Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill this past year that would increase the minimum wage gradually by 50 cents to a dollar until the year 2022, when the wage will be at $15 an hour.
There is no need for a minimum wage increase. Yes, there are people all over California who rely on a dollar increase every year, but it’s minimum wage, not a living wage.
When President Franklin D. Roosevelt enacted what was then the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, minimum wage was implemented as a form of payment for part-time employees to get paid so they were not working for free.
Since then, people have adopted this idea that if they work at a burger joint for 40 hours a week, they should be making as much as someone with an education working full time.
Those who went to school, earned an education and pursued a career deserve to make more than $10. Someone who just slacked off does not.
I don’t mean to sound completely insensitive, but if you know you like shiny and expensive things, or that one day you want to raise a family of five, you should have bigger dreams than flipping burgers and serving fries with milkshakes.
The raise in minimum wage will not benefit anyone in the long run.
According to Capitol Weekly, a publication covering California’s government and policies, the resulting factors of the increase will include the shutting down of businesses, loss of jobs due to costs, the elimination of employment because of the relative cost of automation and a severe decline in California’s manufacturing competitiveness. It will also encourage employers to leave the state in favor of other states that are more business-friendly.
That being said, there is no real value or benefit from an increase. You will make more money, but in the long run you will be paying more in taxes, the cost of living will drastically increase and prices will rise just about everywhere else, as if it is not already an issue in California.
I, for one, am happy with where the minimum wage is currently and hope others in favor of an increase will take a look at the broader spectrum of the topic and realize, in the long run, it isn’t worth it for anyone.
