Quote:
Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan
I don't have much to add other than this nugget:
When I started working just over 20 years ago the minimum wage in Alberta was all of $4.90. I moved out at 18 and worked 3 jobs while sharing an apartment with two other guys. I ate Kraft Dinner many a night because it was all we could afford. I made my way through that period, but I had to scrimp and save, and even than that wasn't enough some months.
Basically, minimum wage has almost never been enough to be a living wage. I managed to get promoted time and again purely out of necessity for survival. It helped me to develop myself as a professional and mature person.
However, I would not recommend this as a method for self-improvement.
I had to do a debt consolidation loan at least once in my 20s because I couldn't keep up with my debt payments appropriately. That kept me permanently stuck financially without the ability to even think about buying a new car or even purchasing an apartment, even though I made okay money.
Quite frankly, if minimum wage alleviates just some of those problems for people starting out in life, I consider it to be a great thing. Putting people in debt before they even have a chance to develop a career is a great way to destroy the possibility of a middle class. It's another reason why tuition for students needs to come way, way down. Student debt continuously restricts the buying power of young professionals, and again, no middle class.
Give people a chance to make enough money so they aren't worried all the time living hand to mouth. The upwards effects to the rest of the economy should be felt.
We've tried trickle down economics for so long with horrible results in wealth disparity, why not try a bottom up solution for once?
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I'm not arguing against raising the min wage. I just think doubling it nationally or more than doubling it if you take into account all the exceptions some states have, would be harmful to a lot of communities.
There is some level that you can raise a min wage to that you will put a lot people out of work. Is that a worthwhile trade off? I don't think it is, but maybe some do. I think it is a good thing to raise it up to that threshold, but you don't want to go too far past it. I think $15 is past that threshold in a lot of areas, and I don't really think it is a good thing to make some parts of the country non-viable to work and live in.