![\"\"](\"https:\/\/kyledwilson.com\/davidwilsonupnorth.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/mw.jpg?w=300\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
I work for minimum wage.<\/p>\n
Surprised?\u00a0 You shouldn\u2019t be.\u00a0 In fact, I submit that pretty much everybody who receives a paycheck from an employer is working for minimum wage\u2026 everybody\u2026, including me, and all of you.\u00a0 Most employers generally pay employees the minimum amount of money they need to pay in order to get the desired work out of the employee.\u00a0 For a school teacher that might be $60,000 per year (according to the NEA, in 2012 the average for a Michigan public school teacher was $61,560).\u00a0 For a heart surgeon it might be $600,000.\u00a0 For a high school senior working part time in fast food it might be $10\/hr.<\/p>\n
If someone will successfully perform their job for $10\/hr, there\u2019s no reason to pay them $11\/hr.\u00a0 It\u2019s no different than a trip to the grocery store.\u00a0 The price tag shows a price, which is the minimum amount the store will take for that item.\u00a0 We don\u2019t step up to the cash register and pay more than the marked price do we?\u00a0 No, we pay the minimum.\u00a0 With labor, the employee has a minimum price for their time and effort, and thus the employer pays that price in the form of a wage – a minimum wage.\u00a0\u00a0 If the employee\u2019s minimum price is not met, one of two things happens; either the employer raises their minimum offer, or the two go their separate ways.<\/p>\n
Minimum Wage Law<\/strong><\/p>\n Most people do not realize that the concept of mandated Minimum Wage has been around for at least 600 years, probably more.\u00a0 European serfs generally worked without pay in exchange for a place to live and a field in which to grow food. \u00a0A common concern was should they also be given a single coin each day.\u00a0 Is it really a surprise that someone came up with an idea in the 1400\u2019s and we\u2019ve been arguing about it ever since?\u00a0 Six hundred years later it remains an issue of HUGE contention within our Society, with countless reasons being argued by both sides of the issue.\u00a0 Sadly, it seems that most arguments for either raising OR lowering the mandated Minimum Wage usually have everything to do with politics, and absolutely NOTHING to do with appropriate exchange of value.\u00a0 This too, is of no surprise.<\/p>\n Here in the US, mandated Minimum Wage is such a contentious issue because it\u2019s a Socialist premise trying to fit into a free market Capitalist system.\u00a0 Minimum Wage is set by a combination of Local, State and Federal laws, in that order of hierarchy.\u00a0 Per the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (really, 1938!), the current Federally-mandated Minimum Wage (set in 2009) is $7.25 per hour.\u00a0 In my opinion, this is $7.25 too high.\u00a0 The REAL minimum wage in a free market Capitalist system is $0.00, just as the allowable (maximum) wage is limitless.\u00a0 All societies must make a choice:\u00a0 Do the citizens want complete protection or unlimited opportunity?\u00a0 With respect to earnings you can\u2019t have both, at least not for very long.\u00a0 And by the way, it seems unlikely that any in-depth review of Socialist societies during the past century would conclude that above all else, all the citizens were \u201cprotected.\u201d\u00a0 The most protected classes of people in virtually every Socialist society are either members of the Government, or those that really do not want to work, but I repeat myself.<\/p>\n On the surface, the notion of a Federally-mandated Minimum Wage might seem sensible, even noble.\u00a0 However, in reality it is patently absurd, for the US is far too large and economically diverse for this to make any sense at all.\u00a0 How can one say a Minimum Wage is valid when it\u2019s the same for Mancelona and Manhattan, Bellaire and Bel Air, Atlanta MI and Atlanta GA?\u00a0 The difference in the cost of living between even just these pairings should be clear indication that a Federal Minimum Wage is completely economically irrational.<\/p>\n In addition, the fact that Minimum Wage is a premise based upon what an employee is ENTITLED TO from their employer, while completely ignoring the work the employee is RESPONSIBLE to perform for the employer creates all kinds of problems related to fairness, motivation, and even morality.\u00a0 How can a standard of specific tangible reward regardless of contribution be justified, especially when the reward comes at expense of someone else?\u00a0\u00a0 Simply put, it cannot.<\/p>\n Living Wage<\/strong><\/p>\n Regardless of how many times these two phrases are spoken in the same sentence, or viewed together on the same protest sign, Minimum Wage and Living Wage are two entirely different and separate things.\u00a0 The premise of Living Wage is determined by a myriad of factors, none of which can, much less should be solved by mandated Minimum Wage.<\/p>\n Living Wage is also a very contentious issue because beyond subsistence, living wage is ENTIRELY determined by CHOICES made by the individual, such as where one chooses to live, how many children one chooses to have and when one chooses to have them, what kind of car one chooses to drive, how much education one chooses to get, which smart phone and plasma TV one chooses to buy, etc.\u00a0 The concept of what constitutes one\u2019s basic needs is entirely, individually fluid, and is therefore the responsibility of the individual to meet, and NOT the responsibility of the taxpayer or employer to subsidize.<\/p>\n For example, I happen to think that my earnings are MY problem to solve.\u00a0 That\u2019s sort of the nature of the beast isn\u2019t it?\u00a0 Which of any individual\u2019s given problems should be solved by whom?\u00a0 At numerous points throughout my life I earned less than what was needed to \u201clive\u201d the life I desired.\u00a0 So I took it upon myself to increase my relative value in the market.\u00a0 I did things like accepting a lesser wage in order to work to gain experience, and returning to school to increase my knowledge through additional education.\u00a0 I thought it inappropriate to ask my fellow citizens (taxpayers) to increase my earnings by passing a law that mandated I be paid more, regardless of the value of my work.<\/p>\n Many advocates of raising the Federally-mandated Minimum Wage insist that it\u2019s needed in order to increase Minimum Wage earners\u2019 purchasing power.\u00a0 Further, these advocates often insist that employers will easily afford the additional payroll expense by simply raising prices of the goods and services they provide, thus taking in more revenue.\u00a0 This idea fails to recognize even the most fundamental principles of Basic Economics.\u00a0 \u201cJust raise prices!\u201d actually punishes the very people that mandated Minimum Wage professes to help.\u00a0 If all companies raise their prices to fund higher wages, the Minimum Wage earner now needs even more money in order to buy that which used to cost less, thus negating the value of the wage increase.<\/p>\n Wrap It Up David, My Brain is Starting To Hurt<\/strong><\/p>\n Private employers need to compete in the open market for quality employees, and thus pay the going market-driven wages.\u00a0 Employees need to take responsibility for providing value for their employer that is congruent to the wages they demand.\u00a0 Private employers need the freedom to hire whomever they wish, and employees need the freedom to work wherever they are qualified to work.\u00a0 Each of those \u201cfreedoms\u201d typically comes with a broad range of costs, and everyone involved must accept those costs.\u00a0 Many of our societal issues are the result of an unwillingness to bear the inherent costs of our numerous freedoms.\u00a0 Minimum Wage is no different.<\/p>\n The entire notion of mandated Minimum Wage is incredibly complex, as is the determination of Living Wage.\u00a0 Economics, societal mores, individual responsibility, political platform, Constitutional law, and acceptable behavior are only a short list of the things that play a crucial role in these issues.\u00a0 Therefore, it is of no surprise that this cannot be effectively addressed by simply deciding that even though Minimum Wage today is X, going forward it will be Y.\u00a0 It\u2019s just not that simple, or that easy.<\/p>\n So once again, I work for \u201cminimum\u201d wage, and I always have.\u00a0 However, I also took responsibility for enhancing my knowledge, skills and willingness to work in such a way that the value that I provide my employer both motivates and enables my employer to pay me considerably more than what the Government mandates that I be paid.\u00a0 Given the individual economic and lifestyle choices I\u2019ve made, and continue to make on a daily basis, the wage I earn constitutes a \u201cliving\u201d wage for me.\u00a0 I do not need, much less desire, the government to be anymore involved in this financial relationship than they already are, in the form of Withholding Taxes.\u00a0 Taxes that are used for, among other things, the giving of money to people who staunchly REFUSE to make responsible economic, lifestyle and employment decisions.<\/p>\n And we wonder why the number of people receiving taxpayer-funded financial subsidies and entitlements continues to grow\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I work for minimum wage. Surprised?\u00a0 You shouldn\u2019t be.\u00a0 In fact, I submit that pretty much everybody who receives a paycheck from an employer is working for minimum wage\u2026 everybody\u2026, including me, and all of you.\u00a0 Most employers generally pay employees the minimum amount of money they need to pay in order to get the … Continue reading “Minimum Wage, Living Wage and other Great Misconceptions”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cultural-commentary-and-perspective"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kyledwilson.com\/davidwilsonupnorth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kyledwilson.com\/davidwilsonupnorth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kyledwilson.com\/davidwilsonupnorth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kyledwilson.com\/davidwilsonupnorth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kyledwilson.com\/davidwilsonupnorth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=187"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kyledwilson.com\/davidwilsonupnorth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1123,"href":"https:\/\/kyledwilson.com\/davidwilsonupnorth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187\/revisions\/1123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kyledwilson.com\/davidwilsonupnorth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kyledwilson.com\/davidwilsonupnorth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kyledwilson.com\/davidwilsonupnorth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}