We’re back! I’m not sure if we’re any more eloquent, but we’re sure as hell just as pissed! In this next podcast episode we’ll delve into the fight for $15, and it’s common arguments. I figured, as a prelude, a blog post outlining it all might do a bit of good. Please leave a comment, we’re recording tomorrow and would like your input! Below you’ll find a few of the arguments against a $15 minimum wage, followed by my opinions.
-This is one of the critics’ many go-to arguments: Raise wages, they say, and businesses will have to raise prices to maintain their profits. It seemed like an uncontroversial claim; even supporters of the Fight for $15 said they would be willing to pay a bit more to give workers a living wage.
There are a few things going on here. I’d like to point out the question of who “deserves” to pay or be paid? Someone might argue that it’s a burden on them to have to pay more for a gallon of milk just because someone thinks they deserve $15/hr. As in, they don’t deserve to be forced to pay more for milk, while the person supplying the milk does not deserve a wage above a certain point (the point of which enables someone to buy cheap milk). In our society people see themselves as entitled to certain things, and they are, at least to certain things. One of the fallacies in the above argument is that folks see themselves as entitled to pay the lowest possible price from a thing (simply by virtue of their station in this society), while folks who provide those most valuable things are not granted the same latitude with regards to livable wages. How does this make sense? It’s a violation of my “rights” to see my gallon of milk increase in price by 40 cents, but it’s not a violation of any type of “rights” to exploit the person providing the milk for the lowest possible wage. I feel like I’m repeating myself. Perhaps we should shift the argument form who deserves what to who does not deserve. We’re over here squabbling over the 40 cent increase in milk when the owner of the milk company is making $100 for every $1 paid to the people. “But he worked so hard for his $900k/year salary”. Maybe, but without the workers whom he’s paying slave wages, would any of his “hard work” mean anything? This CEO can have all the great marketing or business ideas in the world, but without someone physically putting the milk on the shelf, this CEO has nothing more than an idea.
-Minimum wage hikes reduce employment levels.
Researchers at the University of Washington have found this not to be true. Specifically, in Washington, variance in employment levels which have been falsely attributed to the change in minimum wage laws, can actually be correlated to the natural variance of seasonal employment. However, let’s keep it layman and maybe even anecdotal (because as far as I know, most working class are PhD’s in paying fucking rent, not economics). This argument suggests that an employer is so financially burdened by the prospect of paying its employees a livable wage, that said employer has no choice but to hire fewer workers.
Now, I’ve been around some small businesses before and can attest this to be true in my experience with businesses doing less than a million dollars of revenue per year (not of course taking into account the specific trade of the business). However, in my experience with these small businesses, the expense of paying employees is far less a burden than the expense of renting commercial space, or paying for inventory. The biggest bitch of being small retailer of any sort is getting people to purchase your shit. In my anecdotal case, the owners of these mom and pop businesses are one of the worker in the business, stocking shelves, mopping the floors etc… The profit margins of these types of businesses do not depend on the salary of their workers nearly as much as their fledgling customer flow. And as such, you’re hearing the argument come less form mom and pop stores and more from the likes of the Walton family, who run the small corner store known as Wal-Mart.
The Walton’s being one of the richest families in the world have made their claim on the backs of workers from the inception of their business plan. Purchase the cheapest materials sewn together by the children of Vietnam for 47 cents a week, then sold to a municipal worker, or nursing assistant on a Saturday before the football game for dollars on the cent (proportionally). Investment flows in, cheap products created with slave labor ensures a tiny overhead resulting in a huge margin to be split among the investors, with the remaining crumbs handed out in the form of bull shit salaries to those who stock the shelve at their “market value”. What I’m rambling on about here is the argument that minimum wage hikes reduce employment is a farce. I’m able to sleep at night with the idea that if you’re company has a board and stock value, but cannot afford to pay its workers appropriate wages to live where they work, your company is doing nothing shy of total exploitation, and should admit it or pack up shop. If Wal-Mart came out and said “once again using our business model of utilizing slave labor we’re able to secure record profits for our investors”, I’d probably lay off of them a bit…because at least they wouldn’t be fooling anyone with their cheery yellow smiley faces.
-In Mississippi, by contrast, many employers will have to raise their wages, and it’s a safe bet that virtually all of the cost of this minimum wage hike will be passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices
Each of these arguments takes place through a lens where we’re still focusing on the crumbs and not the overwhelming amount of capitol absorbed by the 1%, and argument which should marry itself to the question of “who actually makes society run”? I hate to get into an argument of who “deserves” what, but all too often I’m hearing the arguments of the poor shot down by the privileged with words such as entitlement, hand out, redistribution of wealth, lazy etc…While the justification of the ridiculous salaries of the CEO justified with arguments involving the words “hard work”. How do we define or quantify the “hardness” of work? Should we use hours worked, metric tons of weight moved, steps taken, words typed, or other things such as hands shaken, ties tied, memo’s dictated etc… I’m sure the CNA’s at my hospital working their way through nursing school have worked more hours than the CEO that day and week; the transportation techs have walked more steps, the maintenance workers and housekeepers have moved more metric tonnage, and the unit secretary have typed plenty more words. But what does it matter? The calluses on hands verses the shininess of penny loafers? Instead of defining hard work through the dick measuring of work pain (because if we did that I’m sure anyone who spent a summer roofing would win), let use define hard work through the litmus test I call “what would happen if we didn’t show up”. What would happen if the CEO of my hospital didn’t show up to work tomorrow? Well in the ER I sure as shit cannot tell you if I notice an effect when my CEO is in his office or touching dicks at some golf resort; however, I can feel an effect if if x-ray is short staffed or some nurses called in sick to work. I’m rambling again; I don’t want to get into some long diatribe about Marxism and labor, but what I do want to ask for the one millionth time is why the fuck are we scoffing at those who simply want to be able to pay the rent of their meager 1 bedroom apartment (avg price in Denver $1,700/ month) while those who add practically nothing to the productivity of society prance away in their 80 foot yacht with an applaud from us for all of their “hard work”?
-Low-wage employers take on the challenge of succeeding where families and schools have failed.
What the holy fuck? I’m noticing as I type more, I swear more, but seriously? What god damn challenge is a low-wage employer taking on here? This argument makes it seem like the ever omnipotent farm owner who hires a team of undocumented workers who will sweat until kidney failure just to earn enough cash to pay for their shitty asbestos lined former meth-house apartment, is doing some sort of god damn charity. Let’s clear this up, low wage employers (janitorial, grounds-keeping, technicians etc…) are doing nothing more than taking advantage of a workforce that is overinflated, underpaid, and in totally desperate need of some kind of income. Let’s examine the guy selling beer at the baseball stadium (the one walking up and down the seats). Do you think they’re getting paid $9.30/hr because their employer, Fuckface Event Staff, have virtuously decided to shoulder the challenge of succeeding where families and schools have failed? Or is it perhaps because Fackface Event Staff knows there is an entire demographic of people out there who have no chance of getting any other employment, therefore they’ll pay Mr. or Mrs. Beer person whatever salary they please, because they know if Mr/Mrs Beer person complain about their salary, they’ll be shown the door, and ask to hand their vest to their replacement on the way out. This again is looking at this nuance through the lens that we are beholden to our managers and should be thankful for our paychecks.
I had a few more arguments to rage against but I’ve noticed this current rant has rambled on for quite long. Being a shit eater myself, I know I have my own problems to worry about and very little time to worry about the ramblings of some other asshole who thinks their opinion means something.
So to those of you who do the work, I thank you for your patients in reading my diatribe. It’s good to be back. Keep up the fight and tune in to the podcast!!!
Eddie