I have this stupid discussion with people on an almost daily basis. It doesn't matter if you raise the minimum wage. Even if you raise the minimum wage, it's still going to be a minimum wage, because the cost of living is also going to rise as a result... Why is this concept so hard for people to understand? It's ultimately going to hurt the people who it claims to be helping the most... Especially those who may work in the service industry. People who rely on gratuity as part of their income. Those people generally make less than minimum wage LEGALLY, because the government considers tips as a part of their income.
So for instance, if an employer pays a bartender 3 dollars an hour, they can legally do that, so long as the bartenders' tips bring their shift wage up to at least the minimum wage. If it doesn't, then the employer has to compensate the difference. But rarely is that going to happen because most people in that industry end up covering that difference through tips.
I'm a bartender who's fortunate enough to work at a private lodge that pays its employees minimum wage, and I still receive tips on top of that, but for someone who is working in the same field in a public bar, they may not be so lucky. So to put it in perspective, if the minimum wage is $8.35 an hour, and you average between 15 to 25 dollars an hour a night because of tips, you're doing alright. But if the minimum wage were to suddenly increase to 15 dollars an hour, you're going to find yourself on the bottom end of the spectrum... The reason is because now the cost of living is going to increase, and your standard of living is going to decrease as a result of the now universally accepted "living wage" bringing you down to a "minimum wage".
That's not even the worst of it... Now you're likely to be making even less than you were before. Because those people who were generous enough to tip you a little something extra for their prompt and exceptional service, now aren't going to have the extra spending cash to keep doing so. They're going to be taking a hit as well. Be it through lay-offs or pay-cuts because their employer isn't going to be able to cover the increased overhead that a minimum wage increase will put on them... Some of them might even fold under the increased financial stress put on them.
Nobody ever seems to think long term on this issue. And that's the problem with most people today. The desire for instant gratification clouds the judgement for thoughtful and reasonable logic...
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