The Wages of Expediency (L-O-N-G)

Well, the something-for-nothing crowd is at it again—this time, they want a federal minimum wage increase without an increase in productivity or any kind of additional employee output (meaning skills or education).

“Nobody can live on $5.15 an hour!” is the rallying cry. Oh really?

Tons of people all around the world make a heck of a lot less than that, yet they manage to live with it. People are flocking here from Mexico to make five times what they’d make at home for the same labor activity and no responsibilities.

The truth is nobody can live on $5.15 an hour IN THE STYLE THAT WE ARE ACCUSTOMED TO here in America. Nobody can afford champagne on a beer budget.

The average global minimum wage for a laborer with no special skills and no formal training is about $.69 an hour, yet we pay many times this amount and manage to stir up complaints about it. A global minimum wage proposal is being worked on, and it describes many things as being part of the makeup of this new wage—one being the existing global average of $.69/hour, along with a commodity allowance, and a national minimum on top of it.

Funny how we don’t see cardboard-and-tin shacks in this country, visibly-starving people roaming the streets, or hordes of beggars with their hats out on every sidewalk, isn’t it? And yet, the something-for-nothing crowd continues to paint a bleak picture of denied opportunity, denied lifestyle, and worst of all, denied equality. The rest of us can only hand out so much—the rest has to be earned.

There is no government program for restoring dignity, hope, and self-respect, and there is no such thing as “success” insurance. At some point, people are going to have to get up off their laurels and do something for themselves—whether it’s educational, vocational, or entrepreneurial. Gravy trains eventually get the wheels knocked out from under them.

Doing the educational means doing one’s best from grade school onward, with the intent to earn a ticket into college—you know, a scholarship—this is the educational “something for nothing” that’s earned. Doing the vocational means the same thing, only with the end goal being a ticket into a “skills college.” Doing the entrepreneurial means going into business in lieu of college or vocational school, with the intent on making a profit from selling goods and/or services. Whichever route is chosen, it’s the government-free means to the “success insurance” end, and a form of expediency that doesn’t involve the government or innocent taxpayers.

By getting off the laurels and applying one’s self, the something-for-nothing promoters (activists) are put out of business. This is a good thing. Working to earn something means no debt, no emotional trauma, and no societal stigma—the fine print in that theoretical “success insurance” policy. We are what we’re worth in the open labor market, and activists aren’t going to increase our value by raising the floor—we have to raise your worth yourself through education, skills, and entrepreneurial value.

Welcome to the real working world, where it’s every man for himself, and has been for a long time. One day, the supposed “underclass” will understand that and do something about it. Government is supposed to protect us from invaders and act as a tax revenue middleman—nothing more. The Constitution guarantees THE RIGHT to happiness and a promoted general welfare, but doesn’t convey government responsibility for YOUR happiness or general welfare. Uncle Sam isn’t going to manipulate the labor market, because market manipulation of any kind is illegal. Besides, when compared globally, with equivalent skill sets and education, minimum wage workers in this country are already overpaid, judging by the over-abundance of them. There certainly is no scarcity there!

One thing the illegal aliens are teaching us, but nobody is paying attention: when the pay is much better for the same work and same benefits, don’t hesitate to relocate. That’s their “something for nothing”—no activists or legislation, no formal training or upgrades of any sort, and no debt. All they did was relocate, and that’s a lot more than most of us are willing to do. Talk about expediency! Low-skilled workers are a dime a dozen back home, and got paid accordingly. The ability to earn five times as much for the same labor and benefits was worth the risks they endured getting here.

Two workers making $5.15 an hour full-time (40 hours), after taxes, make roughly $988+/- a month, depending on total tax rate (I estimated 40% to cover state and federal). Two people working full-time (40 hours) at Wal-mart, at a much-touted $7.00 an hour, bring home about $1344+/- after an estimated 40% total taxes—a $360 increase just for switching job locations, and no additional hours, skills, or education were necessary. Reworking the W-4 can yield even more money, tax free, each month instead of getting it back at the end of the year, but not many know (or are willing to learn) how to do this.

The proposed global minimum wage, as calculated (using U.S. stated numbers available—see bottom footnote) by adding the existing global wage plus commodities allowance and national minimums, would yield roughly $9.19 an hour before taxes, and roughly $5.51 an hour after taxes (an estimated 40% again), making the take-home pay for one full-time worker roughly $881.60+/- per month. As you can see, this would be a big step forward for American workers, and a huge leap for workers in other countries. Taking this issue to the global level isn’t really the answer for the American minimum wage worker, because the hourly pay rate isn’t the problem—the taxes that are the main culprit!

Here’s how the minimum wage crowd can make more per hour:

• Go where higher pay is already the norm for such work (like Wal-mart and other big-box stores).

• Move to a lower-tax state, a lower cost-of-living state, a higher minimum wage state, or lower their own costs of living, living standards, and expectations.

• Go improve themselves to a higher point of worth through additional education and/or training. The rest of the working world has to constantly compete for better pay and benefits through education and skills, and so should they.

• Learn to give themselves a legal tax-free raise by reworking their W-4 to receive end-of-year tax money back each month, instead of all at once the following year. The sooner they see Personnel or HR about this, the faster they can begin to receive this money.

A federal government-set minimum of ANYTHING means that a certain price has been laid for sidelining a certain set of people, whether its minimum wage, federal program benefits, social service benefits, grants and/or loans, subsidies, etc. People receiving such benefits are no longer needed in the workforce, and are being paid in one form or another not to compete. The expectation is that they CAN’T compete, and shouldn’t even try. How dare our government tell us we can’t and shouldn’t compete, and how dare we accept handouts that prove them right!

To all minimum wage workers reading this right now: want more money for what you do? Then stop sitting around waiting for someone else to hand it to you. I just listed four things above that you can do for yourselves today, or in the near term.

Here’s another tip: when choosing a career to train for, use the Yellow Pages to determine which fields have the most competition, and steer clear of them—if the doctor, lawyer, plumber, and veterinarian sections are the thickest, this means your locale is already hip-deep in those professions and needs no more. If you can find an occupation heading with three company listings or less, there’s where you should shoot for—this means your competition will be light.

What are YOU willing to do or risk in order to earn more? Doing nothing will get you nothing, and then you have nothing to complain about.

Global minimum wage proposal information