The Squeeze: Jobs, Inflation and the Below-the-Line WorkerIt's not all doom and gloom — until Peak TV hits it peak
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The Squeeze series is about the effect of entertainment’s worsening economics on workers (next up are execs and agents, actors, and young Hollywood). The impact on producers and writers and How to (Maybe) Save Your Job During Layoffs are earlier parts of the series, all for paid subscribers only.When The Ankler asked me to write a piece for its series, The Squeeze, specifically on below-the-line workers, I said yes immediately. Income inequality is a hot button issue I’m passionate about, and something I covered repeatedly in my series on the The American Viewer. Of course, this is the EntStrategyGuy you’re talking to. I can only go where the data takes me. I researched everything I could find on Los Angeles/Southern California, the economy, cost of living, inflation, below-the-line workers and more — which I’ll share with you next — but, being totally honest, the weight of the evidence is strongly on the side of… …the economy is doing great in Los Angeles right now. (And great doesn’t mean “perfect” or as great for everyone.) The same applies to below-the-line workers. If they’re not doing “great”, they’re definitely doing well, especially compared to the previous three decades. (Again, not “all” people in Los Angeles or “all” workers in Los Angeles.) But here’s the thing: I don’t have personal experience with this. I’m grateful to have never been poor in L.A. When I went to business school, my wife had a very good job. In The American Viewer, I wrote about wealth and Hollywood, especially Hollywood execs, and how they’re so much richer (i.e. out of touch) in comparison with the average American. I then chatted with an editor/researcher I often work with. When he moved to L.A. in the early 2010s, he was the classic Hollywood archetype, the “struggling screenwriter”, living paycheck to paycheck while working low-paid jobs (PA gigs, background work, sales jobs), trying to make ends meet, never having enough money, not paying for car insurance or registration or healthcare, even waiting to get married until he had saved up enough money. And now? He and his wife are doing great. They’ve climbed the ladder in their respective careers and the Covid-19 stimulus provided a boost to their family with a new baby when his wife could no longer work. (Slight caveat: they’re both college educated.) This also happened to literally all six of his closest L.A.-based friends, all of whom work in the industry in a range of jobs. So things are great? All cinematic sunshine and box office roses? Nope. There is a potential, looming economic disaster(s) that could crush the entertainment industry and cost thousands of people their jobs. And it will hit below-the-line workers especially hard. In this article I’ll look at…
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