Mar
18
Blog Post #9
March 18, 2015 | Leave a Comment
The numbers from the first article about the different proposed hourly wages seem very nice, and it would be shocking if the minimum wage rose to $15. I feel like that would face a lot of criticism not only because it might lower employment rates, but people who currently make $15/hour at a different job might think it’s unfair that people with “easier” jobs, like a cashier at a fast-food restaurant are paid the same as they are. It’s promising that the minimum wage has been slowly increasing, from $7.25 to $8 to $8.75, but I doubt it will ever rise to the $15 that people are asking for. It would even be surprising if it increased to $10 or $11 in the near future.
The second myth, ” People at the bottom of the income ladder are there through no fault of their own” could reign true in some cases in that there might only be one person working or not at all. However, it could also be that they weren’t given the opportunities that they could have had in order to have better jobs. For example, they could’ve grown up in a poor family and didn’t have as many educational opportunities that would’ve helped them with future careers. Therefore, I feel like that myth could go both ways. If the people had the opportunity but chooses not to work, then it’s definitely their fault but if they weren’t presented with as many options, then they didn’t have much choice.
I agree with the third myth, “Government transfer programs, like unemployment insurance, are an effective remedy,” in that if the government simply provides for everyone, then people will just learn to be lazy and rely on the government in order to help them live. I think some government help might be needed in order to give people the boost they need in order to start working, but after a certain limit then they shouldn’t keep relying on others.
The fourth myth about increasing minimum wage not being effective is such a controversial subject. There have been people who agree with that viewpoint and others who say that increasing the minimum wage won’t really affect employment. I somewhat agree with that because of a previous article I read where the minimum wage was nowhere close to the living wage, so even if it was increased, people would still barely be able to afford a decent living. Also, most of the people who earn minimum wage are teenagers who come from middle-class families and don’t have to worry about finance and thus aren’t in poverty.
The article about living on tipped income was quite shocking. I knew that working in the restaurant business as a server didn’t pay that well, but I didn’t know sometimes it was as low as $2.13, and that essentially all that money would go to taxes. Also, the fact that they are so dependent on their customers is quite pitiful. If the weather is bad, then many servers probably won’t have many customers and it would be even harder to play catch up for that week in order to pay for rent. Saillard’s proposed solution of having women change their mindset about leadership positions seems promising. It’s funny how people normally think of women as the cooks in the houses, but then there are usually more men as chefs in professional kitchens. If only more women would apply as chefs or dare to apply for a managerial position, they would probably be better off.
-Margaret Wang
