Quit with the Minimum Wage Talk Already. Or, Why work when I can get Welfare?

Some dude on Twitter was dogging me over a NY Post article that stated it was better in some states in the country to stay on welfare than it was to work; realistically, to even take a wage that the left considers a "fair wage". In fact, the article states that in NY, NJ and HI, it would take at least $20/hr to get off their asses and get a job. In other words, why work, with no education, no plans on climbing the corporate ladder, or even trying to do something different, if the government will pay someone at least $20/hr to sit at home?

His last tweet to me was "forget the bickering. can you agree that raising the minimum wage would help to combat ppl exploiting pub welfare programs?"

My answer to that is a resounding no! I'll explain this simply. Those who work, pick the job, and they are told at the time they take the job what the wage will be. In America, we don't have to take a job, and we are not forced into a job that we do not want to have. If, at the time you are given the opportunity to have employment, you do not like the offer, you can either ask for more money, or you can refuse the opportunity.

Minimum wage jobs were never meant to be a staple of the American Dream. Minimum wage jobs are the lowest rung on the corporate ladder, often times part-time positions, and they are offered to those who are seeking a position with a company where an "evaluation period" is preferred hiring practice for a little while before hiring a person full-time at more money.

The drive for the American Dream should be to look at a position as an opportunity to learn. Perhaps grow in an area of interest, and look forward to growing with the company, or being afforded the opportunity to take on duties which help the company grow and become more efficient. Marco Rubio spoke of his father working years as a hotel bartender, working overtime so that his kids didn't have to. Steve Jobs started Apple in his garage. Michael Dell started making customized computers out of his dorm room. I'm sure all of those guys didn't make much starting out either, but boy did they turn their dreams into reality.

Now, the people today think that by raising the minimum wage, poverty will disappear. By raising the minimum wage, people will go get jobs and get off the public dole. It is such a fallacious premise! Economics 101 teaches everyone how to establish COGS or Cost of Goods Sold. To establish a price at which to sell a good, you must determine how many of the product will be sold, how many people will be required to make the product, what type of technology will be required, and how many hours it takes to make the product.

Taking all of those things into account, let's say that it takes 5 people @ $8/hr to make a product that is sold to the general public at $1/ea. The product starts to take off, and we have to hire on more workers. Those workers all make $8/hr, and we continue to sell the product for $1.

Then, one day, the government decides to up the minimum wage to $9.50. The company now has to make a choice.

1) The company can either keep making the product, keep all of the employees, and lose profit on the product.
2) The company can fire some workers in order to keep the product at $1 sale price, and keep profit margins the same.
3) The company can raise the cost of the product, keep the employees, and hope that people will still buy the product at the elevated cost.

Given those choices, 2 are uncertainties, but one is absolutely certain. The certainty is that the company will cut its losses, fire employees, pay the others overtime and continue to offer the product to the customer at the affordable price.

The reality of the situation with salary and wages in America is that if you don't like your job, find another one. If there is a company that will pay you more for your services, by all means, take that position. No one is telling you you HAVE to work at Walmart, but they pay 1.2 Million people for their services. People have to quit looking at work and wages as though the company owes them something. You are selling yourself when you work. If you feel you are underpaid, ask for a raise or find another company that will pay you what you feel you are worth. It really is that simple.

If you don't want to work 3 jobs, then go to school. Get a certificate that sets you apart from the countless others out there who are just like you. Differentiate yourself from your competition. And above all else, when you decide to take a job at a price offered to you and accepted by you, perform at peak performance all the time. Those are the ones who rise to the top. If you aren't rising fast enough, then look in the mirror, not in the boss's office.