“Living Wage” – Is The Wage The Problem?
Source: https://goo.gl/zYJkL3
I’ve heard a lot of talk about a “Living Wage” recently as an argument promoting the increase in minimum wage. Supporters of a minimum wage increase cry out, “Everyone deserves a living wage!” My question is, is the wage the problem or the definition of “living” the problem?
I’ve been poor. Dirt poor. We supported a family of 3 on a single income of $6 per hour without government assistance or bailouts from family. We lived in a 46×10 foot trailer. We ate cereal and Ramen noodles on a daily basis because they were cheap. Our other food consisted of items I could find at a local “bent & dent.” We did not have internet, cable, or cell phones. We had one car. We did not have central air, a dish washer, or a big screen tv.
Hunger was our motivation. I went to school to earn my nursing degree. Now, I’m told that everyone deserves to have the same standard of living I do without the sacrifice or the work that I went through to get here. You’ll have to forgive me if I don’t agree.
Simple math, economics, and history all prove that an increase in minimum wage only increases the cost of living. It’s called a budget. Businesses must maintain a budget. When the cost of labor increases, the cost of goods increase. When sharing my experience, I often hear, “But you paid less for a gallon of milk and a gallon of gas back then.” That’s correct and only proves that an increase in minimum wage does not improve the quality of life for those attempting to make a career of these entry level positions. I’ve seen minimum wage almost double in my work years. Those on minimum wage are no better off now than they were then. Why? Because as the supporters of minimum wage increase point out, things cost more now than they did then. Hmmm, coincidence? No. Cause and effect.
My favorite argument is that you need to look at the “average” cost of rent, groceries, and utilities. Those on minimum wage can’t afford the average. Do you know how to obtain an average? You take all the values from the minimum to the maximum and add them together, then divide by the count of those numbers you just added. So, why would a person making the minimum in this equation suddenly think they deserve the average living? Refer to my story above. The average two bedroom home at the time cost $400 – $600 per month in our area. Did we have the average home? No. We had the minimum, a trailer that wasn’t much more than a shack and cost $200 per month. You see how that works? Minimum wage meant minimum living, not average.
The problem we have here isn’t wage. It’s the definition of living. Too many include luxuries in that definition. How many minimum wage earners have smart phones, computers, internet, cable, big screen televisions, manicured nails, expensive salon hairstyles, new name brand clothes, gaming consoles, and the latest electronics? I lived without those things on a meager wage with a family. Was it easy? No. Since when is life guaranteed to be easy? A little struggle and sacrifice gave me things that can’t be bought – determination, character, and appreciation.
Pardon the old cliche, but life isn’t fair. If it were fair, I wouldn’t be working while able-bodied individuals receive handouts paid for by the working class and the top earners that they vehemently hate. Yes, the top earners that have ignorance spewed against them from those dependent on social programs are the very ones that are paying for those programs, but I digress.
Here is the simple, hard truth, even if the minimum wage is raised, those receiving it are and will remain on the bottom. No law or regulation will change that, but a new mindset will. Stop demanding “solutions” that do not solve the problem at hand and start prioritizing, budgeting, working, sacrificing, learning, and most importantly, accomplishing.