The minimum wage debate continues to rage
It’s all over Facebook and other social media, on the news, in the papers, and being discussed around the table.
I have no problem with people wanting to earn more than minimum wage. My question is simply this:
WHY oh WHY do people constantly do a job that is worth $7.50 an hour and then demand that they be paid more?!? (We’ll leave the part about how they barely perform at a $7.50 an hour level out of the discussion).
If YOU are worth more than your job, you’ve got some decisions to make. You can get a different job OR … add a side business where you actually have the opportunity to earn what YOU are worth instead of allowing someone to pay you based on what the job is worth to them.
Face the facts: A JOB is where someone pays you based on what the JOB is worth to them as a company. That’s just a bottom line fact. No business is going to pay someone more than the job is worth and stay in business for long. You don’t want to pay more for your car just because the car company feels they should get more. You don’t want to pay more at the restaurant. You don’t want to pay more for your clothes if you can avoid doing so.
Remember when you went to the store and found a $100 shirt for $15? That’s what your employer did with you. They got a $100 employee for $7.50 because you agreed to the $7.50
You bargain shop. So did your employer.
Employees do not get paid what THEY are worth. They get paid what the JOB is worth to their employer.
If you want more, you can (and should) earn more. I support your right to earn more! But you need to create more value than $7.50 per hour if you want to receive more than $7.50 an hour. You’re not going to do that dunking chicken nuggets in hot grease and pushing a timer button.
If you really believe YOU are worth more than the wage you are getting at your job (and I believe many employees are), DO SOMETHING about it. Stop expecting a job designed for a high school student to provide a wage sufficient to support a family. That’s not what that job is for.
Get a different job or start a business that allows you to earn more based on the value you provide to the market place. I’m not saying that because I believe it’s easy to go get another job. I know people struggle with finding jobs. I’m simply pointing out that there are options if you are willing to put in the work required.
If you need to learn more to get that done, start learning! This is the information age and there is a TON of information available to those who are willing to look for it, study it, and apply it.
[…] Minimum Wage Rage […]
I guess many of us have a sense of entitlement. Brian, this concept should ring a bell with ALL adults. That employer is doing the very same thing many of visitors on this website are doing – trying to fatten their bottom lines.
If in your household you want to save up for a major purchase, you budget. You may buy the off-brand cereal or body wash. You make a DECISION to cut back on expenses.
That employer wants his/her profit margin to be in a consistent state of growth. This means they are always searching for ways to limit expenses. Make no mistake about that. An employee’s wage is a business expense (to the employer). Does it not make sense?
Besides, I believe that a hike in wages will create a plethora of issues. Primarily job loss as a whole! In effort to keep expenses low the employer may very well outsource (internationally) or implement technology.
Take the “Self-Checkout” craze we’ve seen over the past 6-8 years. If YOU the (entrepreneur) discovers that you can free up hundreds of thousands in annual revenue by swapping out an employee with technology…you would do it!
We see all sorts of automation today in internet marketing. Would you take lightly the thought of the alternative? Imagine having to perform everything manually. If it doesn’t cost you financially it will certainly cost you your time.
So before the gripes be sure to consider it from the side of the employer. And yes, some corporate leaders are down right greedy and can actually afford to pay you more. That still doesn’t negate the fact that the wage was agreed upon.