a mistake.  

There was a beautiful little park in the town of Bologna (forgive me as I forget its name) and there was a lovely fountain and that little area had been renamed “12 November 2003 Nassiriyah” in honor of the 17 Italian soldiers who lost their life in Iraq on that date.  I’d certainly never heard of that event but the section of the park was renamed in their honor.

On one of the signs someone had scribbled (in Italian): “You died for your country.  You died for nothing”.  A shiver ran down my spine as I read that.  Partly I think it was because I fully agreed with the anonymous graffitti writer but also I think it was because I was slightly in awe of their conviction.  As a much better writer than I stated a few days ago, it seems like we who oppose(d) the war do a lot of talking but little action.  I know that it isn’t true for some of you – I am only really speaking for myself here – but I guess I too just felt this weird sense of having to defend a point of view that seemed so patently obvious that it caused a short-circuit in my mind when trying to explain it.

Therefore, to anyone out there who is “proud” to have American troops in Iraq and “proud” to send billions of dollars not just to gigantic corporations but to foreign contractors and to bribe foreign allies to send their troops into harm’s way, I guess all I can say is you gave your money and your love and your sons and fathers and brothers for your country – and you gave so much for absolutely nothing at all.

This isn’t the tightest essay/diary I ever wrote but it’s how I’m feeling tonight.

Peace