interesting. i see both sides of the story. i've been there, and now i am a small business owner. i've felt both sides, and i can honestly say i've been there, first hand.
i wasn't born with a silver spoon up my ass. i don't have a college education(my own fault). BUT, i made minimum wage at only ONE job my ENTIRE life. i washed dishes at a local restaurant for three months. it totally sucked ass. worst job i ever had, but that is minimum wage... crapshoot work. But, during that three months, i had taken the spare moments i had from washing the china, to learn how to operate the fryer, and that side of the cooking line, instead of taking a break, or smoking a cigarette, like my dishwashing counterparts. i was moved up to fryer cook, and did the same thing watching the saute and grill cooks. after another three months of observing, i was grill cook and head of the line, and in charge of everything that took place in that kitchen for two of the less busy nights of the week, making $7 an hour, a hell of a kick over the $4.25 i started with.
i understand why the minimum wage laws were put into effect. the first year that the law was put into place was 1938, at $0.25 an hour. the country was coming out of the biggest depression it had ever faced. it was a law that was totally necessary at the time, and still serves a purpose, imo. during the same time period(1935), the 40 hour work week was also put into place for the same reasons as the minimum wage act..... to keep employers from taking advantage of employees. things were really, really, really tough at the time. it wasn't like you could just go anywhere and get a job. there were families who were starving, and the man of the house took any job he could get to put food on the table. employers were demanding low wages and long work weeks, or else, your family could go back to being hungry. it was this type of munipulation that the government stepped in to stop. and rightfully so.
which brings us to the present. yes, it is nearly impossible to survive on minimum wage this day and age. so i can see where certain people can say, 'hey i'm being treated wrong here'. but setting it higher, is like giving to those who don't deserve it. i understand a few(50 or so) cents every few years, to keep up with the times and economy. but just doing so to 'help' those who are trying to survive on it is not only assinine, but a slap in the face to those of us who actually worked to get away from it. it's a starting point. nothing more. i do understand business, and understand why i couldn't stand around with my thumb up my ass while i made minimum wage..... BECAUSE IT IS BUSINESS!
i don't pay any of my employees minimum wage. never would. theres no incentive to work hard there for anyone other than myself if i do that. i run a lanscaping/new residential construction business. for the new construction part, most of the work is done through sub-contractors, so there is no need for in house labor. but for the landscape part, i have to keep in house labor. therefore i have to decide what to pay my guys. most companys in the business here in g'ville nc are paying about minimum wage to $6/hr starting for landscaping help. i pay $8. reason being, i watch the other companies, and i know which employees can produce and do a good job. when the time comes, i don't have trouble finding any help, GOOD help not to mention. as a matter of fact they are beating down the door to come to work for me. which is the way i like it. granted, i have to charge more for my jobs, but at the same time, we deliver a better finished product than any of our competitors, so not only is it not an issue at all, its a selling point. and yes, we don't get any of the nickle and dime customers or jobs, but at the same time, i'm not looking for 'those' customers either. you want to pay crap prices, and get a crappy result, by all means, "hire the next guy and don't waste anymore of my time....." well you get the point hopefully. the guys that work for me don't have any special education, or special skills when they step on my job. all i ask is that they bust ass for 40 hours and come to work when they are supposed to. thats it.
sure it sucks being paid MW. it really does. but take a walk in any employer who pays its shoes for a while. they've probably got these employees doing a job that any competent person could do in their sleep. but thats only one of the reasons that certain jobs pay certain wages. imagine hiring the teenager who is supposed to be flipping burgers, but decides to call in sick every other shift, because their freinds are going to the movies or mall and they don't want to miss it. or the crackhead who is supposed to be bagging groceries, but stays on a crack binge every other night instead of askin paper or plastic. you'd want the wages to be less than what they are.
i do feel for the people that have to support themselves or a family on MW. but again, it is only a stepping stone in the walk of life. it should only be temporary, and if you are in this position, you should take every opportuinty to better your situation. if you don't do that, then you SHOULD be wondering and whining about it, imo. everyone made a bed in life, or is making that bed that they have to lie in sooner or later. when the time comes, take it like a man and lie in it. i'll bet there isn't one person here who attended public school in the US that didn't have a teacher or teachers tell them that they didn't want to have to live on MW the rest of their life. sure the class clown probably made a joke about it at the time, but he IS the joke now when you see him stocking toys at target....
would it hurt my small business personally? no. maybe the ones who are competeing with large corporate chains, but that is a risk anyone who decides to go into business for themselves makes. it is SUPER expensive to run a business. between business taxes, employee payroll taxes, business licenses, and insurance cost, not to mention business overhead, it is mind numbingly frightful how much of a companies profits go to someone else before you as an owner actually sees anything in your piggy bank. but if it weren't for the taxes, insurance and other BS, then everyone would be in business for themselves, and thats what makes it that much sweeter when you acheive success as a business owner. is the reward worth the risk involved, is what every business owner really needs to sit down and think about before they decide to do it for themselves.
i personally think, without trying to focus on an indivual group, but the economy as a whole, everything is in place for a reason. people ARE rewarded for hard work. wether you take you lumps as a kid or as you get older, make no mistake about it, YOU WILL TAKE YOUR LUMPS IN LIFE. getting through them only makes us stronger. wether its climbing through the ranks from minimum wage upward, going to colleg for half of your life, or taking a high pay/high risk job, or starting a business, success does not come overnight. if someone making minimum wage 'accepts' it in their own mind, they are only holding themselves back. thats why the saying goes, 'i'm going to work', not 'i'm going to play'...... it's business, whether the minimum wage guy looks at it like that or not, it is ALL business.
FFA, said something earlier in the person A,B,C bit about not being able to pay less than minimum wage. this is completly untrue. there are loopholes everywhere. if you and the person agree on 4 bucks an hour, then you can pay that person 4 bucks an hour as a sub-contractor from now through the rest of time. you would issue that person a 1099 at the end of the year, instead of a W-2, and that person would be responsible for their own income and self employment taxes at that point. its the same way the 40 hr week laws are twisted around. as an employer you can opt to pay a salary, instaed of an hourly wage. then it doesn't matter how many hrs an employee is on the clock for, because a weekly/monthyl/yearly sum has been agreed upon by both parties. many different ways to swim through the loop holes.
of course, i'm not an economical expert, nor i have any degree in business, but it's what i've seen first hand. i'm not rich, don't even consider myself middle class at this point. hell i'd go as far to say that i'm in the upper 'poor' class, instead of middle class. my business is young. it struggles. i wonder where the hell the money is going to come from EVERY month to pay the bills. some days, even weeks i make minimum wage.... or less. others i don't, i make more. i've even thought about giving up, but then i'd be no better than a guy who complains about making MW.
should MW increase? yes. it's been almost ten years, since the last time. the overall cost of living has increased since 1997, the last time it was increased.
should it be raised to the point that anyone making minimum wage should be able to lead a happy care free life? ABSOLUTELY NOT. why do any of the things you are supposed to do to make you better, if you know you can get a job that will pay you and you can get by with out the effort? it doesn't work that way.
go ahead and raise it. if the government is trully concerned with the small business owner, they raise minumun wage, but KEEP THEIR GREEDY FINGERS OUT OF OUR POCKETS.(and those greedy insurance bastards too, they can both kiss my entire
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