Here is one of my very few political rants.
I wrote a while back about minimum wage and what it is truly intended to be and as the discussion is gaining ground this week in Congress I’ve learned that we have a definition problem in our government. Too many politicians, media types, and then media driven sound bite voters have lost the ability to know what a term means. They use words in ways that make no sense and then try to make policy changes on inaccurate usage of those words.
We have lost the definition of the word illegal. General US society has no clue what the term illegal means. Illegal means that an act is against the law; a law has been broken, disregarded, ignored, blatantly disobeyed and therefore the act should be punished in some manner. Instead we talk about illegal immigrants as a title and humanitarian category. We have completely lost sight of the fact that illegal is a descriptor of a behavior and that the bearer of this adjective has gone against the law to do something.
Now we have lost the definition of the word minimum. We want a minimum wage to mean the same thing as a living wage. They are not the same thing and should never be confused as such. A living wage will always be higher than a minimum wage. You cannot legislate a minimum wage that will equate to a living wage, EVER. To even attempt that is born of irrational and incomplete thinking. So lets do this, think for a minute.
A minimum wage is intended to protect workers from unreasonable and overbearing bosses, organizations, and/or corporations. And yes, even the government. At the time the minimum wage was first legislated workers were being horribly abused by employers. With all the labor laws and regulations in place nowdays I seriously doubt a minimum wage is even necessary, but given the abuse of power and evil of some I am okay with keeping it in place. A living wage is an amount that one can live on day to day providing food, clothing, shelter, and the basic necessities of life for self and/or family. It is earned through a trade, profession, or career. A living wage can be gained through a combination of minimum wage jobs if one does not have a trade, profession, or career.
I think it is important to distinguish between the two terms because to make the minimum wage be the same as a living wage you will effectively kill a large number of small business employers and therefore unemploy a large number of minimum wage earners. Where then does that leave people? They now have no minimum wage or living wage? I know this because I have a part-time job where I earn slightly higher than the current minimum wage. I have been at this job for over 8 years. I started at the minimum wage and I have had one raise in that 8 years. I have not asked for more because the employer cannot afford more and keep me on. I would rather stay at this lower wage and continue with the employment than to push for a higher wage and risk losing the position all together. I love this part-time job and I get more from the employee discounts and comraidere than from the wage anyway.
Don’t get me wrong, the wage I earn is instrumental in my standard of living. When I first started this job, this wage is what allowed me to slowly work my way out of debt. This wage allows me to go on bike rides out of state that I otherwise would not be able to go on. It currently is providing the funds to feed my goal of 50 rides in 50 states. Without this wage I would not have the savings in place to enjoy my passion of cycling. I would not be in a positon to do the charity work I do for multiple sclerosis and cystic fibrosis. My regular salary pays my bills, covers my mortgage, puts food in my mouth, but it does not extend any wiggle room for extra curricular activities. This is why I work a second job. A second minimum wage job – not a second living wage job. I have a living wage job, so I don’t need a second one.
This is where I am completely opposed to raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour like Congress is currently debating. If my part-time employer is forced by the Federal government to raise my part-time wage to $10.10 per hour then I will be fired. This small family owned retail business cannot afford to keep a very part-time person on board at those wages. It would get kinda crazy on occasion to have 4 people work a Saturday instead of 5 but it could be done. The regular full-time folks would get stretched a bit thin but they would definitely be earning a living wage. The part-time folks would be out or the ones like me that are the most part-time of the part-timers would be out because it would just cost too much to keep me around.
This company is very reflective of a lot of companies in the US. To force them to raise the minimum wage would be a death sentence to them. If the Affordable Care Act hasn’t shut them down then this surely will and the combination of the two is so fatal. I hurt for all the business owners out there that watch as Washington pushes and debates, argues and legislates without ever taking a breath to see what they are really doing. They aren’t thinking about the impact or implications of where this is headed.
So I plead with our politicians to please GET A DICTIONARY. Relearn what a word as simple as minimum means and stop trying to make it be something more. If you want to talk about a living wage then discuss what Americans can do to start earning a living wage, but please don’t legislate a minimum wage that will kill small business and call it a living wage. Minimum is the lowest someone can be paid, it isn’t the most or the average, or the right amount – it is the rock bottom. Don’t bring the bottom up because some of us are okay on that bottom, it serves us well in what we are doing and it keeps businesses open and thriving so others can be employed at wages above the minimum – at a living wage level.
Sorry for the rant – going back to bikes and book reviews now.
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