The minimum wage has been in the media and in discussion a lot recently. This probably has something to do with the fact that the House recently approved the first increase in the federal minimum wage in nearly a decade. The raise will be from $5.15/hr to $7.25/hr when all is said and done.
I have so many problems with the minimum wage, I am having a hard time deciding where to start ranting.
First, I really believe that the fact that the Senate passed the minimum wage increase as part of the Iraq spending bill is wrong. If the Senate wanted to pass a minimum wage increase, they should have done so on its own merit, not because the military needed that Iraq spending bill.
Second, Wages should be controlled by demand, not the federal government. Many people have complained that the congressional salaries have gone up every year while minimum wage has stayed the same for many years. The problem with this comparison is that they are not comparing apples to apples. Congress is paid by the taxpayers. If you want your congressman to be paid less, then you should let him know instead of complaining to people who have no control over it. Minimum wage employees are not paid by the taxpayer (I'm talking about corporations, small businesses, etc. here). If you want to start paying the minimum wage to these people, then, please, send the government more money and tell them to send it to the people who work for minimum wage.
Third, for many of the adults on minimum wage, this is a second job. Perhaps they want to make more money because they overextended themselves when they took on that adjustable rate mortgage (not the government's or their employer's fault). Perhaps they just want some extra money to support a hobby.
Fourth, raising minimum wage can be hard if not detrimental to small businesses. In case you haven't noticed, there are a lot of small business out there. They employ a lot of people. With a minimum wage increase, some of those business will have to raise prices or lay people off. Then, those people who were making minimum wage before won't be making anything at all. You'll pay the price increase that will pay for the new minimum wage. Do you also understand that the minimum wage earners will also have to pay that increased cost?
So, you say, you must be one of those rich, elite snobs who doesn't understand being poor. Well, you're wrong. I can't say that I understand the idea of being poor. I've never thought of myself as poor. However, I can tell you that during the 10 years of my marriage, I have worked perhaps a total of 2 years part-time. The rest of the time, I have been a stay-at-home mom exclusively. So, obviously, my husband must make gobs of money, right? Wrong again! During our 10 year marriage, our family has qualified for food stamps, WIC, state health care, and more. We are considered by some to be the "working poor" but I can't see it. We own 2 cars, a 3400 sq ft house (picture above!) with very little debt. My husband is in the military. While we lived in Washington DC, we paid to send our oldest and middle sons to go to private schools. Many other military members asked how we managed to do it without me working. The answer is quite simply this: we live simply and don't spend our money frivolously. So, no, we're not rich (we rarely pay income taxes--we just don't make enough), and we may never be. However, I do want it known that we do make quite a bit more than minimum wage. I also believe that we do not get paid too bad a wage, although I certainly would not mind getting paid more, as most people would agree.
I have so many problems with the minimum wage, I am having a hard time deciding where to start ranting.
First, I really believe that the fact that the Senate passed the minimum wage increase as part of the Iraq spending bill is wrong. If the Senate wanted to pass a minimum wage increase, they should have done so on its own merit, not because the military needed that Iraq spending bill.
Second, Wages should be controlled by demand, not the federal government. Many people have complained that the congressional salaries have gone up every year while minimum wage has stayed the same for many years. The problem with this comparison is that they are not comparing apples to apples. Congress is paid by the taxpayers. If you want your congressman to be paid less, then you should let him know instead of complaining to people who have no control over it. Minimum wage employees are not paid by the taxpayer (I'm talking about corporations, small businesses, etc. here). If you want to start paying the minimum wage to these people, then, please, send the government more money and tell them to send it to the people who work for minimum wage.
Third, for many of the adults on minimum wage, this is a second job. Perhaps they want to make more money because they overextended themselves when they took on that adjustable rate mortgage (not the government's or their employer's fault). Perhaps they just want some extra money to support a hobby.
Fourth, raising minimum wage can be hard if not detrimental to small businesses. In case you haven't noticed, there are a lot of small business out there. They employ a lot of people. With a minimum wage increase, some of those business will have to raise prices or lay people off. Then, those people who were making minimum wage before won't be making anything at all. You'll pay the price increase that will pay for the new minimum wage. Do you also understand that the minimum wage earners will also have to pay that increased cost?
So, you say, you must be one of those rich, elite snobs who doesn't understand being poor. Well, you're wrong. I can't say that I understand the idea of being poor. I've never thought of myself as poor. However, I can tell you that during the 10 years of my marriage, I have worked perhaps a total of 2 years part-time. The rest of the time, I have been a stay-at-home mom exclusively. So, obviously, my husband must make gobs of money, right? Wrong again! During our 10 year marriage, our family has qualified for food stamps, WIC, state health care, and more. We are considered by some to be the "working poor" but I can't see it. We own 2 cars, a 3400 sq ft house (picture above!) with very little debt. My husband is in the military. While we lived in Washington DC, we paid to send our oldest and middle sons to go to private schools. Many other military members asked how we managed to do it without me working. The answer is quite simply this: we live simply and don't spend our money frivolously. So, no, we're not rich (we rarely pay income taxes--we just don't make enough), and we may never be. However, I do want it known that we do make quite a bit more than minimum wage. I also believe that we do not get paid too bad a wage, although I certainly would not mind getting paid more, as most people would agree.
I know that there is opportunity out there for all those people who want to take advantage of it, because we have. The government raising minimum wage is not the answer. All that does is encourage people to keep making minimum wage. It creates a culture of people that relies on the government to support them. Quite similar to welfare, state run health care, and social security. But, those are different posts.
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