Recently I was visited at my home by a solicitor on foot. A practice all too common in my neighborhood in Allston. Anywho the two men were trying to get me to join them for a rally they have coming up. I included a picture of the flier they gave me.
Not only was I off my game because I'm suddenly being unexpectedly questioned while relaxing in my home. I was immediately even further back on my heels/offended because the headline says "Fight for $15." This is to try and get minimum wage to $15 an hour in Mass. Which is absolutely absurd. It's currently $11/hr. Thus this would be a huge jump but let's be real here people...
$15/an hour? How does this help anyone? So many reasons this is a bad idea so let me tell you some of them:
1. If joe gets $15/hr to start does everyone else get bumped up accordingly? Not always. And as someone who is above the minimum wage line but also not in the 1% status by any means, this seems unfair. The fact that people who work for supervisors could end up making more than their superior? It sets a bad precedence.
2. If you crank up the minimum wage it will lead to two things from an Employer stand-point: They take the hit and cut some jobs completely or they will try to find new ways to do whatever the minimum wagers are doing. Hence all the automated cashiers, cup filling and other things that are being tested or used in some places.
3. Another sad reality of raising minimum wage is that it leads to other things getting inflated as well. Eventually if everyone can easily drop $60 bucks on a bleacher ticket then those prices will soar over $100 and I, and any other fan, don't want that either. Again that's just an example of the larger overall affect.
4. Humans work ethic is already dying. Giving people $15/hr makes it harder to hire people to help you do anything. Kids will stop mowing lawns, babysitting, the whole things blows up when you set the bar for pay so high. By comparison I've been in my industry for over 15 years. I have experience and skills that set me apart from the average person off the streets. In the past couple of years I've had jobs in my industry that started me at $16/hr that's only 1 dollar more than the proposed change for the people I supervise. Does that mean I should have started at 20 or more? Where is the motivation to learn a skill, trade, or further your skills if you get $15/hr just for showing up? The term is hard work pays off... not any work pays off.
So let's shut this thing down and encourage people to worker harder, and more. If they need the equivalent of 15/hr to live change your lifestyle or get more jobs. People with 2 jobs isn't uncommon if you want to live well and comfortable. Everyone who does well seems to have a side hustle. Its an evil in some ways but in others its good. You work hard and often, and good things will come.