Why We Should Raise Minimum Wage
Most (if not all) of the people reading this right now have had to work a minimum wage job at some point in their lives. Some maybe even have had to support their families off of it, or even just themselves but either way, most people reading this would be the proof that minimum wage is not just for a high school student to make money. In the current economic climate especially, more and more people have to work jobs that pay them minimum wage right out of college, and some who were more settled in their careers have had to go back to those jobs during the pandemic for extra income. But, the reason really doesn’t matter at the end of the day why people are working in jobs that only have to pay them minimum wage; the problem is that minimum wage hasn’t changed in so long that it is no longer a living wage.
Currently, the federal minimum wage is only $7.25 an hour. Many states have different minimums they follow; for example, Oregon’s state-level minimum wage is $11.75 and then in Portland, it goes up to accommodate the higher expenses of living in a city. Now many states do this, and many larger cities have enacted higher minimum wage even if their states haven’t, but legally they only have to pay employees $7.25 an hour. There is also a weird loophole a lot of tip-based jobs can workaround as well: as long as the employee makes that $7.25 an hour with tips, they can get away with only paying $3 or $4 an hour since the tips make up for the rest. As a former restaurant employee, this is a horrible system. You live off of the tips and extra money you get like that. Having it become apart of your hourly wage is a slap to the face when you need that extra money to survive.
Before I jump into all the facts and figures, I want to share the story of a family who lives in my apartment building. I have their permission to do this, but they did wish to remain anonymous, so we are going to call them George and Mary. George and Mary purchased a home for their growing family in November of 2019. It was a nice little four-bedroom home with a great yard and close to their girls’ school and not far from either of their jobs. Mary worked for the University and George did graphic design for a company based out of Portland. In April 2020, both Mary and George were let go from their jobs because of the pandemic. Both places were downsizing and couldn’t afford to keep them. By September of 2020, they had to leave their home, and move into a two-bedroom apartment with their family of six. They are both working minimum wage jobs due to the fact that is all that is hiring right now. George works three jobs so Mary only has to work one so she can stay home with the kids since there is no one to watch them. This is unfortunately not an unusual story during a pandemic or even in regular times. People get laid off all the time and resort to working jobs that don’t have to pay them very much to barely survive.
Many politicians and financial experts estimate that raising. minimum wage to $15 would be a good living wage that would also afford people to spend and save more. There would be fewer people needing government assistance, and they would be able to spend some of that, therefore helping with the economy and local businesses. It’s basic common sense that when people are paid more, they have more to spend which is what makes the economy better and helps out all businesses. By making the minimum wage $15, millions of people in this country would no longer be living in poverty (Washington Post). Now, this wouldn’t happen overnight. Currently, the proposal would have minimum wage being raised $1.50 every year for five years to get to the desired $15. Some lawmakers have pushed back on this proposal saying that it would increase the federal deficit (it would) and potentially take away jobs from some people since employers may not be able to afford to pay as many employees if the minimum wage is raised. But, the government does things all the time that add to the deficit, and like it was previously stated, this wouldn’t happen overnight so employers would have time to adjust to the new pay scale.
Also as I said before, it would allow many people to no longer need government assistance (like food stamps and welfare) which would also have the government having to spend less on these kinds of programs. There has also been some criticism that it could potentially hurt small, local businesses but once again, this would not happen in one day. A $1.50 increase once a year for five years will give businesses plenty of time to adjust and get used to the extra expense. Plus, when people make more they spend more, so more money will likely be going into these local businesses that will allow them to keep up with the shift in pay.
As always, there will be cons to most things. There isn’t anything that has to do with the money in this country that doesn’t make it so that there are no potential cons or fallouts, but we have to start looking at the big picture and actually helping the people in this country thrive and not just survive. So many jobs that only pay the bare minimum also ask above and beyond all of their employees and then wonder why we burn out and can no longer sustain the amount of work they require of us. Working people to the bine, denying time off, giving no days off, forcing you to work through breaks and so much more accompany minimum wage jobs which leaves those of us working them to feel horrible after every shift. There has also been the argument that so-called “skilled” jobs will somehow be less valued and paid less because “unskilled” jobs will now be making more, but many think it will actually be an incentive to pay others more which will also be beneficial.
Many people do not have the means to go to college or technical programs, or need a way to support themselves and potentially their families while they do go through those programs. But also, there needs to not be a stigma around people working these so-called “unskilled” jobs that make minimum wage. There is nothing wrong with working in a job you love even if it pays less. There isn’t shame in wanting to work in restaurants or in retail or whatever else for your life. If that is your niche and you are happy doing it, there shouldn’t be shame around it and they should be paid a living wage. It’s that simple.
I hope you all enjoyed my thoughts on this topic, and I would love to chat with you more in the comments below! See you all tomorrow for a lighter, fashion post!
Madey
Cover art by Avery Lynch