So, I just got back from a piano tuning lecture/demonstration at a local middle school. They were holding a Career Day in the music department and had various people coming in to talk about the various career paths that exist in the music world (just in case those music performance degrees don't pan out...ahem).
I came in to talk about the wonderful world of piano tuning (just in case those music performance degrees don't pan out...AHEM!). One of the talking points the staff wanted me to hit was "Average Salary." So, I start talking about the average salary for a tuner whose business is doing reasonably well, and I had to mention a couple of the cons of being self-employed. For instance, if you don't work on a given day, you don't get paid that day. There is no personal (paid) time off, no sick days, no paid vacation.
Another con is taxes (no pun intended). The self-employed are taxed as employees, and as employers. Lots o' taxes to pay. And then I just couldn't help slipping in my conviction that the income tax is unconstitutional, and did you ever notice that when we are taught about the rights we enjoy in this country we never hear about our right to work, that we have a fundamental right to earn a living to sustain ourselves? Then I said, "But that's a whole other lecture!" and started to get back on point.
"So," I went on, "what exactly does a tuner do?"
Just then, one of the 8th graders raised his hand and said, "You mean...we have to pay the government to work?"
"Well," I said, "we need to get back to the subject at hand, but, bingo! Do some research."
Then we got into the finer points of tuning unisons.
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