Minimum Wage

The question is what are minimum wages, and why do we have them and do we need them? At what cost do we pay for minimum wages? Is it worth the cost? The national minimum wage is now $7.25 per hour, and several states and cites have their own minimum wage and workers are entitled to the highest one.

There is a national movement to bring the national and state minimum wage to $15.00 per hour to get a so called “Living Wage”. What is a “Living Wage” today any way. I know that in some place $15.00 would not be enough. in others is would be. The real question is to what purpose to we need the Minimum Wage? Do we owe anyone a “Living Wage”?

Who do we owe a living to anyway? I had to work for my living wage and started at $.50 an hour to wash dishes and peel potatoes at 14. Now you want to get $15.00 an hour to wash dishes and peel potatoes. I know that today it more expensive to live and $.50 won’t make it. However starting out on your first job $15.00 is a bit much to ask for. In the first place a first job is not to make a living at as a career. It is to learn how to work. I don’t mean wash dishes, but to deal with people in a commercial business and with co-workers, as part of a team. To deal with customers.

Because of minimum wages unemployment goes up. Business, especially “fast food” can’t afford to pay a so-called “Living Wage” and the jobs there were for youth and in their first job I understand that in today’s economy older people are taking those jobs and have to have a higher wage, but every time the minimum wage goes up unemployment also goes up. If you want to make $15.00 an hour go to a trade school, (which is cheaper than college), and earn it.

I don’t believe that the country owes you a thing. And I was in the restaurant business for 28 years and know that the labor costs are. The biggest expense is people. For every employee that I have to pay more than I can afford I have to cut hours and layoff people. That means the rest of the employees will have to work less making less and do more to cover for the ones I had to layoff

I don’t care if you have to work for want the business can afford to pay you. Do care about what unemployment does to the country. I have seen what a minimum wage does to a company. If you are the one laid off what happens then what. Laid off and replaced by technology? At lot of businesses will go out of business, leaving a lot of people out of a job.