By BECKY NELSON
Bramblings
There has been much talk of raising the minimum wage, both federally and at the state level. Though I understand those favoring the raise in wages, whose hearts and policies are for the betterment of workers on the bottom of the pay scale, I think it is a bad idea for many reasons.
Minimum wage should not be considered a “living wage” in my opinion, which I think is what many proponents of the hike are seeking. A living wage takes much into consideration, and a minimum wage was originally enacted to protect vulnerable workers from exploitation. I made minimum wage as a teenager, working in an agricultural setting with no skills necessary other than showing up and picking and sorting berries. My future was limited in the position, as the season for picking was short. There was a small profit margin for the farmer, who tended the berry patch all year long but gained income from it in only a few weeks. My job would never become full time and paying minimum wage allowed the owner to hire enough people to get the short-term job done.
I also earned minimum wage when working part-time at a summer position at a retail store. The owners needed more help in the summer, and again, it was a temporary position. I had to be trained and coached, and wasn’t worth much until I learned the ropes of customer service and handling money.
Minimum wage has a purpose. It keeps costs for the employee reasonable when training or performing a necessary, but unskilled job. In almost every business, when you prove yourself a valuable asset to an employer, you are rewarded with a better wage. If you are not rewarded, you have every right and personal responsibility to find something better for yourself that pays you what you think you deserve. You have the responsibility to better yourself with education, training or coaching to become a more valuable asset to your employer.
Money doesn’t grow on trees, and the government should not be the business owner or CEO. If you have a job to be done and there are folks willing to work at it for what you are offering for pay, it seems the perfect agreement and arrangement to me. If someone cannot afford transportation, housing, personal needs and food on the wages you pay, they should find something else that can pay more … the person who hired at minimum wage should not be responsible for providing a “living” wage for unskilled or part-time labor.
Such a jump as proposed in the minimum wage would hurt. As an agricultural employer, I skirt near minimum wage for part-time hire because I just don’t make much money raising agricultural products and cannot afford to pay folks more than I earn. I realize that agricultural employers are actually exempt from minimum-wage requirements, but it is almost impossible to attract someone to work for less than they make at entry levels elsewhere, which forces me to pay the “going” rate. And if this person makes great progress or shows initiative, he or she is rewarded with a raise in most cases.
I think the same holds true for all employers. If we don’t treat our employees fairly, they will walk away and find other work. We business owners do not want or need our governments stepping in and manipulating our hiring numbers. It will really hurt small, marginally profitable businesses and those in the service industry, who will in the end hire fewer people and look toward automation to perform tasks whenever possible.
Another problem that crops up with a higher minimum wage is a rising cost of living. If I, and any employer, has to pay more to get work done, the rates I charge for the goods I sell and services I provide are going to go up … which negates the benefits of a higher entry or minimum rate. Rents will go up as landlords have to pay more for services. Food will go up as grocery stores have to pay more for help. More self-checkouts will be installed in larger retailers and checkout clerks will be let go. The price of donuts, coffee, sandwiches, vegetables … everything will creep up and the minimum wage will again be too low to provide a living wage and those who work near those wages and did not get a raise when the minimum went up will struggle even more.
Leave wages alone, please. Let the free market reward excellence in work ethics and commitment and remain profitable so they can take care of folks receiving living wages and let minimum wages remain the entry point. If the business owners who are paying these workers want to remain employers, they have to make money. And if you cut into the profit of a business the first to lose are the employees by losing their jobs so no minimum wage hike will help if that is to happen. Let’s not rock the boat too hard.
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