If you haven't seen the hashtag #1010, it represents the movement of raising minimum wage from 7.25/hr to $10.10/hr. In 2014 Obama signed this executive order.I get why the business community doesn't like the idea of raising minimum wage, If employees are paid more, then there will definitely be side effects such as reduced hours, workplace benefits, and downsize. To me, I don't see how the business community is so worried, after all, the money circulates back into the economy. It's really not a hard concept to understand that if people are getting paid more, they are going to spend more, and that would help feeding our economy.
I think it would push a lot more people to work as well, mainly those that are doing things that society frowns upon on, like drug dealers. Drug dealers usually don't want to sell drugs but do it because it brings a lot of money. They know the consequences, they know it is illegal but hey still need to feed themselves. I'll use myself as an example as well, I have thought about getting a sugar daddy, because doing hard work for little money just doesn't seem worth it when I can get fed, spoiled, and paid at the same time. However it's still selling myself no matter how I look at it. If minimum wage was raised, I wouldn't mind standing around dealing with people for $10/hr at McDonalds, rather than pretending to like an old dude and put up with creepy situations.
Some say we shouldn't raise minimum wage because it wouldn't help the lowest wage earners because they often are incompetent of doing anything better for themselves than low paying jobs anyway. First off, how rude. There are idiots out there that deserves to struggle yes, however our economy has also screwed many hard working people over that has to settle for a minimum wage and they would be relieved of a lot of financial burden if the minimum wage amount was raised to $10.10.
Here's a short video less than 2 minutes that explains why we need to raise Minimum wage better than me.
Find out more here , as well as how I found my information.
Raising the minimum wage for the sake of raising the minimum wage is just another way of perpetuating the ‘something for nothing’ notion that has taken grip on our society. The fact of the matter is, minimum wage pay is given for minimum wage skills. I’ve worked in many fields, food service, retail, sales, labor, and government and I can say from firsthand experience that the lower the requirements of the job, the lower your pay. This is why we go to school -- to raise our skill set to get a higher paying job. Imagine this scenario, you go into debt funding your four year education so you can get an entry level position at your dream job paying $15.00/hr. You go to lunch and the guy flipping burgers or manning the fry station makes the same amount with no student loans. Does that seem fair? I started working my first job when minimum wage was $5.15/hr. I worked hard and in turn was given a raise. This happened several times until I was well above the minimum. There’s no reason I should have been making over $10.00/hr for the job I was doing. I worked hard, but the skills required were minimal and rightly so was the pay.
ReplyDeleteThe issue itself lies in the fact that people do not want to work for their money. Most would rather have things handed to them. If the issue was really about not getting paid enough, the people would find a better paying job or get a second one. Before you say “but Rob, there’s no jobs out there” I’m going to have to call BS. The person could always join the military. Starting salary for a brand new E-1 Private straight out of basic training is $1,546.80 a month. More if they’re married, and more still if they have kids. Most don’t do this though, because they would rather not have to work hard to get paid. "What if I don't want to join the military? There's no jobs locally!" Once again, BS. Within one month of moving to Austin, I found a job paying over minimum wage and I still get calls from employers trying to hire me.
My colleague mentions that raising the minimum wage will urge people such as drug dealers to get jobs. I disagree. If a drug dealer is making more than minimum wage working their own hours, not having to pay taxes, and getting welfare checks in the mail then why would they work? The money is too good to actually want to make something of themselves. There’s no incentive to do anything else.
"Some say we shouldn't raise minimum wage because it wouldn't help the lowest wage earners because they often are incompetent of doing anything better for themselves than low paying jobs anyway."
I feel quite the opposite way, actually. I fully believe that anyone can overcome their position by themselves with hard work and perseverance given the right motivation. I did it, and I'm certainly nobody special.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI first came across Kat's post because of Robert's well thought out response. While I mostly agree with Robert on this issue, I do have a couple of thoughts to add.
ReplyDeleteLike Robert, I tend to find the best in people. I believe people can overcome their circumstances if they choose to work hard. I think everyone is capable of making a contribution to society.
I do not, however, believe that the minimum wage should be a blanket setting. When I say that I mean I don't think there should be one minimum wage for all of America. I believe the minimum wage should reflect the cost of living in your city. Living in Austin, for example is much more expensive than living in a smaller city. I can imagine that a family in a city with high living costs could have a difficult time making ends meet. I certainly do not believe life on minimum wage should be comfortable. If you want a more lavish lifestyle, go out and work for it. Take the necessary steps to get yourself there. But if that family is having difficulties making ends meet, tax payer dollars are probably going to come into effect when they need to live in subsidized housing.
All I'm saying is that I believe it's important that basic needs can be met by living on minimum wage, because everyone needs to start somewhere. But like Robert said, perseverance, hard work, and motivation are everything in achieving a goal.