Or fast food, or be a certified nursing assistant, or work for the town, or do construction or landscaping, etc, etc, etc....
So I'm a single parent with barely a Highschool education, living below the poverty line. The only job I could get on my busline (because I don't have a car) is at the local Mega-wally-k-mart....it's not much but it keeps me off of food stamps. BUT I can barely make child care costs as it is. So NOW I am forced to work on T-giving.....I don't know who's going to watch my kids on that day since it's a holiday and the cheap day care I can afford won't be open. So my choice it to what, quit today and suddenly be trained as an CRNA, Fast Food worker, Landscaper in a week, so I don't have to work it, or have a break in pay, and maybe health care for me and my family?
These are the folks who I counsel at my church in Detroit (where FYI, I don't get paid regularly for my work because we're in the inner city, so I work a day job at a Medical School to have an income/benefits.)
I don't get what you're saying with your analogy. If they're already working in retail what would you have them do next week?