Bless Their Heart

It's a Southern thing. You can say the most unflattering thing about someone...but, if you tack on "bless their heart" at the end of the sentence, it somehow absolves the speaker for trashing someone else.

That's kind of how an article last month in the Los Angeles Times viewed job creation in the hospitality and tourism sectors. The headline more than hinted at the direction the article would take: "Forecasted L.A. County Tourism Surge to Create Mostly Low-Wage Jobs."

A report from the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation estimates that just over 425,000 residents work in the hospitality industry...with average wages less than half the average of those in all other industries (like healthcare, real estate, banking, etc.).

LAEDC VP Christine Cooper said, "The jobs tend to be on the low end of the scale (bless their heart*), but they are also jobs for people who may not want to work full time, may be working while attending school or are working on plans to move up to another position." She goes on to say "This is an economy that provides jobs across a wide skills and wage spectrum" (bless their heart*), but these jobs can't be outsourced to other countries.

Carl Wilson, Director of San Diego State's Hospitality and Tourism program said he'd like to see Los Angeles County work harder at developing higher paying jobs...but that more tourism jobs is a good thing for those workers without an education or specific skills (bless their heart*). "Thank goodness someone is creating jobs for people who don't have other skills," he said (bless their heart*). "It's good for people who are ambitious and want to climb the career ladder."

And, that line is the truest of all, as research has proven that the hospitality sector is the fastest path to management among all industries.

Bless their heart, indeed. Because, in Tourism, there is a job for everyone that wants to work (regardless of education and skill set)...and a management position for those that want to work hard and excel.

And, isn't that the best kind of industry?

* The "Bless Their Hearts" are added by the author for emphasis.

Comments

[Larry White]

This should be required reading for every jackleg Chamber of Commerce that critiques tourism as nothing but low wage jobs.