Some more thoughts about the minimum wage. I’ve been told by some people that raising the minimum wage: a) would reward lazy employees; b) would be a disincentive to work more or harder; c) would be a disincentive to move “up the ladder”; d) was never designed to be a “living” wage; e) was designed for teenagers and those just starting out.
It is true that most people starting out in a/the workforce, who are not college educated (and many who are), start at the minimum wage. If that wage is not enough to support them, they find ways to increase their earn-ability through more training, apprenticeship, internship etc. What about those that don’t have the means (time and/or money) to get more training, etc? Does their being stuck (either in the short- or long-term) in a minimum wage job mean that they must live at the poverty level?
In order to move forward, we need to stop tarring the lower/working class as “lazy”, and “moochers”, who want to suckle the teat of government. Certainly, there is grift, mooching, and a sense of entitlement at all levels of economic wealth. Demonizing those relying on minimum wage jobs is counter-productive.
What is sad about the article (linked below) is that many of these wealthy people came from families that immigrated to the US in the early 1900’s. Their great-grandparents may have been poor and relied on some government support to help them get themselves moving upward. Generations later, many wealthy people see their success as something limited to their own generation, and not something they were able to build based on their ancestors’ struggles.
-Aaron